[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION 250

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2004

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Service Employees 
International Union (SEIU) 250 for 70 years of invaluable service to 
the community.
  SEIU 250 was chartered on September 13, 1934. On that date, the 
American Federation of Labor certified the local as the country's first 
health care union, which grew out of the struggle of a group of service 
workers who united to fight for better wages at San Francisco General 
Hospital. Since that time, the members of SEIU 250 have worked 
tirelessly to improve working conditions for all service employees in 
the health care profession, and in doing so, have dramatically improved 
the state of health care in California and across the country.
  During the 70 years since its founding, SEIU 250 has achieved a 
number of remarkable milestones. In 1941, the local signed its first 
contract with the San Francisco Hospital Conference, an agreement that 
represented employees at eleven hospitals. A decade later, SEIU 250 
signed its first contract with Kaiser Permanente, a partnership that 
continues today and represents over 20,000 caregivers. The local would 
go on to work even harder to meet the needs of its members by 
incorporating into its structure four additional divisions in the areas 
of homecare, convalescent care, hospitals and emergency medical 
services. In the decades that followed, SEIU 250's reach grew to 
encompass eleven districts spanning Northern California, with a 
membership of over 100,000.
  As the local's membership has grown, so has the impact of its 
relentless efforts to promote just and equitable working conditions for 
health care employees. In 1998, SEIU 250 members created a Patient 
Healthcare Worker Defense Fund, a nonpartisan effort with the objective 
of giving health care workers a more powerful voice in government to 
advocate for issues such as universal access to quality care, a 
patients' bill of rights, nursing home reform, and strong enforcement 
of workplace health and safety laws. SEIU 250 has also contributed 
enormously to the community through initiatives such as the 
establishment of the Shirley Ware Education Center, which opened in 
1999 to provide needed training for current health care workers and to 
train new workers in response to widespread health care staffing 
shortages.
  On October 1, 2004, SEIU 250 will be celebrating its 70th anniversary 
in San Francisco, California. I would like to mark this occasion by 
commending this organization for the exceptional service it has 
provided to the community not only in its capacity as an advocate of 
health care workers' rights, but also for its consistent efforts to 
improve the nation's health care system. By remaining committed to the 
goals of safe and fair working conditions for caregivers, SEIU has 
contributed immeasurably not only to the well-being of its members, but 
also to the quality of health care they are subsequently able to 
provide. I salute and congratulate SEIU 250 for 70 remarkable years of 
service.

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