Saul Schniderman, President of AFSCME Local 2910, speaks with Rep. Carolyn Maloney at a press conference in support of H.R. 626.

The House passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 626) by a vote of 258 to 154 on June 4. Saul Schniderman, President of the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910, joined the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), for a press conference and spoke in support of the bill.

A potentially harmful amendment submitted by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) was also defeated. The amendment would have required that parental leave be made available only to those who have exhausted their sick and vacation leave, and that the paid leave is treated as an advance on additional sick/vacation leave rather than additional days of paid leave. This would have eliminated the additional benefit of paid parental leave proposed by the bill.

The Senate version of the legislation, S.354, was reintroduced in the Senate on January 30 by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA).

All too often we hear about Americans being killed and injured at the workplace. Nearly 5,680 workers on average die on the job each year. In the last 30 years, 500 AFSCME members have been killed on the job.

Every worker who is killed or injured under these circumstances serves as a constant reminder of why the men and women of AFSCME continue to fight for increased security and the best workplace safety resources.

April 28, Workers Memorial Day, is set aside to pay tribute to the men and women who have been killed or injured at work. This is why today Labor Secretary Hilda Solis joined union leaders to break ground for a new national workers memorial at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md. The date coincides with the anniversary of the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency in charge of issuing and enforcing standards for workplace safety and health.

Since OSHA’s inception, in 1970, the number of workplace fatalities has fallen. But we have more work to do. Today, only 24 states along with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have federally approved OSHA laws covering public employees. That’s not enough. Every public employee across this nation deserves OSHA protections.

That’s why AFSCME is playing a leading role in the battle for the job safety rights that protect workers from asbestos, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and other hazards. Regularly, we also conduct health and safety training so our members can identify and correct workplace hazards.

The fight for workers’ rights goes hand in hand with workplace security. After all, good jobs are also safe jobs.

Last week, President Obama ordered new guidelines for contracting in federal agencies. In a memorandum sent to the heads of all executive departments and agencies, he ordered a government-wide review of federal contracting procedures to be completed by July 1 with new guidelines to be in place by September 30.

The president declared, “We will stop outsourcing services that should be performed by the government,” noting that annual spending on private contracts had doubled to more than $500 billion during the Bush administration.

The new guidelines will set criteria for contracting out public services, limit allowable circumstances for no-bid contracts, and assess agencies’ ability to properly manage contracts given the shrinking federal workforce tasked with contracting oversight. Read more on the White House blog.

Some contractors who design and build the nation’s highways wrongly charged taxpayers $73 million for ballooning executive compensation, lavish perks and other unallowable expenses, according to an article by Robert O’Harrow Jr. in last Saturday’s Washington Post.

One firm alone charged $950,000 in unallowable costs, included a political contribution, spa resort bills and alcohol. The auditors estimate that in 2003, executives at design and engineering firms with highway contracts overpaid themselves by as much as $73 million.

Contractors also charged federal and state governments for sporting events, luxury cars, and golf shirts, according to a report by the inspector general of the Department of Transportation.

The Post reports that contracting out failed on numerous levels, with design and engineering contractors being “generally hired without competitive bids” and those contractors sometimes hiring “accountants that were not qualified to perform the reviews required by state and federal regulations. In many cases, they ‘hired firms with whom they had existing relationships.’”

With the nation’s economy in tatters, we cannot afford the fraud and abuse that this report indicates is rampant in contracting out essential government services.

After decades of government experiments with contracting out, we now know that the private delivery of our vital public services does not work. Contracting out often results in higher costs, poorer service, increased opportunities for corruption and diminished government flexibility, control and accountability. Contractors who design and build our nation’s highways have illustrated why our vital public services shouldn’t be privatized.

“State lawmakers can expect some relief from the federal stimulus package — but it is far from a cure-all.” That is the conclusion reached in an extensive article by Ashley Powers and Richard Fausset in the Los Angeles Times Sunday.

The budget-cutting plans that have emerged from state capitols so far have a potential effect on almost everyone. Parks will close. Environmental programs will be scaled back. Bus and ferry routes will shut down, possibly sending more drivers onto clogged streets and highways. Schools may go without school nurses, and classes may become more crowded. Sick people who rely on state health programs may instead get sicker.

The vital public services at risk include health care and unemployment programs that give families some needed security during difficult economic times, law enforcement and education that provide our communities hope and stability. At a time when families most need the services and programs that state governments provide, states are least able to meet their responsibilities.

The article illustrates how hard those cuts can hit.

Nevada resident Margaret Frye-Jackman, 71, was diagnosed in August with ovarian cancer. She had two rounds of chemotherapy at University Medical Center, the only public hospital in the Las Vegas area. Soon after, she and her daughter heard the news on TV: The hospital’s outpatient oncology services were closing because of state Medicaid cuts. Treatment for Frye-Jackman and hundreds of other cancer patients was eliminated.

While some may find a way to pay for expensive treatments, others may not be so lucky when their states cut health services.

As AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee said in December, “We can’t recover from this mess and put people back to work if we are gutting the public services that are vital to our communities.”

Congress needs to pass the economic recovery plan quickly to create as many jobs as possible and reinvest in the long term progress of our communities. And assistance to state and local governments must be a cornerstone of that effort.

President Obama’s Jobs and Economic Recovery bill is under attack. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has introduced amendments to the bill that slash state and local public services and reduce funding for Medicaid. Even if you’ve already taken action in the past few days, we need your help — again. These amendments will be voted on TODAY.

Please call your senators right now by using our click-to-call tool. Tell them to vote “YES” on the Obama jobs and economic recovery bill and “NO” on amendments that slash funding.

Rush Limbaugh and the right wing are trying to sink the economic recovery bill. They want President Obama to fail — and they don’t care if they take the entire country down doing it. You can stop them. Call your senators right now.

If you get a busy signal or no answer when you call the Capitol, please keep trying until you get through. And please let us know how you made out by reporting your calls.

A special update from AFSCME Legislation Department director Chuck Loveless on the Obama “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” legislation that is now in the Senate.

I have been in this business for more than 25 years, and never has there been a more urgent situation for public service jobs—and the entire economy.

President Obama’s economic recovery plan — legislation that helps Main Street — is in trouble.

That’s why we’re asking everyone — that means you — to make a call right now to your Senators. We have set up a special system so all you need to do is click on this link and enter your cell phone number to make your call. Tell them to vote YES for President Obama’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.”

I’ve heard from AFSCME members across the country who are fighting furloughs, layoffs, and other cutbacks while at the same time dealing with a crushing demand for services. Meanwhile, Wall Street executives have given themselves record bonuses. That’s an outrage.

The Obama legislation will create jobs and jumpstart the economy. It will also save public service jobs by providing billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments for Medicaid, education, law enforcement, transportation, unemployment insurance operations and other vital public services.

Republicans and Democrats alike should support Obama’s bill. Yet not one Republican voted for it when it passed in the House last week. Now there is an organized conservative campaign to stop it in the Senate. Rush Limbaugh has said outright that he hopes Obama “fails.”

As you read this, Senators are deciding how they are going to vote. Your Senators need to hear from you now. Please click here right now to call your Senators.

As AFSCME’s Legislation Director, I talk with members of Congress every day. I can tell you for a fact that your calls make a difference.

In his inauguration speech last week President Barack Obama said, “starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

AFSCME could not agree more. That’s why we launched our Make America Happen petition two weeks ago and why are mobilizing our members to support the Obama economic recovery plan.

This week, the House is expected to vote on this plan, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The full Senate vote is expected in the next couple of weeks.

The act, crafted by President Obama and Congressional leaders, focuses on addressing immediate economic needs, creating jobs and investing in the infrastructure America relies on for a strong recovery. It will also invest in America’s families and our workforce by ensuring that states can fund the services they depend on, including health care, public safety and education.

We are calling on AFSCME members to sign our petition today. Please join this campaign.

We need to turn the page on the failed economic policies of the past and pass the Obama economic recovery plan — and reject any effort to cut state aid in the package.

Together we can make America happen — again.

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was originally posted on The Huffington Post.

Not since the darkest days of the Great Depression has an American President taken office with so many challenges awaiting him. But here’s the good news: America has overcome similar challenges before. And we can do it again.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office, he promised the nation bold and dynamic leadership and proved that government can be a partner with the American people to see us through dark times. Through robust public investment, FDR created jobs, provided relief and guaranteed a more secure retirement for working men and women. Today, the challenges awaiting President-elect Obama are different, but the solutions are similar: we need to reinvest in the long term stability and prosperity of our communities.

This week, AFSCME launched a new campaign, “Make America Happen,” to support President-elect Obama’s efforts to revitalize our economy, provide health care for all and strengthen the middle class. We’ve created a new video as part of our campaign, highlighting the lessons to be learned from FDR’s response to the Great Depression. You can see the video and sign up for the campaign to “Make America Happen” at: www.MakeAmericaHappen.com.

President-elect Barack Obama’s call for bold action and civic engagement in response to our present crisis echoes FDR’s inspiring call to pull the nation out of the Great Depression and forge the New Deal. The video shows how our nation triumphed over economic crisis once before and can do so again by reinvesting in public service, providing health care for all Americans and growing the middle class.

In the weeks and months ahead, the “Make America Happen” campaign will build the grassroots support needed to overcome resistance and enact the kind of bold programs that are needed to address the national crisis we face today. With Barack Obama in the White House and a new Congress in place, working families have never had more public support nor had such a historic chance to affect a major shift in American politics. It’s up to each of us right now to make the most of this critical time.

You can be a part of this historic effort. Sign our petition to advance three legislative priorities of the Make America Happen” campaign:

• Jumpstart the Economy: America needs a comprehensive economic recovery package that provides aid to ailing state and local governments and maintains vital public services and the jobs of the dedicated employees who provide them.
• Make Health Care Affordable: Our broken health care system must be reformed and the skyrocketing costs of coverage must be controlled. Guaranteed quality, affordable health care everyone can count on is key to economic recovery.
• Rebuild the Middle Class: Workers should be free to join unions and bargain for better wages and benefits. Unions are a ticket to the middle class and they raise the standard of living for all. We can accomplish this by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

FDR’s leadership inspired a generation and helped America’s economy get back on track. Barack Obama offers bold leadership and new solutions to address the crises we currently face. Now, we need to be involved. Already, prominent Republicans in Congress have signaled strong opposition to much of the President-elect’s agenda, including his call to give states and local governments the support they need to continue providing the services that the public needs during a difficult recession. We cannot allow them to scuttle critically important proposals that will turn our economy around and build a better future for our country.

Take a look at AFSCME’s video and sign the petition urging quick action on an agenda to create jobs and protect vital services, provide health care for all and strengthen America’s middle class. Working together we can “Make America Happen.” Again.

On the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93, we remember the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. Some 600 union members were lost, including nine AFSCME members: Yvette Anderson, Florence Cohen, Harry Goody, Marian Hrycak, Dorothy Temple, Chet Louie, Rev. Mychal Judge, Ricardo Quinn and Carlos Lillo.