Passion, family, and perseverance: The story of Veronica Turner-Biggs. 

1199 SEIU is a powerful healthcare workers’ labor union 450,000 workers strong that works to fight for fair pay, quality care, and good jobs for all. They work to help working people create great lives and work both in the community and politics to elect officials that are committed to helping families and pass legislation that is worker-friendly. They moved mountains during the pandemic to make sure all workers had the protections they needed and relentlessly fought for workers’ rights. Right in the middle of all this is Veronica Turner-Biggs, a passionate, caring, and very influential person who has devoted her life to the healthcare system and making our world a better place.

Turner-Biggs has been around the union for a very long time. Her mom was a member. She’s worked in hospitals and healthcare for pretty much her entire life, having worked in Boston City Hospital as far back as high school. Although she had been a union member, Turner-Biggs didn’t become active until a merger was introduced between Boston City Hospital and Boston University Medical Center. In the creation of what is now known as Boston Medical Center, many would lose their jobs and be forced to reapply.

This merger put on the pressure. As a young mother, Turner-Biggs wasn’t in a place to start over, and it propelled her into fighting for what she deserved. She engaged the city council and Mayor Menino and fought hard to garner support for their campaign. After starting as a rank-and-file member, she became an elected delegate and continued moving up the ladder becoming a chapter chair at Boston Medical Center. Her union career started twenty-one years ago as an organizer and she worked her way to being a vice president and an executive vice president before she got to her current position as a senior executive vice president in 1199.

The title comes with long work hours and an incredible amount of stress and strategizing. Turner-Biggs coordinates work for eight different divisions, works to build capacity in their chapters, and determines the union’s approach towards policies in those facilities as well as legislative ones. Though she does control big decisions and oversees an incredible amount of people, her favorite part of working in the union is not in her office. “What I enjoy is being amongst the members, being in the field, helping them, bargaining, helping them resolve issues.” Turner-Biggs may have risen in the ranks but she still cares deeply about her union family and she’ll fight hard to support them.

When Turner-Biggs accepted the title of senior executive vice president she knew it meant uprooting and moving to New York. This was no small thing for someone incredibly close with her family and had built strong work relationships in Boston as well. “It’s been extremely difficult for me. I’m from a very close family, a family that sees each other every weekend” she said, “You know, I left everything I know and love to come to New York to help build the union.” And build the union she has. Leaving family is no small thing but the passion she shows for workers and improving both healthcare and the world is evident.

“To tell you the truth, it’s a little overwhelming.” Her vulnerability surprised me, a leader who was able to sit back and recognize the stress and anxiety that work can bring up. The way that she approaches this struggle head-on is something that many of us can learn from. The way she goes about her business has surely worked for her and her words and actions speak volumes to her impressive character. She went on to explain that as she’s gained power and influence that she has become increasingly aware of the implications of her voice on others in the union.

Now, Turner-Biggs does incredible work but there is still much to be done. When asked about the union’s biggest struggles she said that member apathy is a huge issue. This stems from a lack of being able to communicate broadly and efficiently enough for folks to understand the value of the union. She also was critical of the environment, naming the right wing and organizations that “wake up every single day thinking about how they take from labor and working people in general, how they keep working people down and keep the majority of the profits for themselves.” Turner-Biggs talked about the potential the union possesses, the potential to operate as a five-state organization, and to put out plans on racial and economic justice.

Turner-Biggs thinks many youths are ready to lead and that we only need to make space for them in our communities. She goes so far as to say “I’m really hoping someone comes along and tells me to move aside so they can take my place, so that we can engage many, many more young folks” Turner-Biggs is a powerful leader who is ready to welcome the next generation of organizers. She is a force to be reckoned with in healthcare and someone to whom we all owe great respect. Her advice to me and others is this. “Get in the room, because you do have something to add, and you must be in a room and once you’re in there take up space.