Yesterday, R. Bruce Josten, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official, penned an op-ed in the Onion the Hill newspaper, ostensibly attempting to salvage what's left of the U.S. Chamber's fading credibility on health care reform.

To read Josten's article first requires an athletic suspension of disbelief. That's because his thesis is built around this bold, history-revising statement:

For nearly two years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been working with members of Congress on a bipartisan basis to develop reform legislation that will lower the skyrocketing cost of care, improve quality and expand access to more Americans.

Josten continues in his defense of the Chamber's actions, with what sounds to us like, I know it seems like we're against meaningful reform, and that we're profiting off the status quo, but we're not! You can pass reforms, so long as it's on our own terms.

Lucky for us, we have a little time machine called the INTERNET.

To read Josten's take on it, the U.S. Chamber sounds like a well-meaning peace broker for health reform. Kind of like Jimmy Carter and the Camp David Accords. But to believe that would be to ignore the Chamber's own public statements of intent in the media this past summer. Reports the Associated Press:

"A chamber vice president, Randy Johnson, told The Associated Press that business groups have been largely restrained to date about voicing opposition, but it might be time for that to change. ... "I would say it's time to unload the powder and fill the musket," Johnson said. [Associated Press, 6/11/2009]

Mr. Josten, at what point in a good-faith negotiation do you start talking about gun powder and muskets? Does the gun part happen before or after you pledge to find common ground with your opponents?

The U.S. Chamber's "musket and gun powder" campaign involved the works - a never-before-seen, multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed entirely at killing reform. The U.S. Chamber spent, according the National Journal, somewhere between $70 to $100 million on advertising alone. They also acted as a kind of legal money-launderer for health insurers, who were too radioactive to fund their own attack ads. Insurers funneled between $10 to $20 million dollars for television ads through the Chamber. And in the fall, the U.S. Chamber was caught fishing around for an economist who'd accept $50,000 to say that health reform was bad for the economy. No word on what ever happened to that inquiry.

And finally, let's not forget the U.S. Chamber's long, illustrious history in opposing reforms of any kind, in favor of that pesky-but-profitable status quo.

• The U.S. Chamber opposed the creation of Social Security in 1935, then sought to delay it from going into effect as Americans were in the midst of the Great Depression.
• The U.S. Chamber opposed now-essential health and safety regulations for American workplaces.
• The U.S. Chamber opposed equal pay laws for American women.
• The U.S. Chamber opposed the establishment of a fair, minimum wage for American workers.
• The U.S. Chamber defended outsourcing jobs to foreign lands, on the backs of American workers and our nation's economy
• The U.S. Chamber opposed President Harry Truman's attempt to provide health insurance to all Americans in 1947.

After railing against special interest groups (are we in the twilight zone here?) and backroom deals (whereas the U.S. Chamber is a beacon of transparency and trust) Josten concludes with this doozy:

It's time for everyone to come back to the table and work on a healthcare reform package that's good for families, good for businesses and good for America.

No word yet on whether Josten will be bringing the Chamber's musket to that meeting.

The "Coke side of life" is not paradise for thousands of workers on their 48th day of strike without pay at Coca-Cola Amalgamated Beverages Industries (ABI) in South Africa. SEIU is lending its support to the striking Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) members.

"We stand together with our brothers and sisters of the Fawu in South Africa who, for five weeks, have been on strike protesting Coca-Cola ABI's ongoing practice of eroding workers' conditions and benefits through labor-broking and the use of short-term contracts," said Stern and Burger in a statement yesterday.

Coca-Cola is the most popular and biggest-selling soft drink in history, as well as the best-known product in the world. Does it also hope to one day develop the biggest, most well-known reputation for mistreating its workers? Stern and Burger, along with SEIU, are calling on Coca-Cola ABI to pay the 9.5% wage increase demanded by its workers and stop their efforts to undermine the workers' conditions. "Workers in Fawu have already called for a consumer boycott of Coca-Cola products by Cosatu," they said." If Coca-Cola ABI continues to refuse to treat their workers fairly and to deny a decent wage, we will seek support for this campaign from our members and other unions in the US and Canada."

A delegation of SEIU leaders, led by President Andy Stern and actor Danny Glover, met with South African President Jacob Zuma last week to discuss the situation facing workers and unions in the country. SEIU International, as well as many SEIU locals in CA, NY and other states stopped stocking Coca-Cola beverages in their offices or union halls several years ago, after possible human rights abuses leveled at union workers in Coke-owned or controlled bottling plants in Colombia and numerous other countries came to light.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the current employment situation report on Friday, and for the first time in a long time, it included positive news--the unemployment number decreased from 10 percent to 9.7 percent.

Although the small decrease in the number of unemployed can only be seen as good news, a worrisome statistic lies underneath: the loss of 41,000 jobs of teachers, social workers, cops and other state and local employees. SEIU's Anna Burger comments on the hidden impact of the millions of jobs lost during this recession:

"While any layoff is one too many, the ripple effects for so many out-of-work public employees will be especially great. The social worker or police officer who loses his job affects not only his immediate family and pocketbook, but the families and pocketbooks of the communities they care for. At a time when communities are already being hard-hit by the recession, we simply can't afford the losses of more state and local workers who provide needed public safety and social services.

"To stop the bleeding, we need Congress to provide immediate relief to state and local governments--without which, we could lose as many as 900,000 jobs-- and Medicaid funding. As the crisis continues, the outlook for long-term unemployment is getting worse. According to today's numbers, more than 41 percent of those who have lost their jobs have been out of work for more than 6 months - more than 6 million Americans. Congress must act now to extend unemployment and COBRA insurance through the end of the year."

Read Burger's entire statement here. More on the jobs report at BLS.gov.

~ Madison, WI ~ Photo © Ben Popper

Home care workers and consumers gathered at The Brink Lounge to share stories and strengthen their message before heading to the State of Wisconsin: Employment Relations Commission to file a petition to hold an election to form a union.

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Reposted from Labor's Lens, a blog on photography and the labor movement by SEIU Photo Librarian David Sachs.

This week the New York Times broke a shocking story about collusion between ICE and a Mississippi contractor caught trafficking Indian guestworkers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New evidence alleges that high level executives at Signal International worked closely with ICE to quash organizing efforts by the workers, who complained of dismal working conditions and abusive treatment. Instead of investigating labor violations, ICE worked with Signal to arrange for private deportations of these workers.

The story goes back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when defense contractor Signal International trafficked over 500 Indian guestworkers to labor camps in Mississippi and Texas. As was widely reported in the summer of 2008, Signal recruited the workers through criminal fraud and coercion.

Workers had to pay $20,000 each for false promises--including the promise of permanent jobs and a chance to bring their families to the U.S. Once they arrived to the U.S., however, these workers were forced to work long hours in slave-like conditions.

But when the workers started to organize to defend their basic civil rights, Signal retaliated with armed guards. And--as the new evidence alleges--they tried to wipe their hands clean of the complaints by working with ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to put the workers through a private deportation.

While we've seen this kind of blatant abuse of temporary immigrant workers by other abusive employers, ICE's participation in the case is chilling. Simply put: something is deeply wrong when our government puts the needs of dishonest businesses ahead of the rights of workers.

That's why SEIU is joining the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and other allies to urge Congress to conduct hearings to find out if ICE's interference in labor disputes is isolated to this shocking incident--or more widespread.

At the same time, SEIU will continue to pressure the Department of Homeland Security to hold accountable the employers who abuse our immigration system. The bottom line is that any immigration enforcement system should be part of--not in conflict with--a broader strategy to lift wages and standards for all workers. DHS should coordinate with the DOL to enforce labor standards and reduce and deter some of the most egregious employment practices--like those we have seen with Signal.

Read more about the case of ICE colluding with Signal to squelch labor rights in the New York Times and in the Huffington Post.

A home care agency in Tacoma, WA is forcing workers to attend union-busting meetings. During the mandatory meetings billed by the Korean Women's Association (KWA) as "workers' compensation trainings," new executive director Peter Ansara tells the workers that caregiving is "just a numbers issue" and expresses how "displeased" he is that the union isn't standing up for them.

Despite getting the same vendor rate as all WA state home care agencies, KWA is trying to reduce wages and benefits for home care workers who made around $10/hour. On Monday, mandatory union-busting sessions like the one you see here began under the guise of "worker training."

The footage of the meeting comes to a rather abrupt halt when a KWA staffer realizes what's going on, and forces the SEIU Healthcare 775NW member filming to turn off the camera. Watch:

Each year, KWA's In-Home Care Program provides 1.2 million hours of state and federally funded care to seniors, so they can continue to live at home with dignity and don't have to resort to institutional care (nursing homes or other residential institutions). Unfortunately, the once model labor-management relationship SEIU Healthcare 775NW had with non-profit KWA has turned highly contentious over the last three months, under the new leadership of Ansara.

"It takes a unique set of skills, knowledge, and abilities to administer programs to poor and vulnerable people," said the KWA director in a Tacoma Weekly article yesterday.

Apparently that 'skill set' includes union-busting?

In the 3+ weeks since a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti, Americans have reached deep to donate millions and millions of their hard-earned money to help with relief efforts.

As lightning-fast and generous as Americans proved themselves to be during the short-term emergency phase, Haiti needs us to be there for the long haul. The island is still desperately in need of funds, as they begin to pick up the pieces and begin the reconstruction phase of recovery.

As Haiti's dire needs persist in the months to come, they will rely primarily on donations from us to fuel their rebuilding. We can't let them down.

WILL YOU GIVE TO HAITI?

• Donate to Partners in Health (PIH), which you can do at pih.org.
• Donate to Project MediShare at projectmedishare.org
• Donate to the International Medical Corps at imcworldwide.org

Read more about SEIU's deployed volunteers and relief efforts here.

Ken Lewis may need to clear a spot on his retirement schedule for a court date.

The New York Attorney General's office announced today that they're charging Bank of America and its former CEO Ken Lewis with fraud. The charges stem from BofA's disastrous merger with Merrill Lynch and their alleged failure to disclose important information about the deal to shareholders or the federal government.

This investigation drives right to the heart of the financial crisis and taxpayers deserve to have all the facts. Tell Bank of America to come clean with all the information surrounding the Merrill Lynch deal: http://action.seiu.org/bofacharges

If proven true, these fraud charges could expose the shady nature of the deals made behind closed doors that helped fuel our economic collapse. And they'll send a powerful message to Wall Street's CEOs: You can't expect to crash our economy, take our money, and walk away scot-free.

Stand up for transparency in the big banks - call on Bank of America to come clean with all the information surrounding these charges: http://action.seiu.org/bofacharges

Actions have consequences. The truth matters. Let Bank of America know that taxpayers will continue to seek the truth, and we will hold them accountable for their actions.

Yesterday, SEIU visited with attendees of a day-long free clinic in Hartford, Connecticut. The free clinic attracted thousands of people seeking medical treatment, dentist check-ups, life-saving medicine and H1N1 shots. Below are a few of their stories:

In the past year, while members of Congress have debated and re-debated, drafted and re-drafted (and don't forget, threatened to filibuster) health insurance reform,America's health care crisis has only worsened. Health care spending rose to account for 17.3% of the entire U.S. economy in 2009. The LA Times reports:

The almost $2.5 trillion spent in 2009 was $134 billion more than the previous year, when healthcare consumed 16.2% of the gross domestic product, according to an annual report by independent actuaries at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, scheduled for release Thursday.

These frightening numbers only tell part of the story. To understand the whole story, you've got to meet the ordinary, working Americans who've been hit hard by a double-whammy: a broken health care system and the tanking U.S. economy. From the LA Times:

CMS officials noted that healthcare spending has been increasing even as the number of Americans without health insurance is growing, another sign of problems with the system.

"With higher unemployment, people lose their jobs [and] many of them lose their healthcare coverage in the process. And under current law, they don't have much to fall back on," said Richard S. Foster, chief actuary.

Joe Kitchens, an attendee of yesterday's free clinic in Hartford, described how the poor job market (read: heavier reliance on part-time employment) impacts workers' access to affordable health insurance.

If you thought the long winter of Wall Street bonuses was over, think again. Americans will likely weather much more than the six weeks of additional bleakness Punxsutawney Phil predicted, as failed Wall Street firm AIG announced plans to pay out $100 million in bonuses yesterday.

Meanwhile, the top six banks are on track to pay out $140.5 billion in bonuses to their 'top bankers' for 2009. All this while Americans across the country are still losing their homes, and one out of every ten workers is unemployed.

This ludicrous amount of bonus money equates to roughly $68 million an hour, which if it wasn't being used to pad the overstuffed pockets of bankster CEOs could...

• eliminate nearly every state budget gap
• extend unemployment benefits for every American out of work, and
• purchase health insurance for 29 million Americans.

MSN Money takes banker bonuses head on today, advocating for the same tough new rules to rein in bank greed that SEIU and thousands of Americans continue to call for. "Banks have unlimited money to reward themselves, but they have no interest in lifting up the country that helped them," said SEIU's Stephen Lerner in the piece.

He's right. AIG, for example, has decided to rewarding themselves with lavish bonuses after helping sink our financial system into crisis--all while still owing the government $120.7 billion of its bailout! Read the full article--and then take action to rein in Wall Street pay.

Today, SEIU visited with people attending a free clinic in Hartford, Connecticut. The clinic is put on by the National Association of Free Clinics, and provides free medical services to thousands of people in need of care. According to WTNH.com, the clinic expected more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, dentists and other volunteers to be on staff today to care for patients. The people attending this clinic are on the front lines of our nation's health care crisis, and their personal stories illustrate just why Congress needs to just get it done and pass comprehensive reform.

Below is a video of Deborah Darby, a Connecticut resident living with hypothyroidism, who waited in line today to see a doctor at the free clinic. We'll post more video tomorrow.

Millions of Americans--working people like Deborah in Hartford--are suffering each day while Congress deliberates on what to do next. Call Congress and demand action on passing comprehensive reform.

"Representative John Kline today underscored how out of touch he is with the needs of working families in his Minnesota district and across the country. We certainly expected his opening statement to be long on anti-worker rhetoric, but we were shocked on how wrong he was on the facts," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

Claim: Representative Kline (R-Minn.) said current policies run counter to job creation.

FACT: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created more than 12,200 jobs in Minnesota with more than $9 million awarded to-date to his hometown of Lakeville. (Source: www.recovery.gov)

Claim: Representative Kline said that policies like the Employee Free Choice Act would harm small businesses and workers.

FACT: Corporate CEOs obviously want to hold on to a system that works for them. But no one has anything to fear from a process that is fair, neutral, and promotes compromise instead of confrontation. By allowing neutral, independent auditors to decide a deal that works for everyone if the parties fail to reach a mutual agreement, this bill ensures that everyone benefits from America's prosperity, not just CEOs. It protects workers' right to choose whether or not they want to form a union and ensures that CEOs can't intimidate workers or delay elections to deny workers' rights. And it gives workers a chance to get a fair deal, providing them with the raises they need and deserve. (Source: House Education and Labor Committee)

Claim: Representative Kline said that efforts to create green jobs only benefited labor unions. He has even introduced HR 2026, designed to siphon funds away from joint labor-management training programs to ones created solely by industry.

FACT: Under the Independent Energy and Security Act, labor management partnerships are eligible to receive funding for job training programs. This law ensures that workers are an equal partner and are eligible for green job training funds. Creating new green jobs, and finding way to do existing jobs like building cleaning in a new green way, will drive the development of new, green jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced. Everyone benefits from career paths to good paying jobs and from a green economy, not just businesses and not just labor unions. (Source: House Education and Labor Committee; www.bluegreenalliance.org)

REP. JOHN KLINE -- BAD FOR WORKING FAMILIES

Kline Voted Against Raising the Minimum Wage in 2007. [Vote 18, 1/10/07]

• Kline did not support the minimum wage because it would "halt the momentum of recent economic growth dead in its tracks." In a 2007 speech on the House floor, Kline said that if small businesses do not receive government support, "the cruel irony of any minimum wage increase will be a loss of jobs. Independent studies confirm that the proposal by House Democrats to raise the minimum wage without including considerations for those who pay minimum wage and their workers would halt the momentum of recent economic growth dead in its tracks. According to a Federal Reserve economist, as many as 1 million workers in the restaurant industry alone could lose their jobs under the current proposal." [Minimum Wage Speech, 1/10/07]
• In 2007, Kline said that increasing the minimum wage would be harmful to small business. Kline said, "small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. It is absolutely essential that Congress keeps these creators of jobs in mind when we consider this legislation. We must make sure a minimum wage increase does not have harmful effects on businesses and their ability to foster job growth and provide benefits for working families. [Minimum Wage Speech, 1/10/07]

Kline Voted Against the Employee Free Choice Act in 2007.

• According to the Center for American Progress, the Employee Free Choice Act "holds the promise of restoring workplace democracy for workers attempting to organize, boosting unionization rates, and improving the economic standing and workplace conditions for millions of American workers." [Vote 118, 3/1/07; Center for American Progress, "Issue Brief: Unions Are Good for the Economy and Democracy," 12/9/08]

Kline Voted At Least Six Times Against Expanding Children's Health Care.

• Among Kline's six votes against expanding children's health care, he voted twice to uphold President Bush's veto of the S-CHIP expansion and opposed the last House vote just weeks ago. [Vote 50, 2/4/09; Vote 16, 1/14/09; Vote 22, 1/23/08; Vote 1009, 10/25/07; Vote 982, 10/18/07; Vote 787, 8/1/07]

Kline Voted Against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in Both 2007 and 2009.

• During the 2009 debate on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Kline argued, "I rise today to oppose this seriously flawed legislation before us. Not only would it amount to a radical change to our civil rights laws, it has come to us without the benefit of the serious consideration and debate due such a significant policy shift... this bill would set into motion unintended consequences that its supporters simply are not willing to acknowledge, including radically increasing the opportunity for frivolous and abusive litigation and exposing employers to open-ended lawsuits indefinitely." [Vote 9, 1/9/09; Vote 768, 7/31/07; Congressional Record, 1/9/09]

Kline Voted 3 Times Against Protecting Overtime Pay For Millions Of Workers.

• Kline voted against blocking President Bush's effort to jeopardize overtime pay eligibility for 8 million American workers. [House Vote 351, 7/10/03, House Vote 531, 10/2/03; House Vote 434, 9/9/04; AFL-CIO Scorecard]