Strike Call, Hospital Workers, May 7, 1959

American labor unions arose out of the need for workers to organize themselves and work together to demand fair wages, safety in the workplace, and job security. A collective voice could not be ignored by employers as easily as individual protests, and workers who banded together could engage in strikes and other joint activities to strengthen their hand in bargaining with management. In the 1950s, hospital employees were not yet unionized, and labor laws that were coming into effect at the time did not apply to them. Early attempts to organize hospital workers focused mostly on skilled labor. In 1957, Local 1199 began to reach out to these workers.

Local 1199 first began as a pharmacists’ union, but it encouraged and supported diversity among its membership from the very beginning. It is not surprising, therefore, that the union reached out to the population of mostly Black and Hispanic hospital workers. The union’s first major success occurred in 1958, when it succeeded in organizing the employees of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx section of New York City. This success led to increased membership, and by 1963, the union had quadrupled its membership. Racial diversity among the membership of 1199 naturally led the union to become involved in the struggle for civil rights during the 1960s.

When the much larger Teamsters Union was expelled from the AFL-CIO in 1957, the organization invaded the jurisdictions of smaller unions such as Local 1199 in order to expand its own membership. 

 

How do immigrants impact the economy and culture of a community?

 

Summarize the main purpose of this flyer and explain why this message is targeted toward certain ethnic groups.