As largest nurses' strike in NY unfolds, union returns my check

“To me, protesting and playing music go hand in hand.”

—Tim Commerford

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IN a hilarious coincidence, I received a letter from the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East dues supervisor Jacqueline Leung dated January 6, 2026 returning the check I sent dated December 8, 2025 to the the largest healthcare workers' union in the United States, as the largest nurses’ strike in the history of New York City unfolded January 12.

The check represented payments for my membership dues for the months of April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December 2025.

I’m sure it has nothing to do with the ongoing strike since I am not one of those who are in the frontline, and nobody knows if I am part of it or not. Either it was a miscommunication, or somebody from the Sunnyside Community Services lost my union records.

1199SEIU represents nearly half a million nurses, technicians, home health aides, and other professionals, providing them with strong contracts, training, job security, and benefits like health insurance and pensions through labor-management funds.

It stands for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East and is known for fighting for better patient care, wages, and working conditions in hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics, primarily in New York and the East Coast.

Nearly 15,000 nurses from several major New York City hospitals walked out on January 12, 2026, making it the largest nurses’ strike in the city’s history. There are many reasons for this strike, with staffing levels, workplace safety, and higher wages being the leading issues.

 

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Mount Sinai Hospital issued a statement on January 12 night that suggested fissures were apparent in the nurses’ ranks. “We had close to 20 percent of our nurses come to work today and put Mount Sinai patients first, and we expect more to do the same tomorrow and in the coming days,” a hospital spokeswoman, Lucia Lee, said in a statement on January 12 as reported Joseph Goldstein in New York Times.

The nurses’ union urged the public to be skeptical of that claim. “We have an overwhelming majority of our members signed up for picket line shifts every single day,” the union, the New York State Nurses Association, said in a statement quoted by Goldstein.

The union, meanwhile, said that Mount Sinai fired three labor and delivery nurses “on a pretextual basis driven by anti-union animus” hours before the strike started, according to a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board, according to Goldstein.

Two of the fired nurses Goldstein interviewed January 13, Liliana Prestia and Berina Selimovic, said they were falsely accused of keeping medical supplies away from the temporary nurses who had been hired to work during the strike.

The two nurses said they had been simply gathering supplies for an incoming patient, as they often did.

Prestia and Selimovic told Goldstein they were stunned to be fired on Sunday night, three nights after the purported incident. They claimed they had never been disciplined before in the three or so years each had worked at Mount Sinai.

 

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“I was taken aback by this, and shocked and disgusted by how Mount Sinai is treating its nurses,” Goldstein quoted Selimovic as saying. “I think this was purely intimidation as we were preparing to go on strike.”

Mount Sinai accused the nurses of sabotage in a statement.

“We terminated three nurses last week for interfering with patient safety by deliberately sabotaging our emergency preparedness drills” ahead of the strike, Mount Sinai said in a statement.

“This is completely unacceptable behavior, which included locking critical supplies designed to care for vulnerable newborns in conference rooms where they did not belong.”

The nurses have a range of complaints, Goldstein reported. For years, they have said many hospital units are chronically understaffed, leaving nurses with too many patients to care for all of them properly.

But in recent years, Goldstein added, the situation improved, partly because of a smaller nursing strike in 2023. More nurses were hired, and new nurse-patient ratios were introduced, with penalties imposed on hospitals if they violated the staffing rules.

But hospitals have sought to challenge those gains, in court and at the bargaining table, according to the nurses’ union.

 

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There are other complaints, too, Goldstein pointed out. The nurses are seeking higher pay and demanding that hospitals introduce more security at entrances to reduce workplace violence and the risk of mass shootings.

The nurses also want job security guarantees as hospitals expand the use of artificial intelligence in medical settings.

On the second day of a strike in 2023, Goldstein reported that an infant with a heart condition died in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai. A lawsuit brought last year by the baby’s mother claims that Mount Sinai nurses, who were striking, were “inadequately replaced with unexperienced and unqualified nurses.”

In a legal filing, the hospital denied the allegations.

As this week’s strike approached, hospitals that knew they could be affected arranged for the transfer of some especially vulnerable patients — including infants in neonatal intensive care units — to other hospitals.

NewYork-Presbyterian confirmed it has transferred more than 100 patients. Still, the hospital has encouraged patients to continue to come if they need medical care.

“The safety and care of our patients remain our top priorities,” NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement. “We have taken the necessary steps, so our patients continue to receive the care they trust us to provide.”

“All hospitals are open and accepting patients,” the statement said.

 

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MAGIC CHOCOLATE. The same chemical responsible for the ecstatic highs of love and sexual attraction, phenylethylamine, is also found in chocolate.

POMEGRANATE JUICE IS HEALTHIER THAN THE FRUIT ITSELF. Most of the fruit's antioxidants are found in the inedible rind of the fruit--but the rind is typically used to create the juice. Pomegranate juice helps protect the heart and prevent arthritis and gingivitis. Let's choose pure pomegranate juice with no added sugars or fillers (such as apple or pear juice).

BURNING. During the Middle Ages, if you were guilty of bestiality, you would be burned at the stake along with the other party to your crime.

LAWS ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. The United States has more laws governing sexual behavior than all of the European nations combined. The only legally sanctioned sexual act in the U.S. is private, heterosexual intercourse between married adults.

PUBLIC HAIR. It was considered elegant for aristocratic ladies of the 16th century to let their pubic hair grow as long as possible so it could be pomaded and adorned with bows and ribbon.

MARATHON MATING. Somebody actually timed a rattlesnake mating session that lasted 22.75 hours.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

Luli’s on the news again

“Harass me and you will probably end up on social media.”

―Steven Magee

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE first heard about Evangeline Lourdes “Luli” Arroyo-Bernas when she filed a sexual harassment case against now retired diplomat Jose Ampeso in 1996, one year after Luli’s mother, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was reelected as senator.

The case was one of the headline stories when Cebu-based Sun Star Daily was launched in Iloilo City that year.

Then-senator Arroyo, always loquacious in the company of media people and a regular visitor in Iloilo City, wouldn’t comment each time we asked about her daughter’s case.

Luli, then 16 and single, and Ampeso, then 46, met when the Philippines hosted the 1996 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Subic, where she served as volunteer.

She alleged that Ampeso, a married man, was under the influence of alcohol and made “inappropriate” remarks towards her.

Luli slapped Ampeso with an administrative case with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). It was dismissed two years later after the diplomat reportedly wrote a letter of apology in the presence of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband future First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.

 

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We met Ampeso in Vancouver, Canada in 2011 several months after he assumed as consul general in the Philippine Consulate General, or three years before his scheduled retirement in 2014.

We had regular associations with Consul General Ampeso as active members of the Filipino community. When then Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista visited Canada for the first time, it was Ampeso who introduced me to the popular former showbiz child star-turned-politician in a dinner party.

To make the long story short, I had the opportunity and “privilege” to ask Ampeso in private about his alleged wickedness against Luli.

Literally under the spirit of Chivas Regal, Ampeso denied the allegations. He requested to “change the topic.”

We remember Luli’s predicament with Ampeso after the now ambassador to Austria and Slovakia was on the news again lately where she was criticized by Malacanang for posing with fugitive Harry Roque when the latter visited the Philippine Embassy in Vienna recently.

Roque, according to the Palace, had no right to be officially posing with the Philippine ambassador in the embassy because his passport had been canceled and he was now a fugitive facing a case for human trafficking.

Now 46, Luli who took the test to be a career diplomat where there were over 3,000 examinees in 2001 and was one of three who passed the test, was handpicked by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to be Philippine ambassador to Austria and Slovakia.

She holds a master’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University.

 

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We were part of a small group of Filipino journalists invited to one of the most important events in the history of Philippine banking overseas on January 10, 2012, or 14 years ago.

It involved a corporate bank from the Philippines that “expanded” in the British Columbia in Canada to serve Filipino clients.

In that conference held at the River Rock Hotel in the City of Richmond, executives of the UnionBank of the Philippines led by then President and Chief Operating Officer Victor B. Valdepenas and Executive Vice President Genaro V. Lapez introduced their policies and mission before leaders of the Filipino-Canadian community and reiterated the bank's corporate vision and achievements in information technology.

As "enabler of the customers investment needs in the Philippines," the bank was prepared to assist on entrepreneurship opportunities, financial advice, and safe and reliable payments for beneficiaries or Philippine companies and organizations, according to Lapez.

Then the seventh largest private domestic universal bank in the Philippines, UnionBank had assets of P253 billion, deposits of P192 billion, and capital of P36 billion.

 

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The bank provided for their Canada-based Filipino clients a wide range of commercial, retail, and corporate banking products and services, including loan and deposit products, cash management services, credit and debit cards, treasury activities, and electronic banking.

According to Valdepenas, seated on our right side together with then Philippine Consul General in Vancouver Jose Ampeso, Aboitiz Equity Ventures or Aboitiz was the major shareholders among owner stakeholders with 43.3 percent shareholdings as of September 2011.

Aboitiz was one of the largest conglomerates with interests in power generation and distribution, banking and finance, transportation and food followed by the Social Security System (SSS) with 21.5 percent shareholdings as of September 2011.

The state agency managed the pension/social security fund of workers in private sector, wage earners as well as the self-employed.

Insular Life Assurance Company was third largest shareholder with 16.1 percent shareholdings as of September 2011.

It was reportedly the Philippines' leading and largest Filipino life insurance company with asset base of P72 billion as of 2010.

 

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MIDLIFE SUICIDE MORE COMMON. Rates are increasing among men and women ages 40 to 64. The current economic malaise could be a contributing factor. Warning signs: Acting highly pessimistic, hopeless or angry, increasing alcohol or drug use, making impulsive, out-of-character decisions, getting rid of previously prized possessions, talking about wanting to die, withdrawing from friends, family and society, mood changes.

BREAST-FEEDING LOWERS BREAST CANCER RISK before menopause for women with a family history of the disease. The duration of breast-feeding does not seem to matter. The lower risk applies only to breast cancer before menopause and only to women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer, says Dr. Alison M. Stuebe of the University of North Carolina.

SEX PICTURE. A group of students were shown picture of couples having sex. At the same time scientists recorded what part of the pictures the test subjects looked at first. The men more often looked at the women's faces, while the women tended to focus their attention on the genitals. Only women who were on the pill focused on the way the room was decorated. (Kinsey Institute)

A SINGLE STOOL TEST CAN DETECT CANCERS of the digestive tract. Currently, routine screening is done only on the colon--which means that many pancreatic, stomach, gallbladder and other gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are discovered only at an advanced stage.

HOT FLASHY REMEDY. When 454 postmenopausal women who suffered from moderate to severe hot flashes used estradiol (Evamist)--a spray-on product containing estrogen--or a placebo spray for 12 weeks, the estradiol group had an average of eight fewer hot flashes per day, compared with an average of four fewer hot flashes daily for the placebo group.

(The author, now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

Ilonggos remember Puno’s two ‘mortal sins’

“Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.”

—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHILE many of his contemporaries in political infamy are already into the dustbin of oblivion, Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno is surprisingly still very much active today in national politics.

Now 77, Puno serves as Antipolo City first district representative and deputy speaker and is one of the chief allies of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as National Unity Party (NUP) stalwart.

Ilonggos in the “roaring 1990s” can never forget (and never forgive too?) Puno, the late former President Fidel V. Ramos’ (FVR) most trusted acolyte, for his alleged notorious role in the mysterious “Sulo Hotel Operations” which denied the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the pride of Iloilo, the presidency of the land in 1992. 

We referred to the 1990s as “roaring” because it was a period characterized by restored democracy, significant natural disasters, economic policy shifts (deregulation and privatization), and a burgeoning pop culture and music scene in the Philippines.

It more particularly was an era of change among Filipinos and a unique time of cultural and technological shifts for the "Batang 90s" generation.

Santiago, then 46, lost to 64-year-old FVR allegedly via “dagdag bawas” (adding and subtracting) she denounced as “wholesale electoral fraud” operated by Puno, et al inside the hotel located in Quezon City.

That’s Puno’s “mortal sin No. 1” to Ilonggos if the allegations were true.

 

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Puno’s “mortal sin No. 2” to Ilonggos came 15 years later or in 2007, when as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, Puno “prematurely enforced” the dismissal order of the Office of the Ombudsman against then Iloilo governor Neil Tupas Sr. and board members Cecilia Capadosa and Domingo Oso Jr.

The order resulted into a violent standoff in the Iloilo provincial capitol on January 17, 2007 when Puno and then justice secretary, the late Raul Gonzalez ordered heavily armed police commandos to assault the capitol where Tupas, his family and supporters were holed up.

During its session on February 7, 2007 night, the Senate adopted the report prepared by the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs and the Committee on Local Government stating that Puno and DILG undersecretary Wencelito Andanar should be censured for the incident.

The report said Puno and Andanar were aware of existing laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence that allow the three Iloilo officials to file an appeal.

It added: "They cannot pretend in not knowing the same. It would be tantamount to gross ignorance of the law for them not to know these landmark decisions. They know pretty well that there is still a period to appeal the said decisions and yet with haste they immediately implemented the same. Therefore, they deserve this censure.”

 

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The report also censured Gonzalez "for his unwarranted interference" in the investigation of the graft case against Tupas, the political rival of the justice secretary in Iloilo Province.

"As can be shown from the testimonies in the Senate hearing, the DOJ Secretary was shown to have an unwarranted interest in the case of Governor Tupas because he was even the one who announced on air from January 14 to 15, that the dismissal order against Governor Tupas was forthcoming," the report said.

"What is even more revolting is the fact that although it is not his mandate to investigate anti-graft complaints, he assumed the investigation of these cases. And even more repulsive is his vigorous denial of his involvement."

Then Senator Franlin Drilon, Tupas’ political allly, said the Senate investigation also determined that the Philippine National Police team that assaulted the Iloilo Provincial Capitol supposedly to implement the dismissal order against Tupas violated its own "rules of engagement" and utilized excessive force against unarmed civilians.

"It is evident that the PNP clearly did not adhere to its own Operational Procedures and Rules of Engagement as there was excessive use of force and violent enforcement of the dismissal orders for Governor Tupas as graphically captured on video and TV," the Senate report said.

"No doubt, there was an unwarranted use of the Regional Mobile Group for Crowd Control whose members committed highly offensive acts against civilians during their assault of the provincial capitol."

 

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DON'T LET OUR DOGS EAT THIS! Grapes and raisins have been shown to cause kidney failure in dogs. The toxic ingredient is unclear, but it is currently being studied in the veterinary community (a fungus is suspected). The number of grapes or raisins that may cause kidney failure is not exactly known, so any amount could potentially be dangerous.

WOMEN WITH MIGRAINES have lower breast cancer risk. Pre- and postmenopausal women who have a history of migraines have a 26 percent lower risk for breast cancer. Researchers aren't sure what the connection is, but both migraines and breast cancer are affected by the body's estrogen levels, says the University of Berkley Wellness Letter in New York City.

LAWS ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOR The United States has more laws governing sexual behavior than all of the European nations combined. The only legally sanctioned sexual act in the U.S. is private, heterosexual intercourse between married adults.

MENINGITIS VACCINE FOR KIDS BENEFITS THE ELDERLY, TOO. Since the meningitis vaccine was introduced in 2000 for children ages two months to two years, not only have meningitis cases declined by 64 percent among children, they also have dropped by 54 percent among people 65 and older. With fewer children spreading germs, fewer adults are getting the disease.

MIDLIFE SUICIDE MORE COMMON. Rates are increasing among men and women ages 40 to 64. The current economic malaise could be a contributing factor. Warning signs: Acting highly pessimistic, hopeless or angry, increasing alcohol or drug use, making impulsive, out-of-character decisions, getting rid of previously prized possessions, talking about wanting to die, withdrawing from friends, family and society, mood changes.

(The author, now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)