Local 1199/SEIU members began a three day strike on Monday hoping to increase the wages of home care aides from $7 an hour to $10. Nearly 12,000 aides demonstrated while more than half of the 23,000 workers crossed the picket line to care for patients. 1199 President Dennis Rivera announced that one of the agencies had agreed to the increased wage rate and appealed to members attending the rally to call off the strike and give the union time to negotiate with 10 other agencies. Members vehemently rejected his suggestion. By the end of the day, the union had come to terms with three other agencies.
See "Thousands of Home Aides Begin a Strike", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, June 7, 2004