Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog has this to say about Bush’s opposition to health care for our nation’s kids:
George Bush doesn’t take care of wounded soldiers who he sent to war, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s not worried about the health of America’s kids. Okay, it shouldn’t be a surprise, but somehow it is. Bush is even being lobbied by hard core Republican Senators Grassley and Hatch to support the SCHIP bill, but he won’t.
Just when we think a president with 28% approval ratings couldn’t get less support from the public, Bush has found a way to reach new lows. He is threatening to veto reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a program to provide health insurance coverage to low- and middle-income children that enjoys broad bipartisan support. As the New Republic reports, this is not the first time he has short-changed SCHIP.
With 9 million children in the U.S. lacking health insurance, SCHIP reauthorization is a vital step toward closing the coverage gap. But the Bush White House doesn’t like the fact that some governors (both Democrat and Republican) have expanded their programs to cover not just kids at the poverty limit, but their working parents as well. This is merely a reflection of how spiraling health care costs have made insurance coverage unaffordable for millions of working families. And that’s an Inconvenient Truth that this SICKO administration would prefer to ignore.
AFSCME President McEntee discusses the Senate vote on EFCA.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Do you hear it? It’s the sound of time running out for the folks who want to trample on workers’ rights. Today, 51 Senators stood for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), an initiative that would allow workers to join unions – either by ballot elections or majority sign-up – without employer interference.
Although maneuvering from a minority of anti-union legislators prevented a vote on the bill, the message was clear: Workers’ rights will be restored sooner rather than later. If not now, then as soon as working families lead the battle to recapture the White House in ’08 and elect a President who will sign EFCA into law.
More and more people are joining the fight for workers’ rights. It was only a week ago that AFSCME members defied 95-degree temperatures to rally in favor of the measure. They endured the heat in order to protect workers who feel it from employers who don’t want their employees to form unions.
AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee said it best during the event, which was attended by a 6,000-strong crowd: “The most dangerous thing a worker can do today is form a union.” His thoughts were echoed in The Washington Post, where it was pointed out that “beginning in the 1970s, employers have preferred to violate the law – the penalties are negligible – rather than have their workers unionize.”
The only way the law will regain its teeth and back employees who want to gain a voice at work is through passage of this vital piece of legislation. Our fight has just begun!
posted by Richard Acevedo, Unit President 7567,
Port Washington School District
CSEA, AFSCME Local 1000
The Leadership Conference is a critical step in AFSCME’s preparation to elect a working family candidate to the White House. Yesterday, I participated in two workshops, one on organizing and the other on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), an initiative that will make it easier for workers to gain union representation.
Today, coming into the Presidential Forum, I was very interested in seeing what the different candidates’ plans were, especially when it came to affordable health care and the labor movement. I wanted to see candidates who realize that once they are elected, AFSCME will hold them accountable. I believe I saw just that.
Now I’m heading for the EFCA rally on Capitol Hill. Today’s temperature is supposed to be higher than 90 degrees but this fight is worth it. In this election, working families will pave the way to change. We will make our voices heard at the rally and the remainder of the Leadership Conference. After that, we are on our way to the White House!
Nearly 2,000 AFSCME members and activists have converged on Washington, D.C., for the union’s 2007 AFSCME Leadership Conference (June 18-20), where six Presidential hopefuls will make their pitch.
Event highlights include AFSCME’s second Presidential Forum on Tuesday, moderated by “Hardball” host Chris Matthews and covered live on MSNBC. Democratic candidates U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Senator Barack Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will attend.
Popular radio show hosts Ed Shultz and Air America’s Laura Flanders will broadcast live from the forum.
Right after the event, members will have a unique chance to express their support for the Employee Free Choice Act in a massive rally on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, attendees will hear from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Minn. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
For more news and announcements about the event, visit AFSCME.org.
In a nutshell, this is what workers faced before there were unions. Sadly enough, big money interests are hell-bent on turning back the clock to a time when employees had no voice at their workplace.
That’s why AFSCME is calling on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would not only make it easier for workers to form unions but also impose real penalties on employers who violate their legal right to organize. EFCA was already passed in the U.S. House. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. The Senate is expected to begin debate on EFCA on Monday, with a vote to come as early as Wednesday, June 20th.
AFSCME has launched a radio ad campaign urging people to tell their senators to support this important bill. And 2,000 AFSCME members who will be in Washington, DC for our Leadership Conference will be turning out in full force for a rally on Capitol Hill to make it clear that giving workers a free choice should be is a priority.
You can listen to AFSCME’s radio ad here or catch it on Air America Radio. You can also sign our online petition telling Senators to support this important legislation for workers’ rights.
Working families are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. This is your chance to do something about it.
Television ad thanking Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS). See all the ads.
A promise is a promise.
Ten freshman members of Congress did what they said they would do: They voted to help America’s working families when they voted to raise the minimum wage, increase funding for veteran’s healthcare and strengthen congressional ethics rules.
Now AFSCME is saying thanks with a TV campaign praising the legislators for making good on their word and supporting America’s workers. As Pres. McEntee said: “If you stand with America’s working families, this union will stand with you.”
When it comes to public service, law enforcement officers serve on the frontlines – sacrificing their very lives to keep communities safe for the rest of us. And when it comes to law enforcement, AFSCME stands on the frontlines of the fight for better pay and benefits, safer work environments and the highest standards of professionalism.
On the heels of National Police Week – held annually May 11 through 15 – the union renewed its call for public safety officer legislation. This would provide health care benefits for the families of those killed in the line of duty, secure collective bargaining rights for public safety officers (including those working in corrections) and enable more officers to rely on the promise of a secure retirement by receiving Social Security benefits.
AFSCME Connecticut Council 15 Exec. Dir. Jim Howell, who heads the union’s law enforcement initiative, says it best: “Public safety officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our nation and keep it strong. We deserve basic workplace protections.”
History was made this week in Maryland, where Governor Martin O’Malley became the first governor in the United States to sign living-wage legislation. The new law requires state contractors to pay at least $8.50 an hour to workers in most of Maryland, while contractors in the more expensive Baltimore-Washington area must pay $11.30 an hour.
President McEntee notes in his most recent blog on the Huffington Post that “Maryland’s new law is an important victory not just for underpaid workers in that state, but for workers across the country.” He also highlights recent developments in the battle custodians are waging for fair pay in the University of California system (AFSCME Local 3299).
This week, the custodians received some great support from students at UC-Berkeley who took over the business school. These young people are doing their part to support the cause of working people, not just on their campus, but throughout the country.
Unions are the best option for workers to get ahead economically. The bipartisan group of U.S. senators co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) understands this and so do working families across the nation. Does your senator support our freedom to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions? See for yourself.
The EFCA was already passed by a vote of 241-185 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now it’s time for the Senate to do its job. You can do your part by sending this letter to your representatives and urge them to vote for this critical piece of legislation.
Sign the petition for quality, affordable health care we can all count on.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Legislation category.
AFSCME’s 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME is the voice of the dedicated workers who take care of America, and is a leading advocate for all working families.
