During a speech at the Brookings Institute Tuesday morning, President Barack Obama made it clear that restoring job growth and putting people back to work continues to be a top priority of his administration.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee praised the plan:

“President Obama set out a bold initiative today to put Americans back to work. The President outlined an ambitious plan to build on the proven success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to protect and create jobs and build a strong and vibrant economy. President Obama understands that the loss of a job is more than a statistic, it is a human tragedy. That is why his commitment to extending unemployment and health insurance for those who are out-of-work is so important. I was also pleased to hear the President’s commitment to ensure that state and local governments get the help they need to save the jobs of workers who are providing essential public services during this deep economic crisis. We will be working to help President Obama win this crucial fight for America’s families and communities.”

Among Obama’s proposals:

• Extending relief to those hit hardest by the economic crisis, including unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits.
• Incentives to homeowners to invest in energy efficiency for their homes.
• Incentives to small businesses to help them hire new workers, as well as using funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Programs (TARP) to increase lending to small businesses.
• Aid to states ands localities to help them provide needed services.
• Boosting funding to infrastructure projects, including rail, water systems, broadband networks, clean energy projects and bridges.

Read the full text of President Obama’s remarks.

Lovie Morant (right) listens as nurse Suzanne Delaney talks about health care reform. (Henrietta Wildsmith/The Shreveport Times)

Wearing medical scrubs with the slogan, “House Calls for Health Care,” AFSCME nurses took the case for real health care reform directly to the people of Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, and North Dakota over the weekend.

The nurses went door-to-door to encourage people to contact their senators in support of reform that would lower health care costs, expand coverage and keep the insurance companies honest.

AFSCME nurses have been leading the charge for health care reform this year. In addition to last weekend’s door-to-door effort, nurses also previously visited neighborhoods in Delaware, Maine and Ohio. They also starred in ads highlighting the desperate need nurses see for health care reform, as they serve on the front-lines of the health care crisis each day.

Check out some coverage from this weekend:

Arkansas

Local 965 University Union Voice: AFSCME Nurses Rally for Reform

KNWA News (video): Nurses Uniting for a Common Cause

Louisiana

The Shreveport Times: Shreveporters Sign Health Care Reform Petition

The AFL-CIO has launched a new TV ad that sends a clear message: “Pass Health Care. Don’t Tax Health Benefits.” The ad, which started running in key markets around the country over the weekend, emphasizes that taxing benefits will lead companies to cut benefits and will shift cost burdens to families that can’t afford it. It urges Congress to pass health care reform all Americans can afford.

The Senate’s health care bill would set a tax on health plans worth more than $8,500 per year for individuals and $23,000 per year for families. For workers in high-risk occupations, for retirees 55 or older and for residents in the 17 highest-cost states, the bill would tax plans worth more than $9,850 for individuals and $26,000 for families.

This would amount to an enormous tax on workers’ health care benefits, one that would grow rapidly, as insurers increase premiums by an equivalent amount. It would shift health care costs onto the backs of workers—including many of the most vulnerable workers—without bringing down the cost of health care.

Read more on the AFL-CIO blog.

An independent study released this week finds that the excise tax on higher-cost health plans would adversely impact the middle class by shifting more costs to workers.

Nearly two-thirds of employers say they would make changes to their employees’ health coverage to avoid the so-called “Cadillac tax” included in the Senate bill, taking steps like these:

• 75 percent would raise deductibles or copayments to bring down premium costs.
• 40 percent would add a lower cost health plan as an alternative.
• 19 percent would terminate employer contributions to health or flexible savings accounts.

Another 23 percent of employers say they would maintain current coverage but pass the costs of the tax along to their employees.

Read the complete study on the Kaiser Health News website.

As state and local governments slice and dice their budgets – making mincemeat of critical public services – it’s the poorest among us who bear the heaviest burden. That’s because working families and the unemployed depend on those services the most. Yet all kinds of public services (like libraries and social service agencies) are shrinking or being eliminated because of this economic and jobs crisis.

It doesn’t need to be that way. A new report, “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States” by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, suggests that the wealthiest among us are not carrying their fair share of the tax burden.

The reason, as the report points out, is that sales and property taxes take a bigger bite from low- and middle-income families than they do from the wealthy. For the rich, income taxes are more significant. But in states with either no income tax or flat income tax rates (including Florida, Washington and Illinois), the disparity is great. And it’s just unfair.

“The harsh reality is that most states require their poor and middle-income taxpayers to pay the most taxes as a share of income,” says Matthew Gardner, lead author of the report.

That’s why lawmakers seeking solutions to their budget crises need to spread the tax burden equitably. Those with the highest incomes should pay their fair share. This report points the way.

Want to know more? Download a fact sheet for your state. If you want to know how to use the report in your own tax reform efforts, please contact AFSCME’s Research and Collective Bargaining Services Department: (202) 429-1215.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined leaders from five major national non-profit groups at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning to announce a five-step robust plan to deal with the employment crisis.

In his remarks, Trumka highlighted the need for action to help state and local governments maintain vital public services and prevent layoffs of public employees:

“We have to boost aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent more layoffs. State and local governments and school districts are experiencing the worst fiscal crisis in decades – we have state budget shortfalls this year alone of $178 billion. Next year will be worse and the four-year estimate is nearly $600 billion. This is happening right as we need these vital services more than ever. Without additional funding, our public safety, our health needs and our children’s educations will suffer. The right thing and the smart thing is to take action to save services, save jobs and stop the hemorrhaging from choking off economic recovery.”

The leaders of EPI, Center for Community Change, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, and National Council of La Raza issued a joint statement outlining what needs to be done to immediately address the need for job creation.

The jobs agenda being presented to Obama and Congress is based on five key points meant to give needed help to working families now while putting us in a better position for a long-term recovery:

1. Extend the lifeline for jobless workers.
2. Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.
4. Fund jobs in our communities.
5. Put TARP funds to work for Main Street.

Watch Pres. Trumka’s speech from the “Spotlight on the Jobs Crisis” event:

For more, read Trumka’s entry on the Huffington Post and visit the AFL-CIO website at http://www.aflcio.org/createjobs.

Now that health care reform has passed in the House, it faces a tough challenge in the Senate as opponents of reform try anything to stop it, including scaring seniors with myths and misinformation.

AFSCME Retirees – the union’s organization of nearly a quarter million retired members – has been working hard to dispel these false claims about “death panels,” rationed care, and cuts in Medicare benefits.

The truth is there are no benefit cuts and no rationing of care in these bills, and there certainly are no “death panels” that would deny care to seniors. In fact, reform will strengthen Medicare’s solvency and add new benefits that seniors want and need. These include:

• phasing out Medicare’s big gap in drug coverage (the infamous “doughnut hole”)
• fixing the physician fee schedule, so doctors will always accept Medicare patients
• offering free Medicare preventive services – such as cancer screenings
• and providing more choices in long term care.

AFSCME is trying to promote this message to retiree members as well as to the parents and grandparents of AFSCME’s working members. The Retirees section of AFSCME.org includes health care fact sheets and a new video called “Phony Horror Stories about Health Care Reform.”

The video, which stars AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee and Barbara Easterling, Pres. of the Alliance for Retired Americans, separates fact from fiction for senior citizens. It also features video remarks from Lynda Johnson Robb, whose father – LBJ – established Medicare as the first step toward affordable health care coverage for all. Watch it here:

In addition, Seniors to Seniors, a coalition that includes AFSCME Retirees, AARP, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, is fighting to dispel myths about reform. The coalition site at www.seniorstoseniors.org has informative videos that show fellow seniors telling their personal health care stories and a health care reform Q & A.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee praised Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives for passing the historic Affordable Health Care for America Act:

“Saturday’s vote is real progress in the fight for health care reform. The House acted to protect seniors overwhelmed by the cost of prescription drugs and millions of American families unable to afford basic care because of skyrocketing costs. The Senate must act swiftly to pass this bill before the end of the year.

“AFSCME will not forget the members of Congress who chose to side with the middle class instead of the powerful insurance industry lobby. In partnership with Health Care for America Now, AFSCME will thank members of Congress for their courageous vote by running television ads in 20 House districts beginning Tuesday and holding hundreds of grassroots events. We are also partnering with Americans United for Change on thank ads that will run in 10 districts. We intend to do everything we can to guarantee Senate passage of legislation as soon as possible. Quality, affordable health care for all is now within reach. AFSCME will fight to make it happen.”

The TV ads thanking the courageous allies of working families in the House are on the air now. “About More” is sponsored by HCAN and AFSCME — here’s the ad thanking Rep. Kilroy:

View all the “About More” ads on AFSCME.org.

Americans United and AFSCME are airing ads titled “It’s Time” — here’s the ad thanking Rep. Carney:

View all the “It’s Time” ads on AFSCME.org.

The online progressive hub Daily Kos has gone AFSCME green for health care.

If you’ve visited Daily Kos today, you probably noticed the familiar orange color has been updated with a healthy dose of AFSCME green. We’ve taken out a full-page “skin” ad to make sure people call Congress today in support of the health insurance reform bill.

We think the colors work well together, and so do the combined efforts of labor and the netroots community. With a vote on H.R. 3962 coming as soon as Saturday, it really is all hands on deck to make sure this crucial legislation is passed now.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act provides a strong public option, protects working Americans from a tax on their health benefits, and requires large employers to provide insurance for their employees. It deserves the support of every member of Congress — including yours.

So go ahead and check out the new look at Daily Kos, and then make sure you call and tell your Representative to vote YES on the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Let’s make it happen now!

This message comes from Chuck Loveless, AFSCME Director of Legislation.

It all comes down to this.

The House of Representatives finally will vote on health care reform legislation as soon as Saturday. This is a truly historic and defining moment for our nation. Will we meet one of the most important challenges of our generation? With your help — yes we will.

Tell your representative to vote YES for the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Click here now.

You can help us cross the finish line. This is the vote that can put an end to our broken health care system — one that currently allows insurance companies to deny care for pre-existing conditions, has our premiums going through the roof, leaves 47 million Americans uninsured and drags our entire economy down.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee recorded a special video message for our members whose actions have helped us come this far.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) represents the real reform that we’ve been fighting for:

• H.R. 3962 pays for reform the right way — by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share and not taxing our health benefits.
• The Affordable Health Care for America Act includes the choice of a public health insurance option, providing competition for private insurance companies to lower costs and improve quality.
• The bill also requires most employers to provide insurance coverage for their workers or pay a meaningful amount into a fund to help low- and moderate-income workers buy their own coverage through the exchange that will be established in every state.

You can bet that Congress is hearing from insurance company lobbyists — that’s why it’s so critical that they hear from you, too.

Your voice will serve as a stark reminder that there is overwhelming public support for real reform — but only if you make the call. So please, go to: www.afscme.org/call

And help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.