Public Employee Press

Union ally and public health advocate Judy Wessler retires

Judy Wessler, a stalwart warrior in the ongoing struggle for quality public health care, and the director of the Commission on the Public's Healthcare Systems, retired at a spring celebration in Chinatown. DC 37 Local 299 President Jackie Rowe-Adams, who is a Harlem Hospital health advocate, was also honored at the event, which included dozens of DC 37 local members and community groups that collaborate on support for the city's health care system.

As CPHS director, Wessler helped the Commission with its mission to "fight for equal access to quality health care for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, language spoken, diagnosis, or the ability to pay." Wessler worked closely with the HHC Municipal Labor Committee, which represents some 30,000 HHC
employees.

A small woman with a big message, Wessler has been relentless in her advocacy for the city's network of public hospitals and clinics in the Health and Hospitals Corp. In her career, she pressed politicians in City Hall, Albany and Washington, D.C., for better funding, delivery of services and availability of health care to New York City's poor, the uninsured, and to immigrant communities.

"Judy is a friend and a leader on the front lines for access to quality public health care," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "She is a longtime grassroots ally who has worked closely with DC 37, its locals, and AFSCME, advocating for health-care workers and patients. Although she has retired from CPHS, she has not stepped away from the struggle."