After a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign rejoined the family of District Council 1707 of AFSCME. In late September, the community-labor health advocacy coalition moved into the union’s headquarters in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Previously, Metro was based at the union’s former location in the Soho section of Manhattan from 2002-10. It was from there that we lead the New York City Organizing Committee of Health Care for America Now, the large omnibus, multi-constituency campaign that pushed historic health care reform legislation through Congress during 2008-10, now known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA.)
The union recently elected new leadership, comprised of Victoria Mitchell as Executive Director, and Lorraine Guest as President. DC 1707 is comprised of six locals representing workers at non-profit agencies who provide human services via contracts with the City of New York: day care centers, home care programs, social services, teaching and educational organizations, membership and fundraising groups, and Head Start programs, along with a retirees chapter. We thank Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Guest for warmly welcoming us back.
Previously, Metro was based at the New York City office of Citizen Action of New York. During our tenure there, we worked closely with Citizen Action and other groups involved in leading Health Care for All New York, a major state consumer health advocacy coalition, as the state implemented ACA. To date, over 1.6 million New Yorkers have enrolled in new health insurance coverage plans created under the ACA, through the New York State of Health marketplace. The vast majority of them were previously uninsured. We greatly appreciate Citizen Action’s hospitality, and the generosity of their Executive Director Karen Scharff. We look forward to continue working with them on new initiatives to expand coverage to those who have not yet benefited from the ACA, and to improve quality care and value in health care services.
Our new contact information is:
420 West 45th Street
DC 1707 AFSCME
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 646-527-6612
FAX: 212-925-0806 (include cover sheet)
Email: metrohealth (at) igc (dot) org