1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East says is has collected enough authorization cards from employees under New York State’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, to file for a unionization vote through the National Labor Relations Board.
CDPAP allows disabled people to hire people they know as personal assistants using Medicaid funds. In 2025, the state cut the number of companies administering it from more than 700 to just one, Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL.
Now, under one company, there are about 190,000 workers. 1199SEIU is already the largest healthcare union in the United States, but could grow by more than 47 percent if CDPAP workers vote to unionize.
The vote, if successful, could also become the largest unionization vote in United States history. 1199SEIU believes the vote, which will happen by mail, could be conducted before the end of the year.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we share the story of a consumer and her worker who feel strongly about the union, as well as some of the scrutiny the union has faced in its endeavor to unionize this workforce.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript created by an independent contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat.
Andrea Rodriguez:
And it's not like we just met in ... I mean, we went through our whole lives together.
Ingeri Eaton:
Yeah, we went through grade school, high school. She was the bridesmaid in my wedding. We helped raise each other's kids.
Andrea Rodriguez:
…kids. Yeah.
Ingeri Eaton:
She knows my grandkids.
Emyle Watkins:
Andrea Rodriguez and Ingeri Eaton have supported each other through every wave of life, including when Rodriguez's mobility changed significantly due to multiple sclerosis.
Andrea Rodriguez:
After 2019, my disease started to rapidly change because I previously was only paraplegic, so I could only not use my arm and my leg.
Emyle Watkins:
Rodriguez became tetraplegic. She only has use of one arm. Rodriguez enrolled in New York's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, which allows her to hire people she knows to help her with bathing, dressing, shopping, and other daily tasks. When she couldn't fill a morning shift, Eaton stepped in.
Ingeri Eaton:
But this is not like me just hanging out with my friend and going grocery shopping or whatever.
Andrea Rodriguez:
Playing Dominoes.
Ingeri Eaton:
This is hard, actual, physical-
Andrea Rodriguez:
And emotional.
Ingeri Eaton:
... mental, emotional work.
Emyle Watkins:
Eaton has remained by her side. Now, Rodriguez is supporting an effort Eaton is a part of, unionizing New York's largest home care program.
Andrea Rodriguez:
I know that the union will be able to take care of the care workers as well as they take care of us.
Emyle Watkins:
Yesterday, 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East announced the union had collected enough union authorization cards, over 70,000, including Eaton's, to file for an election through the National Labor Relations Board.
Ingeri Eaton:
It's an honor and it's incredible.
Emyle Watkins:
1199 SEIU believes the vote, if successful, will be the largest in United States history, with approximately 190,000 workers eligible to vote. The current largest known vote appears to have been in 1940 when about 137,000 General Motors workers voted to form their union.
Todd Hobler:
It's a historic campaign.
Emyle Watkins:
Todd Hobler is the executive vice-president of the Upstate Division of 1199 SEIU. Hobler says the vote is a chance for these workers to join a movement and have better representation in Albany for discussions around pay and benefits since the program is funded through Medicaid.
Todd Hobler:
They're part of a movement of healthcare workers to address the problems that exist in our communities and with healthcare broadly, and we can do that when we are together and we have this kind of power of numbers. People have to pay attention to us.
Emyle Watkins:
1199's role in New York's largest home care program hasn't come without contention. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's announcement the state would move from over 700 companies administering the program to only one during the 2024 budget season caught many by surprise. The state then awarded the contract to Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL, and went through a rocky transition in 2025. Hobler says overall the union has supported the change.
Todd Hobler:
Seven… 800 FIs was unsustainable. Really it was. It was inefficient. It was not good for the workers. It wasn't good for the people they cared for. It wasn't good for the state. It was expanding exponentially and there had to be a change in the way in which the system operated, and we thought that this was the best reform for everybody concerned.
Emyle Watkins:
However, many have questioned if 1199, who had organized some of the previous companies, was in some way behind the change. In July 2026, New York Focus reported that the union "has also been working closely with PPL for years, according to internal records."
1199 and PPL have entered into an agreement that made it possible for 1199 to contact home care workers who may be interested in unionizing. When asked if the union would request voluntary recognition from PPL, Hobler said…
Todd Hobler:
I think our intention is to go forward with an election and have the workers decide by voting whether they want to be represented by 1199.
Emyle Watkins:
The vote will happen by mail and could be conducted by the end of this year. As for Eaton and Rodriguez, they feel hopeful about the union. They both worry about younger staff surviving on the current wages and benefits, which precede PPL, as well as issues with training, time cards, and networking. Eaton feels this is her chance to have a voice.
Ingeri Eaton:
The union is going to be there for us. It's going to represent us. It's not going to make decisions on its own about what they think we need. They are going to be our voice.
Emyle Watkins:
For more on this story, visit our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
