Top officials at the nation’s largest health care union are spearheading an historic bid to unseat their longtime leader, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East President George Gresham, setting the stage for the organization’s first competitive election in decades. Helming the new Members First Unity Slate are two of Gresham’s top lieutenants, senior executive vice presidents Yvonne Armstrong and Veronica Turner-Biggs. They are arguing that the union needs new leadership to strengthen the organization as it gears up to challenge congressional Republicans over potential Medicaid cuts, among other health and labor policy issues expected to rise to the forefront with Donald Trump back in the White House. “We know that we have to be ready,” Armstrong told POLITICO. Gresham, who is based in New York, presides over a 400,000-member union with an annual budget in excess of $200 million, overseeing operations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Washington, D.C. That means the impact of 1199SEIU’s April election will ripple through these areas all across the East Coast — at minimum. The succession battle is playing out as unions across the country are amassing power to build a bulwark against the Trump White House’s expected attacks on collective bargaining rights. Armstrong and Turner-Biggs said the union is not rising to the occasion. To do so, it needs to implement a strong political strategy and be more transparent with — and accountable to — its members, they said. “We are not in the room anymore when critical decisions are being made,” Turner-Biggs said, although she and Armstrong declined to elaborate. Gresham, who has led 1199SEIU for nearly two decades, warned that his lieutenants’ decision to run will divide the union at a critical moment. “The plain fact is that the opposition slate has zero experience heading a union and zero clout with key elected officials, which puts our members’ wages, benefits and jobs at risk,” he said in a statement to POLITICO. But Armstrong and Turner-Biggs say the union is already dealing with division, and what it really needs is more transparency and better collaboration with membership. “We can’t afford a divided membership,” Turner-Biggs said, “just like we can’t afford to wait for new leadership.” IN OTHER NEWS: — The Hochul administration on Friday announced the seven inaugural recipients of the state’s Healthcare Safety Net Transformation Program, created in last year’s budget. The preliminarily approved projects include a collaboration between Jamaica Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering on a new cancer care center in Queens, which will receive up to $188 million in capital funding from the state.
Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital will partner with Westchester Community Health Center to improve the quality of its maternal health care and upgrade the hospital’s neonatal ICU and maternity and postpartum unit. St. Barnabas Hospital will upgrade its emergency department and partner with Cityblock Health and Union Community Health Center to reduce unnecessary admissions and readmissions.
“The strength of our hospitals is a reflection of the strength of our communities, and safety net hospitals play a critical role in providing quality health care to vulnerable populations,” Hochul said in a statement. “Every person should have access to affordable, reliable health care regardless of the zip code they live in, and these investments will bring vital resources to underserved New Yorkers.” The full list is available here. — Starting this week, 35,000 New Yorkers will receive letters notifying them that their medical debt was eliminated, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday. The combined $80 million in medical debt relief is the first round of a city partnership with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt. The program, which Adams announced in January 2024, is expected to eventually wipe out over $2 billion in medical debt for 500,000 working-class New Yorkers. — The University at Buffalo was awarded $28.4 million by the National Institutes of Health for research work to improve health outcomes and address health disparities throughout Western New York. Projects covered by the seven-year award will include community health worker training and AI initiatives for drug discovery and health literacy. “This landmark award reaffirms UB’s stature as a premier public research university that is committed to contributing meaningfully to the health and well-being of the communities we serve,” UB President Satish K. Tripathi said in a statement.
ON THE AGENDA: — Tuesday at 1 p.m. Gov. Kathy Hochul presents the fiscal year 2026 executive budget. — Wednesday at 1 p.m. PPL will host its first virtual hearing on the state’s CDPAP transition. — Wednesday at 6 p.m. The SUNY Downstate Community Advisory Board will host a public hearing on the future of the Brooklyn hospital. — Thursday at 10 a.m. The Public Health and Health Planning Council’s Establishment and Project Review Committee meets. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com.
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