Mayor’s Hard Work for a Healthy Baltimore Wins Endorsement from 1199’s Healthcare Workers

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was joined by close to one hundred healthcare workers from across Baltimore at the historic Eubie Blake Cultural Center to receive their endorsement in the race for Baltimore City Mayor. Surrounded by Maryland General Hospital workers in scrubs and Ravenwood Nursing Home workers in SEIU purple, a smiling Rawlings-Blake said she planned to ride the "purple tide" to victory.

"Our members have voted to endorse Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because no one has worked harder to build a healthy Baltimore," said John Reid, executive vice president of 1199SEIU, Baltimore’s healthcare union. "As a city council member, as council president and now as mayor, she’s fought tirelessly for quality healthcare - and for quality healthcare jobs. By helping caregivers to win a voice for our patients and a better life for our families, she’s helping to improve the quality of life for everyone in Baltimore."

Rawlings-Blake has a strong record on healthcare issues. As city council president, she sponsored a 2009 resolution backing the Heart of Baltimore campaign, which is uniting healthcare workers in a movement to ensure quality care across the city. The resolution, which passed the council unanimously, supports the right of every Baltimore caregiver to a free and fair union election so they can have a strong voice for patients.

Last summer at the Heart of Baltimore rally, the biggest gathering of local caregivers in a generation, Rawlings-Blake stood with healthcare workers from the University of Maryland Medical System and other healthcare facilities who are uniting in 1199SEIU. With the launch this month of Healthy Baltimore 2015, Rawlings-Blake showed that healthcare remains a priority for her administration.

"I’m honored to be standing with the caregivers of 1199SEIU," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "Healthcare workers are the heart and soul of Baltimore. One in five jobs in our city is in healthcare, so by improving conditions for workers in our hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, we’re not only improving healthcare standards, we’re improving living standards across the city. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made so far, and I know together we can do so much more by 2015."

"I’m standing with Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because she’s stood up for healthcare workers," said Taren Peterson, a unit clerk at Maryland General Hospital and a member of 1199SEIU. "When caregivers rallied last summer for quality care and quality jobs, she was there with us lending her support. And this spring, when workers from Maryland General took part in a community clean up, she was side by side with us again, getting the job done."