NY’s largest health care workers union topples longtime prez

Members of New York’s largest health care workers union just voted to topple their longtime president amid accusations of mismanagement and lavish spending.

Yvonne Armstrong, senior executive president of Service Employees International Union 1199 East, easily defeated George Gresham in a landslide vote of 26,623 to 11,722 in a sign of major discontent over the current leadership.

The results were announced by the union Sunday after an official count Saturday night.

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Gresham, who started out as a housekeeper at Presbyterian Hospital, had been president since 2007.

But he was dogged by accusations of using union-fund accounts as his personal “piggy bank” to benefit himself, family and allies, according to a recent Politico investigation. He denied wrongdoing.

Gresham also is in poor health.

“Although this election did not go as I had hoped, I want to congratulate the candidates from both slates for their victories,” Gresham said in a statement released Sunday. “No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement.

“It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years. I started my journey as a proud rank-and-file member in housekeeping at Presbyterian Hospital 50 years ago, full of the same passion and commitment that still drives me today to fight for the rights and dignity of all healthcare workers, our patients and communities.”

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Gresham played a key role in winning increases in New York’s minimum wage and expanding home-care services and Medicaid funding, which is the financial lifeblood for many hospitals that employ his members.

SEIU 1199 East is part of the largest health care workers union in the country, representing 450,000 total members throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, and Washington, DC.

Gresham has urged union officials to keep their eye on the ball by fighting back against proposed federal cuts in Medicaid and to negotiate stronger labor contracts.

“Once my term ends in June, I look forward to a new role in our great union – [as] an active 1199 retiree,” Gresham said.

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The development came as New York City United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, who has been in power since 2009, is facing a tough re-election fight himself.

He’s is battling a spirited challenge from Amy Arundell, the former Queens borough representative who has held key positions in the union. She previously served in Mulgrew’s dominant unity faction in the union.

Mulgrew scored a big victory when he persuaded the state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve a class-size-reduction law in New York City classrooms.

But his unity caucus is facing growing discontent. Last year, challengers to his slate won seats in the retiree chapter and the unit representing paraprofessionals.

Retirees were particularly incensed over proposed changes in their Medicare coverage.