Diversity, Inclusion & Equity in Today’s Workforce

 

In the wake of BLM, a new election and COVID-19 we seem to hear a lot about diversity, equity & inclusion as many employers try to diffuse what has been overlooked and ignored for years, their integrity and the lack of acknowledging the good employees that have diligently sat by and carried the weight of all the inadequate leadership teams they have been forced to call management.

To go from a wonderful employer, one once appreciated and boasted about due to room for advancement within, to a company that one just basically wants to meet the required years of service to retire from does not say much about you as an employer.  As laborers we understand there are a certain few who deserve to remain where they are. These individuals do not anticipate nor want change, so they don’t mind not having to tip the scales, but when you overlook the ones that work hard. You can guarantee that eventually you will deplete them and their desire to produce.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equity means all employees are treated as equals.  Seek your employees opinions and input and hold off as classifying it as a complaint. Ensure they belong by letting them have a voice that is heard and not ignored. Demonstrate you have their best interest at heart by hiring one within their peers to advocate on their behalf, so they do not feel intimidated or pressured. Provide them with all tools needed to ensure their job duties are performed with ease and most importantly stop micromanaging. You work with adults, treat them as such.

Show them you appreciate them by giving them comp time, a needed day off on you and recognizing their accomplishments. Send them off with a lasting memory once they put in for retirement, some have dedicated more than 30 years to your company. They deserve more than an exit package. They deserve to be in the spotlight and most of all praised. Take a look at the two quotes below. What type of employer are you? One who believes in true Diversity, Inclusion & Equity or one that is only following a recent trend. “We Achieve” greatness, when we have the right leaders paving the way.

 

“Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists, it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.”  ~ George Dei

 

“Gender and racially diverse teams perform better, innovate more and improve economic equality.” Stephanie Lampkin  

                 

 

 

Passover/Easter 2020

As we enter our fourth month in 2020 and continue to hear positive and negative news behind the Coronavirus we see more and more how humanity has either put themselves out there by being in the front lines or supporting them as they battle the unknown. It is heartwarming to see individuals come together, but it is also sad to see the ugliness in others as they allow hate and ignorance take over.

New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are currently dealing with the unknown. Our neighbors, friends and families are dying, or in fear of dying due to a virus. Forget where it surfaced it is now here. Our medical personnel, police officers, EMT's, Correctional officers and Home Health Care workers are fighting a demon that has taken us off guard and risking their lives doing so. Remember essential workers are not only at risk at their place of employment but also as they ride the public transportation system that continues to be overcrowded to date. Social distancing is impossible in a city that is known to never sleep yet is being forced to. 

Staying safe and not being exposed or exposing others is the hard task. You take a risk when you're an essential employee. Hence, consider your fellow community members. They have a lot to deal with and don't need the extra pressure. Stay home. Be vigilant and cherish your families. This may be one Passover and Easter that we cannot celebrate as we normally do, but we can cherish the fact we are still alive. We have lost many to this unseen culprit, but we must continue as best we can for the ones still with us. If this has taught us anything at all it is to love more, appreciate more and forgive more. 

May you all be blessed with comfort, love and peace during this pandemic. Better days are ahead of us. 

All rights reserved ~Susan B. Anna

1199 SEIU Views and Comments on Government Shut Down

1199ers in New Jersey Speak Out Against Government Shutdown, Urge Congress to Pass Spending Bill

Oct 02, 2013

Just one day after the federal government shutdown began on October 1st, thousands across New Jersey were already feeling its devastating effects. From furloughed workers who don’t know when they’ll be receiving their next paycheck to low-income families now unable to apply for emergency benefits, the closure of the federal government is affecting people in real and immediate ways.

On October 2nd, 1199ers partnered with concerned community members to hold an event outside of the Social Security Administration office in Newark, NJ. Participants highlighted the impact that the shutdown is having on working families and urged Tea Party members in Congress to end their blockage of a federal spending bill that’s needed to keep vital services in operation.

“It’s sad that Tea Party Republicans don’t seem to care about the innocent people who are being hurt and can’t get the benefits they need,” said Gracie Parham, an 1199SEIU member who works as a certified nursing assistant at Windsor Garden Care & Rehabilitation Center in East Orange. “We the people are not going to stand for this, and we will fight to make sure that our representatives in Congress do the right thing!”
Throughout the day, Newark residents were stopping by the Social Security Administration office hoping to complete important tasks, but were stunned to find the building closed.

Among those turned away were:

     · Charlotte, who has a heart condition and cannot to go back to work until December, couldn’t apply for temporary disability benefits.
     · Patricia, whose son is disabled, was unable to get the paperwork necessary for applying for welfare benefits for her and her child.
     · Chanelle, a security officer and mother of two girls, aged 2 and 5, was unable to get the documents she needs to apply for food assistance for her daughters
     · Georgia couldn’t get the proof of income that she needs in order to apply for supplemental nutrition assistance for her family.
     · Fred, a 75 year old retiree, couldn’t get the information he was seeking about applying for Medicaid.
     · Kim, an unemployed mother of four who was recently offered a job at the airport, couldn’t get the paperwork she needs by Friday for a background check so she can start work.

Milly Silva, 1199SEIU Executive Vice President who is running for Lt. Governor alongside gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, spoke to the crowd about the broad impact that the shutdown is having on communities across the nation. “So many of the rights and privileges that we as Americans take for granted exist because of the dedication of our federal employees,” she said. “Without them on the job, vital services come to a grinding halt and all Americans suffer—from veterans awaiting disability benefits to low-income mothers in need of nutrition assistance for their children.”

Silva also stressed that the Tea Party’s attempt to derail the Affordable Care Act by forcing a government shutdown cannot be allowed to succeed. “Millions of Americans are already benefiting for the reforms of the Affordable Care Act. We are not going back to a time when people could be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions or when insurance companies could spend all they want on executive salaries and bonuses instead of delivering medical care.”

“The caregivers of 1199SEIU are ready to stand with the families in New Jersey and across the nation who are being victimized by this government shutdown, and I’m confident that together we’ll win justice for those who are being affected and bring sanity back to our political process,” Silva said.

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  Please feel free to comment!!!

Undue Justice

A couple of years ago I heard of a family’s ordeal and the unjust way it was dealt with which is not only too common in New York, but many other cities where drugs and violence ensues and the local police department looks the other way.

Jay Thompson and his wife Sheila lost their only daughter and never received so much as a condolence from the police officers on the scene, or any other officer or detective later assigned to the case to help solve it.  Kelly Thompson, their only child, was brutally murdered.  The police didn’t give too much of themselves to find out who did it nor did they stick around long enough to ask the questions that will lead them closer to solving Kelly’s murder, and the Thompson’s gave up the hope of getting any results since the cops already made up their minds and her case was just not news worthy enough to even try.

Kelly was a minority woman and in the early stages of independence.  She lived in a bad neighborhood and so therefore not worthy enough for the cops to assist her parents in finding peace.  Attached is the full story of this families ordeal and soon I will add a recap to what has occurred since I began to write the appropriate authorities on behalf of the Thompson’s, this case, and so shall later showcase their responses as soon as received. Please feel free to comment either here or within attached as the Thompson’s and myself will truly appreciate the thought and time.  Thank you.

The Justice we Seek