The Social Work Alliance

The Social Work Alliance is comprised of the New York State and New York City Chapters of NASW and 1199, the Hospital and Human Service Employees Union/SEIU, AFL-CIO. The Alliance was created in October 2000, to enhance the political and legislative effectiveness of these organizations. We join together to ensure that mental health services are available and accessible to all New Yorker’s in New York State. NASW’s combined membership between the State and City chapters is approximately 23,000. The membership of 1199/SEIU in New York State is over 200,000.
1199 is a statewide union of health care workers, representing well over 200,000 people in New York State. Among this membership are over 3,000 social workers who work in a variety of health care settings including hospitals, nursing homes, mental health agencies, community health centers, substance abuse facilities, facilities for the mentally retarded, dialysis centers, children’s services, and many others.

Lobbying and other advocacy activities are carried out by the Social Work Alliance in efforts to move our joint legislative agenda forward. This agenda is developed annually.

The Alliance has been successful in securing social work licensure and loan forgiveness. We have lobbied hard for the availability of mental health services for all those in-need across all services systems like Medicaid and Family Health Plus. We also advocate diligently to preserve and enhance reimbursement rates for social workers so that they can continue to provide needed services.