SEIU Local 1199 President George Gresham was defeated by challenger Yvonne Armstrong in a union election watched carefully.
More than 38,000 union members voted in this carefully watched election. Yvonne Armstrong, the unions senior executive vice president, earned 26,623 votes, or 69 percent of the vote and George Gresham received only 31 percent. Veronica Turner Bigs, a senior executive vice president, ousted Silva, 26,267 to 11,435, a margin of 71% to 29%.
Gresham wrote in the statement. “No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement,” “It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years. Our solidarity as 1199 members is today more important than ever,” he added. “We have major work cut out for us in the coming weeks and months to fight back against federal cuts to Medicaid, to negotiate the strongest contracts, and to defend the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Mr. Gresham has been the Local 1199’s president since 2007. The union represents about 450,000 health-care workers across New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C. This labor organization is the largest in the nation within the healthcare industry.
Yvonne Armstrong said in an Instagram statement that “Today, we made history — by an overwhelmingly decisive victory. The Members First Unity Slate has won the trust of members across 1199. Because of your courage — your heart, your hustle, your belief — we now have the chance to lead our union into a new chapter: one rooted in transparency, unity, and real member power.”
Under President George Gresham’s leadership, SEIU Local 1199 has secured industry-leading job and benefit standards for healthcare workers and positioned the Union as a major force for advancing progressive causes throughout New York and nationally. Born in Virginia, his family moved north to New York City when he was young. His mother was a homecare worker, and his father was truck driver. President Gresham began his career in the housekeeping department at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He studied to become an MRI Technologist. Over the course of four decades, he has held many union elected positions. His negotiations have resulted in 1199 members receiving the highest standards for healthcare workers in the nation. President Gresham has built a powerful voice for healthcare workers within SEIU.
“Our 1 Union 1 Future team poured their heart and soul into this fight, to create the strongest union to uplift all 1199 members and build on our decades of progress,” he wrote. “Although this election did not go as I had hoped, I want to congratulate the candidates from both slates for their victories. No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement. It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years,” he added. President Gresham’s term ends in June.
