USA Today reported late last week that according to three recent polls, Americans continue to have dramatic misunderstandings about the health care reform law passed earlier this year.

According to the article, many Americans are unclear on what the law means for them and still believe that it will cut Medicare or ration health care, neither of which is true.  Nearly half of those surveyed even persist in believing the myth that “death panels” will make end-of-life decisions for people.

“The level of ignorance and misinformation is sort of astounding,” says Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll. “It seems people are still reacting to the rhetoric, not the substance of what is in the bill, because they don’t actually know what is or is not in the actual legislation.”

As the country moves toward a huge transformation of the health care system that will lower costs, expand coverage options, offer free preventive care services for seniors, help small businesses with tax credits for providing health care, and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage, too many Americans continue to be in the dark about the details.

That’s why AFSCME put together an online Guide to Health Care Reform, to show members what is in the new health care law and when changes will begin. The online program shows how health care reform will help members and their families.

According to a CNN poll released last week, 60% of Americans support legislation recently passed by Congress to save hundreds of thousands of jobs that were on the chopping block. And they favored protecting public jobs even without knowing that the legislation wouldn’t add a dime to the deficit.

AFSCME members also know how important that legislation was, which is why they led the fight. They generated more than 60,000 phone calls, letters and e-mails to Congress. In addition, AFSCME ran television, radio and online ads, and built a broad-based campaign for its passage.

Now that this vital legislation for protecting jobs has passed, AFSCME is working to let the country know that Democrats in Congress came through for our jobs and our states.

AFSCME launched radio ads last week as part of an aggressive $2.5 million mobilization and advertising campaign during the August congressional recess. AFSCME’s campaign highlights the differences between members of Congress who saved jobs and those who voted to lay off nearly one million Americans and tried to wreck the economy for political gain.

On launching the campaign, Pres. McEntee said:

“America’s working families need to know that key members of Congress stood up for them by voting for legislation to save hundreds of thousands of jobs. The American people will remember who stood up to save our struggling economy, and who chose to play politics with our lives and jobs.”

When Social Security was signed into law on August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said:

“The civilization of the past hundred years, with its startling industrial changes, has tended more and more to make life insecure. Young people have come to wonder what would be their lot when they came to old age. The man with a job has wondered how long the job would last. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.”

His remarks ring true today.

This year, over 53 million Americans will receive a benefit they earned and count on from Social Security. For an economy that has failed many, Social Security provides certainty in an uncertain time.

As we reflect on the successes of Social Security, it is necessary to acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is currently holding closed-door meetings in Washington. Many of the commissioners favor cutting Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age. This is despite the fact Social Security is paid for by payroll deductions and does not contribute a penny to the federal deficit.

AFSCME has joined with a coalition of 60 groups dedicated to fighting cuts to Social Security. The Strengthen Social Security campaign produced this video outlining the attacks on Social Security and what we’re up against:

Social Security remains one of the most effective and popular government programs of all time. A new poll released this week shows the public is overwhelmingly opposed to any attempts to cut Social Security benefits. Congress needs to listen to the American people and reject these misguided efforts.

Let your representatives know where you stand — tell them to strengthen Social Security… don’t cut it.

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on House passage of the Jobs Bill:

“America’s working people have won a tremendous victory in the United States Congress today – a victory that is going to save hundreds of thousands of jobs. The House of Representatives joined the Senate to pass a bill that will provide vital federal aid to state and local governments and school districts to help with budget shortfalls and save jobs.

“Everyone agrees that we aren’t creating jobs fast enough. The last thing we needed was even more layoffs. AFSCME led the fight to pass this bill to save thousands of jobs that were on the chopping block without adding a penny to the deficit.

“The American people will remember that Democrats stood up to save our struggling economy, while Republicans – with a few courageous exceptions – chose to play politics with our lives and jobs.”

The job numbers released last week made it clear that the economic recovery is slowing down, and the increase in state and municipal worker layoffs is one of the chief factors. Not counting losses from temporary census workers, public sector job losses rose to 48,000 in July as many states began a new fiscal year facing huge budget shortfalls.

Economist Robert Brusca tells CNNMoney.com that this crisis was foreseeable — and action is needed to prevent even more losses:

“All of us knew that the municipal government funding is a ticking time bomb. There’s more pressure on municipalities rather than less. Putting a Band-Aid on the municipal economy makes sense.”

That Band-Aid will come in the form of H.R. 1586, a jobs bill being voted on by the U.S. House during an emergency session this week. The bill will provide $26 billion in federal aid to state and local governments and school districts at a time when some estimates put nationwide state budget shortfalls as high as $140 billion.

Without action, the economy could lose as many as 900,000 jobs in both the public and private sectors.

Read the full article at CNNMoney.com, then call your representative and urge them to vote yes on the jobs bill to get this critical aid to states.

This message comes from AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee and Secretary-Treasurer Lee A. Saunders.

Click here for a state-by-state breakdown of the impact this funding will have during the 2011 fiscal year.
(Courtesy FFIS Federal Funds Information for States)

Today, the U.S. Senate took a bold step forward in the effort to protect jobs and bolster America’s economic recovery. The Senate, by a 61 to 38 margin, overcame the filibuster opposing H.R. 1586, which provides significant aid to states and school districts.

This is an enormous step in the right direction for AFSCME members fighting to protect our jobs. And at the end of the day, all Democratic senators voted to protect those very jobs. And with two courageous exceptions, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Republican senators voted to lay off thousands of public employees.

Over the last several months, AFSCME members like you have called, e-mailed, and faxed your senators — and recruited your friends and co-workers around the country to secure this victory.  You urged the Senate to do the right thing and avoid prolonging the economic crisis that confronts public service workers in every community in this country. And your voice — along with thousands of other AFSCME members — was heard in Washington, DC.

Because of your ongoing actions we were able to move this critically important bill forward. Under the leadership of Sen. Harry Reid and with the persistence of Senate Democrats and you, the Senate has thrown a lifeline to millions of Americans who are being hit hard by the worst economy since the Great Depression.

The Republican filibuster was our biggest obstacle. But, we still face a vote in the House and we will need your help to ensure victory there. As we look to the elections, Americans have a clear choice: Democrats who will do what it takes to save and create jobs and get our economy moving, or Republicans who are all too willing to watch the economy stall for their political gain.

Thanks again for all that you’ve done to help pass this critical bill and save more than 900,000 public and private sector jobs. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on what’s next.

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee is cross-posted from Huffington Post and Firedoglake.

Earlier this year, Democrats in the Senate tried three times to pass legislation that would help states deal with growing Medicaid rolls, the joint federal-state health care program for the poor. Each effort has failed in the face of united Republican obstructionism. Earlier this month, The Washington Post explained clearly why this legislation should pass:

“States are staggering under the impact of the economic slump, with revenue down and demand for social services up. Some 30 states were counting on the Medicaid money to balance their budgets, as required by law. The other cuts they would be forced to make if the Medicaid funds are not forthcoming would further slow the economic recovery. Passing this package is the right thing to do, and fiscally prudent too.”

The failure to pass this help for states, experts agree, will cause as many as a million additional job losses in both the private and the public sectors. Yet Senate Republicans continue to block passage.

Now, thanks to the leadership of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate has one more chance to do the right thing and protect nearly a million more jobs from going down the drain. Later today, the U.S. Senate has scheduled a cloture vote on a bill – H.R. 1586 – that will provide $26 billion in funding to help states deal with their budget shortfalls, bolster Medicaid and fund education jobs. But it’s up to us to win it. The Republican congressional leadership has made their strategy clear – they will say no at all costs.

This funding is fully paid for, so it is simply false for opponents to say that passage would increase the deficit. However I would be remiss if I didn’t note that a part of the funding comes from a cut in future Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamp) benefits. However, it does not take effect until 2015, which gives us plenty of time to mobilize to make sure the cut never happens.

Yet, Republican opposition to the help for the states and the education money – even if it’s paid for – intensifies as we inch closer toward November. Quite frankly, it looks clear to many that Republican leaders are doing everything they can to bring down the economy for political gain.

They think they will benefit on Election Day if more Americans lose their jobs and unemployment grows. It’s in keeping with their leader Rush Limbaugh’s professed goal in the early days of the Obama administration: “I want him to fail.” Far too many GOP legislators are taking their cues from extremists on the right, and not listening to the message that voters are sending – it’s time to end the partisanship and look out for the interest of the American people.

By a margin of more than 2 to 1, Americans believe that saving and creating jobs is more important than reducing the federal deficit to move our economy forward. Considering how tone-deaf Washington has become on jobs, it’s no wonder Americans are gloomy about the nation’s economic recovery. Republican senators need to make a choice: Are they going to continue to obstruct, or will they stand with American families who want our economy to grow and want to put people back to work?

If we fail to break the Republicans legislative lockdown today, there should be no doubt that there will be more pain for working families, more debt and a prolonged recession. Every senator needs to know that it’s time to stop the obstruction. It’s time to protect American jobs.

If you care about the future of our economy and the jobs of nearly a million Americans, call your senators immediately and tell them to vote yes on cloture.

You can click on this link to make the call. Let me know that you’ve done it. It’s time to get our economy and our country working again.

A new poll out Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that a consistent 50 percent of the public supports the health care reform law passed this year while opposition to the law is down to just 35 percent this month.

It’s great news that more people are coming to understand how they, their families and the nation will benefit from health care reform.

Views on Health Reform Law: Over Time (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Unfortunately, the poll showed that Americans, especially senior citizens, continue to have an incomplete understanding of what the health care overhaul means to them. Half of seniors know that health care reform will gradually close the Medicare donut hole that leaves many without coverage for their prescription drugs. Only a third understand that reform will eliminate Medicare’s co-pays and deductibles for some preventive services.

Worst of all, according to the poll, more than a third of senior citizens (36 percent) wrongly think that health care reform will “allow a government panel to make decisions about end-of-life care for people on Medicare.” Those misunderstandings are due, in part, to a misinformation campaign by opponents of reform.

AFSCME is educating its members and the public about the positive impact that the health care overhaul will have on skyrocketing costs and reining in insurance company abuses. We have created an online education program and a series of materials to show how the new reforms in health care will affect Americans in every walk of life.

AFSCME members worked hard to make health care reform the law of the land. We’re dedicated to helping our members and the public understand how positive reform will be for their lives.

Years after George W. Bush’s failed attempts to privatize Social Security, his cohorts are renewing calls for privatization. This time they’re using deficit reduction as an excuse. Recently, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) proposed raising the retirement age to 70.

Is this for real?

Equally disturbing is the focus of a new fiscal commission that’s supposed to recommend ways to bring down the deficit by looking at all areas of the federal budget, including taxes and military and education spending. Unfortunately, the commission seems to be concentrating more on benefit programs, like Social Security and Medicare.

No surprise there since many of the commission’s members are conservatives and deficit hawks. While these folks oppose tax increases – even for the wealthiest Americans – they apparently believe it’s fine to balance the budget on the backs of vulnerable Americans. Along with privatization, they’re looking at cutting Social Security by changing the way benefits are calculated, raising the retirement age, and reducing annual cost-of-living-adjustments.

The truth is that Social Security has a surplus of $2.6 trillion, and doesn’t add a penny to the deficit. So the program shouldn’t even be part of the debate.

The real issue is all the spending over the last decade on tax cuts for the rich, two wars, and the bank bailouts. None of it paid for. All the money borrowed. Much of it from Social Security. Now that money needs to be paid back, so workers and retirees receive the full benefits they’ve earned.

The American people want to keep Social Security strong. Polls show that eight in ten reject cutting benefits to reduce the deficit.

AFSCME agrees and we have a simple message for the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: Don’t turn Social Security into the scapegoat for the deficit. Keep your hands off!

For more, see AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee’s remarks from Thursday’s news conference to launch Strengthen Social Security, a coalition of 60 groups dedicated to fighting cuts to Social Security:

Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA)

“I worked for 20 years taking care of people — making sure they had a warm bath or a hot meal — so they could have a decent life at home. Isn’t that work important? By the wages, you wouldn’t think we do an important job, but home care workers help people stay at home, close to their families. In some cases, we are their family.”

— Evelyn Coke, a home care worker who passed away a year ago, on July 9, 2009.

In honor of Evelyn Coke, who she calls “an American heroine,” Rep. Linda T. Sánchez is introducing legislation to extend labor protections to home care workers, expanding minimum wage and overtime rules which currently apply to the rest of the nation’s workforce under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Rep. Sánchez writes about the need to eliminate this discrepancy once and for all in a guest post on the American Rights at Work blog:

The fact that she died a champion for humanity is not surprising; those who knew Ms. Coke witnessed her strength and compassion for the men and women she cared for. As a home care worker, Ms. Coke struggled for more than 20 years to make ends meet, often working 70 hours a week for a mere seven dollars an hour. Despite her dedication, she was denied full compensation, including time-and-a-half for overtime.

Ms. Coke was among the more than two million workers, including many new Americans like her, who assist elders and people living with disabilities with activities of daily living such as getting in and out of bed, dressing and undressing, cooking and eating, toileting and bathing. Without people like Ms. Coke, many of our family members and friends would be unable to enjoy the autonomy and quality of life that we all hold dear.

Sadly, this essential workforce is excluded from the basic protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Low pay and poor working conditions have hindered recruitment and retention which, in turn, negatively affect the quality of care that millions of Americans receive. Ms. Coke saw that in order to protect her family and the people she cared for, she had to stand up for change.

Read the full post.