Nebraskans Greet Sen. Johanns...And His Staff Calls the Cops.
Jul 03, 2009 - One day before we celebrate the birth of our nation, Nebraskans gathered, at a scheduled healthcare roundtable, to call on Senator Johanns to support an American solution to our healthcare crisis. Read more...

Breaking: DHS defers deportation of Walter Lara for one year
Jul 02, 2009 - Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation. "Today, words cannot express my gratitude to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and the thousands of grassroots activists whose unified efforts have given me a second chance to live out my American Dream," said Walter. Read more...

End the war on home care
Jul 02, 2009 - A U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction last week ordering the state of California to halt pay cuts for the state's 400,000 home care workers. Now that a court has ruled against the Governor and his cuts, we need to ask him to reverse course on these short-sighted cuts. Read more...

Workers to Out-of-State Corporate Lobbyists: Stop Lying about My Job
Jul 02, 2009 - In response to new ads from out-of-state corporate lobbyists spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act, Nebraska Change that Works issued this statement from North Platte cafeteria worker Trish Meuhlenkamp. Read more...

Governor Rell's veto stamps out dreams of working people
Jul 02, 2009 - The unions in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC), District 1199 launched their latest TV ad this week taking aim at Governor Jodi Rell for protecting the wealthy in a time of crisis. Read more...

Senate HELP Committee Releases Complete Health Care Bill
Jul 02, 2009 - For months, we've been standing firm on our call for Congress to deliver a health care bill that does a few, simple things. It has to lower health care costs for patients, businesses, and governments. It has to improve the quality of care for patients. And it has to make sure that every American, regardless of who they are or how much money that make, has access to affordable care. Today, we have that bill. Read more...

For shame, Citigroup!
Jul 02, 2009 - The Financial Times reported yesterday that Citigroup is raising credit card interest rates on 15 million customers. Read more...

Mandatory overtime a thing of the past for PA direct care workers
Jul 01, 2009 - Beginning today -- July 1st, 2009 -- mandatory overtime is a thing of the past for any healthcare worker in Pennsylvania providing direct patient care. This victory is the culmination of a 7-year struggle by nurses and other healthcare workers who repeatedly marched, called, emailed and lobbied their legislators to support this important patient safety legislation. Read more...

At Victory Rally, Al Franken Shouts Out to Labor, Union Health Insurance
Jul 01, 2009 - At his victory rally today in Minneapolis, Senator-Elect (finally!) Al Franken spoke to an enthusiastic crowd about the race and what he's expecting in Washington. According to The Hill, Franken gave two important shout-outs in his speech: one to his "brothers and sisters in labor," and the other to his union's health insurance plan. Read more...

Time's up: SEIU members and Californians crank up the heat on Schwarzenegger
Jul 01, 2009 - Governor Schwarzenegger has indicated that his idea of "shared sacrifice" is to force the entire budget burden on working families and those who can least afford it. He has refused to support a budget that contains his own previous proposals for modest oil extraction fees and insurance fees that would fund critical public safety services. SEIU Local 1000 is liveblogging from their rally at the Capitol in Sacramento. Read more...

Stop the deportation of DREAM student Walter Lara
Jul 01, 2009 - Walter Lara is an honor student who has lived in the U.S. since his parents brought him here from Argentina when he was just 3 years old. Almost 20 years later, Walter is set to be deported this July 4th weekend. Please call Sec. Napolitano and ask her to review Walter's case and defer action on his deportation. Read more...

HAARM: Takin' It To The Streets
Jul 01, 2009 - This weekend, the same groups that organized anti-Obama "tea parties" around the country are putting together another round of July 4th tea parties. This time, killing health care reform is at the top of their agenda. Naturally, HAARM wanted to get in on the fun. Check out the video of HAARM's anti-health care reform protest: www.haarm.org Read more...

Bank of America's Employees: The Other Side of the Financial Crisis
Jul 01, 2009 - According to the Associated Press, Bank of America "encouraged" its employees to "burden consumers with debt and enroll them in high-fee programs." Fed up with these unsavory practices, Bank of America workers are speaking out. Sign our petition in support of protections for bank employees. We'll deliver your petition directly to Members of Congress working on financial reform. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Win with Court-Approved Sale
Jun 30, 2009 - Nearly 4,000 jobs were saved with court approval of the sale of Chicago-based Hartmarx Corporation to the British firm Emerisque Brands late last week. Emerisque announced plans before the deal to keep many of Hartmarx's Workers United-represented workers. Read more...

Sharing Responsibility, Ditching the Chamber
Jun 30, 2009 - The Chamber of Commerce's veneer of unity on health care is beginning to fade. In the latest blow to the Chamber's "Just Say No!" strategy on health care reform, Wal-Mart joined with SEIU and the Center for American Progress today in announcing support for an employer mandate on health coverage. Read more...

Working families need Al Franken in the U.S. Senate
Jun 30, 2009 - The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that Al Franken won the state's U.S. Senate election last November against incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). Read more...

Bank of America Workers Speak Out About Anti-Consumer Practices
Jun 30, 2009 - Today Bank of America workers are speaking out about BofA's anti-consumer sales practices and failed banking model. In articles from the LA Times and Associated Press today, current and former Bank of America employees talk about how Bank of America "encouraged" its employees to "burden consumers with debt and enroll them in high-fee programs." BofA employees also allege the bank targets low-income working people and Latinos who can't afford and don't need the products that bury them in debt. Read more...

Wisconsin state budget gives home care workers breakthroughs to improve care
Jun 30, 2009 - Home care aides in Wisconsin are celebrating a new state budget signed yesterday by Gov. Jim Doyle that includes breakthrough improvements for home care workers and their clients. The improvements give approximately 5,000 home care workers in Wisconsin the freedom to unite with SEIU. Read more...

Rep. Keith Ellison, Consumer groups to join bank workers speaking out against predatory sales practices, failed banking model
Jun 30, 2009 - Today, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) will join Bank of America workers to speak out against predatory sales practices and a failed banking model and call for reforms that protect frontline bank workers and consumers. Read more...

House takes historic Leap toward clean energy economy; Obama touts new (sexier) light bulb standards
Jun 29, 2009 - On Friday, Congress took an extraordinary step forward on efforts to curb global warming. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the first-ever bill designed to advance a clean energy economy that creates green jobs, boosts national security and protects our planet. Read more...

You Ask, The President Answers
Jun 29, 2009 - President Obama is hosting an online discussion this Wednesday, at 1:15 p.m. EDT, on health care reform. He's soliciting questions from people via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Get involved in the discussion by submitting your own question. Read more...

Five Hundred LA City Employees Vote to Join SEIU
Jun 29, 2009 - As the City of Los Angeles faces an unprecedented budget crisis, nearly 500 city engineers have just voted to unite in SEIU 721 to have a stronger voice at work and unite with the 22,000 other City employees in the Coalition of LA City Unions, of which SEIU 721 is a member. Read more...

Canadian court rescinds Weyburn Wal-Mart workers' union certification
Jun 29, 2009 - Workers at Weyburn first voted for union representation over four years ago, and Wal-Mart stalled and threw up every road block they could to keep the workers from getting a fair deal. And now, a Saskatchewan judge has essentially ruled that because labor laws have changed since the Weyburn Wal-Mart workers legally won union representation, these workers are no longer represented by a union. Read more...

Top Five Worst U.S. Chamber Policies for Small Businesses
Jun 29, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to defend the interests of small businesses, but even a quick examination of their legislative record shows them opposing bill after bill that may help small businesses--and consistently siding with big corporations. Read more...

Farmers and Ranchers for Employee Free Choice
Jun 28, 2009 - A new rural coalition to support the Employee Free Choice Act launched this week: Farmers and Ranchers for Employee Free Choice. Read more...

DREAM Act Rally and Lobby Day
Jun 26, 2009 - Students file in wearing colors mixed like an unsolved Rubik's cube--some wearing chords representing achievement and honors. Friends straighten each other's caps. The rainbow of the march is accompanied by a violin and the pomp and circumstances of cameras flashing. Read more...

Health Care Providers Rally Outside NRSC
Jun 26, 2009 - As part of the "Healthcare 09' - We Can't Wait" rally in Washington, DC, nearly 250 activists gathered today at the Republican Party's temple to Ronald Reagan - home of the National Republican Senatorial Committee - to demand quality, affordable health care for all. Read more...

Health Care '09 Rally: Photo Slideshow
Jun 25, 2009 - Joined by SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, Actress Edie Falco, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and other leaders, more than 10,000 healthcare advocates from across the country kicked off the Health Care For America Now (HCAN)'s historic lobby day with a rally in upper Senate Park. Read more...

Judge Orders State to Halt Wage Cut For California Home Care Workers
Jun 25, 2009 - A U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction Thursday afternoon ordering the state of California to halt a proposed $2 cut in wages for the state's 400,000 home care workers. The injunction has the effect of stopping pay cuts in all California counties that were planning on passing the state cut through to their home care workers. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Corporate Ad Fact Check: "Poison"
Jun 25, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce-backed corporate front group Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is out with a new video filled with falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act. Their new video, produced by GOP and corporate ad man Mike Murphy, peddles thoroughly debunked lies and misinformation about the bill. Watch our fact check. Read more...

The dust in Fresno has settled....now what?
Jun 25, 2009 - The Fresno members voted to keep SEIU UHW as their union in a record turnout for an election among home care workers. They made this choice after enduring an unprecedented two-year campaign of lies, distortions and false promises by the NUHW officials, who ran a management-style, anti-union campaign. Read more...

SEIU Member Killed in DC Metro Tragedy
Jun 25, 2009 - 32BJ member Ana Fernandez was one of the nine confirmed dead after the tragic Metro crash in Washington this week. To help make ends meet for her family of six children, Ana was on her way to her second job as a cleaner at a building downtown when the crash happened. Read more...

Healthcare Equality 2009: Lighting up the Future
Jun 25, 2009 - Last night, an impressive group of speakers and passionate activists gathered in Washington DC, in the appropriately named Freedom Plaza, to declare their commitment to advocacy and demand that Congressional reform efforts address systemic inequality in the American health care system. Punctuated throughout the evening by the rhythmic sounds of Rudy Gonzalez Y Su Lokura's Latin jazz band, the evening was a tribute to both the passion and diversity involved in the health care reform movement. Read more...

Photos: National DREAM Act Graduation Day
Jun 24, 2009 - With the U.S. Capitol's Statue of Freedom reaching to the sky behind them, more than 500 students from across the country took part in a symbolic graduation ceremony to urge Congress to pass a bill that would make it easier for them to become citizens and pursue higher education. Read more...

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members head to DC for Health Care '09 rally and lobby day
Jun 24, 2009 - Now is the time for healthcare reform, and SEIU members from 1199NW are helping to lead the way. Delegations of community leaders from over 40 states are being flown into Washington for in order to meet with key Members of Congress, and four SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members will be among them. Read more...

Liveblogging: Health Care Events on Capitol Hill
Jun 24, 2009 - We live blogged the health care events taking place today at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. People of all religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds came together to rally for health care equality across America! Read more...

Round-Up of this Week's Health Care Events
Jun 24, 2009 - You may have noticed there is a lot going on with healthcare over the next roughly 24 hours. Below is a Below is a snapshot of what's going on. Read more...

350 New Bedford Factory Workers Fight to Save Their Jobs
Jun 24, 2009 - Remember the infamous Bianco Factory raid in New Bedford, MA where hundreds of hard-working immigrants were rounded up, detained and separated from their families? Today, a horrible experience of déjà vu as workers at the same factory who make backpacks for the U.S. army face yet another tragedy, as new owner Alliant threatens to shut the factory down. Read more...

Business Professors in Business Week: Anti-Union is Anti-Business
Jun 24, 2009 - Business Week magazine goes right to the point: the hostility that Big Business has towards the Employee Free Choice Act is downright short-sighted and bad for business. Two business professors - Paul Adler of USC and Donald Palmer of UC Davis - lay out why businesses should support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis "Absolutely" supports Employee Free Choice
Jun 24, 2009 - While in LA, Solis spoke on worker-friendly measures she will be fighting to pass in her new role as the Secretary of Labor, giving her unequivocal endorsement for the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU to Citigroup: Ensure raises go to workers, not top execs
Jun 24, 2009 - According to the New York Times, Citigroup is raising salaries by as much as 50 percent for investment bankers and other top executives, to accommodate for smaller annual bonuses. Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union released a statement in reaction to the news. Read more...

SEIU Home Care Aide to discuss healthcare with President Obama on ABC's "Prescription for America"
Jun 24, 2009 - Tonight, Obama will continue his health care push with a primetime nationally televised event in the White House called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America," which will be moderated with ABC's Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer. SEIU Healthcare 775NW member & home care aide Pat DeJong has been invited to participate in the ABC News special event--make sure to watch! Read more...

Workers Denied Contracts by Their Employers: Arbitration Needed in Labor Law Reform
Jun 23, 2009 - Workers join together and unionize to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Yet a full year after voting to form a union, 52 percent of new unions still haven't been able to secure any improvements because their employers have used delay tactics to avoid signing a first contract. Read more...

Join us in D.C. for Lighting the Night Healthcare Vigil
Jun 23, 2009 - Don't forget to join us tomorrow night for a brilliant "Lighting the Night" healthcare vigil to demand healthcare equity for all. The event of nearly 2,000 healthcare advocates, Congressional, civil rights and labor leaders will take place just steps from the White House at Freedom Plaza, 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, starting at 7:00 p.m. Read more...

Groups Launch Ads in Support of House Clean Energy Bill
Jun 23, 2009 - As Congress marshals us closer to a clean energy economy that creates green jobs, boosts national security and protects our planet, SEIU and coalition groups including the Blue Green Alliance and Sierra Club launched a major advertising campaign last week, urging Congress to pass and strengthen the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Read more...

Jobs of today AND tomorrow are green jobs
Jun 23, 2009 - Between 1998 and 2007, the number of jobs in our country's emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs, according to a study by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Study results show that the renewable energy industry is creating a diverse range of well-paying jobs in every single state, across all skill levels and educational backgrounds. Read more...

Meet HAARM: Healthy Americans Against Reforming Medicine
Jun 23, 2009 - Is it just me, or do our opponents sound crazier every day? Take opponents of health care reform; they're spending millions of dollars on TV ads that call the President's plan "socialism," "rationing," and "a government takeover." It sort of makes you wonder - where do these people come up with this stuff? Meet HAARM: Health Americans Against Reforming Medicine - www.haarm.org Read more...

Seeking Alpha seeking your thoughts on what to do with Ken Lewis
Jun 22, 2009 - Financial website Seeking Alpha's instablogger Jim Van Meerton poses an open question: what to do with Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis? Read more...

Catholic Bishops and Labor Unions Announce Agreement on Respecting the Rights of Healthcare Workers
Jun 22, 2009 - The new report, "Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Healthcare and Unions," renews the Bishops' call to Catholic health care employers to support the rights of workers to choose to join a union free from intimidation or harassment. Read more...

Maine small business owner: U.S. Chamber's attacks on healthcare hurt small businesses
Jun 22, 2009 - In response to recent attacks from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Maine small business owner Lisa McSwain advocated for healthcare reform to help other small businesses struggling with growing healthcare costs. Read more...

WashPost Opinion Piece: "Lessons From The Holocaust Museum Shooting"
Jun 22, 2009 - Last week, the Washington Post published an opinion piece authored by Valarie Long, the Vice President of SEIU Local 32BJ. In the piece, Long recognizes the importance of the job that security officers perform each and every day, raises the need for improved standards on the job, and offers her condolences to the family of Officer Johns. Read more...

Study Depicts Tough Times for Food Service Workers, Offers Recommendations
Jun 22, 2009 - Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new study from Rutgers University's Center for Women and Work. The study, authored by Dr. Mary McCain, addresses the scope of the problem in general, and then offers recommendations to fix these problems. Read more...

Victory in Fresno! Home Care Workers Vote to Stay with SEIU UHW
Jun 22, 2009 - Fresno County home care workers voted to keep SEIU-UHW as their union by a vote of rejecting an attempt by a group of ousted union leaders to split the workers off into a new organization. Read more...

What was your Dream?
Jun 19, 2009 - Remember what it was like when you had a dream? For many immigrant students their dreams of pursuing higher education can't be realized because of their immigration status - even though they may have lived here most of their lives. Read more...

U.S. Chamber to the Senate: Unions are right, we're total hypocrites
Jun 18, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce just released a letter to the Senate, detailing the corporate group's hypocrisy in opposing first contract arbitration in the Employee Free Choice Act. The U.S. Chamber was apparently reeling from recent newspaper ads highlighting their two-faced approach to the issue, and wanted to explain itself to the Senate. Read more...

Documentary "The Philosopher Kings" portrays culture of janitors
Jun 18, 2009 - In the new film "The Philosopher Kings," eight extraordinary janitors throw off the cloak of invisibility to give us an extraordinary look into their lives. Read more...

Letter from the "Other" Washington: Meet SEIU Grassroots Lobbyist Susie Young
Jun 18, 2009 - Nine SEIU members and workers from key states across the country have relocated to Washington, DC this spring for a three-month long stint as a Grassroots Lobbyist (GRLs) on Capitol Hill. Meet Susie Young, one of the amazing grassroots lobbyists who has spent the last few months fighting the good fight with SEIU here in D.C. "This has been one of the best experiences of my life," says Susie of her time spent as a GRL. Read more...

CA lawmakers reject Schwarzenegger's pay cuts to state workers and reduce cuts to home care
Jun 18, 2009 - On Tuesday, lawmakers on the California Legislature's joint budget committee refused to cut state worker pay and spared that state's In-Home Support Services the major cut that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed as part of his plan to solve the state's $24.3 billion deficit. Read more...

NBC/WSJ Poll: 76% of Americans Support Public Health Insurance Option
Jun 18, 2009 - Congress can't seem to reach a consensus, but the American people have overwhelmingly made up their minds: we need a public health insurance option. A new poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal is the latest in a series of polls to show convincing support for a choice between a private or public health insurance plan among the American people. Read more...

Justice for Janitors Day: 19 Years of Fighting for Justice
Jun 17, 2009 - June 15th has been observed for 19 years in the U.S. as Justice for Janitors Day, a day when janitors and other workers who secure, clean, and maintain office buildings demonstrate for justice. Read more...

UAW Calls for an End to the Fight
Jun 17, 2009 - Read the letter from UAW President Ron Gettlefinger urging UNITE HERE's President to settle his dispute with Workers United/SEIU for the good of all workers. Read more...

Round One of U.S. Chamber's "Free Enterprise" Campaign? Opposing Consumer Protections.
Jun 17, 2009 - We learn today that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is adamantly opposed to a consumer-friendly regulatory agency. Read more...

White House Messaging on Health Care Worth Repeating
Jun 17, 2009 - President Obama's speech to the American Medical Association earlier this week was filled with clarity, reason and vision, as he made his case for a health care system overhaul and proposed ways to fund reform. Here's a particularly great messaging point from the President's speech that's worth repeating (often). Read more...

Top 10 Historical Chamber of Commerce Quotes Against Healthcare
Jun 17, 2009 - When the US Chamber of Commerce opposed early versions of the healthcare bill Tuesday, we weren't surprised. This is, after all, the same group that colorfully told the Associated Press it was "time to unload the powder and fill the musket" in their fight against health care reform. Read more...

State Legislators to the Hill: We Need Health Care Reform
Jun 17, 2009 - 700 state legislators from every state have signed on to a letter to the President, HHS Secretary Sebelius, and leaders in Congress, asking them to support the key ingredients for real health care reform. And, today, a delegation of legislators from around the country will be on Capitol Hill to meet with the White House and deliver the letter. Read more...

In Mexico, SEIU's Eliseo Medina Calls for Cross-Border Solutions to Fix Broken Immigration System
Jun 17, 2009 - This week, SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina is in Mexico City meeting with key legislators and labor leaders on the importance of working together to improve labor rights and economic opportunities for workers on both sides of the border. And in other immigration reform news... Read more...

Begging For Change
Jun 16, 2009 - The Maine Change That Works campaign launched "Begging for Change," a multimedia effort to highlight Maine families' urgent need for comprehensive health care reform that includes an affordable public health insurance option. Read more...

U.S. Chamber and Tyson Foods Fought Workplace Safety Measures
Jun 16, 2009 - On Friday, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled that Tyson Foods Inc. must pay a $500,000 fine for "willfully" violating workplace safety regulations that led to the 2003 death of Jason Kelley, a maintenance worker at its River Valley Animal Foods plant in Texarkana. Read more...

Big Business' Two-Faced Approach to Arbitration
Jun 16, 2009 - Many corporations--like the Chamber-- praise arbitration when it favors them, but oppose it in settling first contracts--and will use any tactic they can to avoid paying their employees better wages and benefits. Supporters of the freedom to form unions are fed up with delays that favor employees, and American Rights at Work has launched a campaign to point out the hypocrisy of Big Business on arbitration. Read more...

We thought an elephant never forgot?
Jun 16, 2009 - The National Republican Senatorial Committee is planning on going after Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), according to a Roll Call article today. Yet the NRSC seems to have already forgotten the lessons of the 2008 campaigns, in which groups spent millions attacking Democrats on Employee Free Choice only to see those candidates go on to win--with voters approving Employee Free Choice by a considerable margin. Read more...

CNBC Fail: Anchors compare Iran elections to Employee Free Choice Act
Jun 16, 2009 - Yesterday, CNBC's Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett made a ridiculous, irresponsible statement. Cramer and Burnett compared the aftermath of Iran's recent election to what would happen under the Employee Free Choice Act. This is irresponsible journalism at its "finest." Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett need to hear from you now about their reckless reporting. Read more...

Workers March in Portland: "What Do We Want? Fairness!"
Jun 16, 2009 - After numerous songs, slogans, speeches and a march across Portland's Hawthorne Bridge, the message came down to a simple chant rising from Terry D. Schrunk Plaza and echoing off the Portland skyscrapers around it: "What do we want? Fairness! When do we want it? Now!" With that, about 2,500 SEIU Local 503 members and allies concluded the United for Oregon rally against state budget cuts and layoffs last Sunday. Read more...

"Lighting the Night": Demand healthcare equity for all
Jun 16, 2009 - Healthcare must go beyond simply expanding coverage to all the uninsured Americans, it must put us on a path towards healthcare equality. Every person, no matter the color of their skin deserves affordable, accessible healthcare of the highest quality. On June 24th, healthcare justice activists from all across the country are convening in Washington, DC to demand healthcare reform that truly works for everyone. Read more...

President Obama Mentions Nashville Small Business Owners
Jun 16, 2009 - President Obama in his health care reform address to the American Medical Association in Chicago, mentioned Becky and Chris Link, two small business owners and Change that Works Tennessee activists Read more...

President Obama addresses the AMA; Doctors say public health insurance option must be part of health care reform solution
Jun 15, 2009 - In his 50 minute address to the American Medical Association at the group's annual convention in Chicago, President Obama reiterated his strong support for a truly national public health insurance plan, calling the current state of the nation's health care system a "ticking time bomb." Read more...

Chamber of Commerce Defends Bonuses, Bailouts, and the Broken Healthcare System on Fox News Sunday
Jun 15, 2009 - Yesterday U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue appeared on Fox News Sunday, and in the course of a 15-minute interview, defended taxpayer-funded bonuses, championed a broken healthcare system, and brushed off concerns about bailed out companies. Read more...

Stop Squeezing the Middle Class: Former Labor Secretaries Reich and Marshall on Employee Free Choice
Jun 15, 2009 - In the past 50+ years that have passed since America's middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring, former labor secretaries Robert Reich and Ray Marshall have seen an economy weakened by a combination of personal greed, individual irresponsibility and unsustainable financial conditions. In Sunday's Chicago Tribune, Reich and Marshall explain why the Employee Free Choice Act is necessary if our economy is to succeed. Read more...

SEIU's International Executive Board of SEIU Adopts Landmark Ethics & Standards Package
Jun 15, 2009 - At the June 11-13 meeting of the International Executive Board (IEB) of SEIU, the highest governing body of the union between conventions, board members voted unanimously over the weekend to adopt a rigorous and sweeping package of ethical standards and practices to be applied union-wide. Read more...

Coalition of Doctor Organizations: "Our Patients Deserve the Choice of a Public Health Insurance Option"
Jun 15, 2009 - A coalition of 8 organizations representing over 200,000 physicians and physicians-in-training, including SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) and Doctors Council, issued a statement this morning in support of achieving health care reform this year, including the creation of a robust, high-quality public health insurance option. Read more...

BofA & Merrill: "Who was holding the shotgun?"
Jun 15, 2009 - There are two storylines that Bank of America has been pushing about its decision to go through with the Merrill Lynch acquisition, even after it became clear that Merrill was facing billions in losses. Did the Fed force BofA into a shotgun wedding, or is it possible that BofA put a shotgun to the head of the broader economy in order to get political and economic cover for a bailout that it needed anyway? Read more...

SEIU Workers in Puerto Rico Lead March Against 30,000+ Layoffs
Jun 15, 2009 - Led in part by SEIU Local 1996 in Puerto Rico, close to 100,000 union members, students, and other activists marched in front of the capitol building in San Juan last week to protest Governor Luis Fortuño's plan to lay off more than 30,000 government employees and suspend public sector collective bargaining rights. Read more...

Illinois home care worker on budget cuts: "When you take jobs away from poor people, it's only going to create more poor people."
Jun 15, 2009 - As a home care worker in Chicago, Rebia currently receives a $9.85 an hour, her only source of income. Billions in budget cuts to critical human services programs are set to take effect on July 1st - leaving 80,000 working parents without child care, over 40,000 seniors and people with disabilities without home care and countless other families devastated by drastic cuts to the programs they depend on. Read more...

Senators push for wage and hour protections for home care workers
Jun 13, 2009 - A group of 15 Senators led by Senator Harkins (D-IA) have sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, urging the Department of Labor to expand federal wage and hour laws to an estimated 1.5 million home care workers in the U.S., one of the fastest-growing professions in the country today. Read more...

Maryland Family Child Care Contract Victory!
Jun 12, 2009 - 5,000 family care providers in Maryland won their first contract with the Department of Education and the Governor's Office yesterday. The historic contract includes a nearly three-percent increase in the state subsidy, access to decision-making committees, and the creation of a new Training Committee of state officials and child care providers to recommend future improvements. Read more...

It's On Your Kitchen Table
Jun 12, 2009 - President Obama last week indicated that we must provide Americans with the option of a public health insurance plan. Now it's time to convince Congress; and the strongest proof that our current health care system is broken is probably sitting on your kitchen table - your medical bills. Read more...

Take Action In Arizona
Jun 12, 2009 - From the SEIU Comprehenive Immigration Reform Campaign team: Dear Friend,Hi, I'm Joaquin Guerra and I'm an online organizer for Comprehensive Immigration Reform with the Service Employee's International Union (SEIU).Right now, Arizona is facing a $3 billion budget deficit, some legislators... Read more...

Are healthcare workers on TV realistically depicted?
Jun 12, 2009 - Two new TV dramas about registered nurses - "Nurse Jackie" on Showtime and "Hawthorne" on TNT - premiere during the month of June. They join a host of TV programs that are set in hospitals, such as Grey's Anatomy, House and Scrubs. Do you any of the programs accurately depict the lives of healthcare workers, and is your situation reflected in any of these programs? Read more...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Stands Up for its Constituents: Ken Lewis and Bank of America
Jun 12, 2009 - Yesterday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce saw fit to stand up for Bank of America's disgraced ex-Chairman and current CEO Ken Lewis. Lewis testified to the House Oversight Committee about the bank's purchase and subsequent bleeding of Merrill Lynch. Read more...

500 Workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital Vote to Join 1199SEIU
Jun 12, 2009 - Workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital, part of Caritas Christi Health Care and the largest community-based hospital system in Massachusetts, voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. In April, more than 800 workers at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston also voted to join 1199SEIU. Read more...

Change to Win Campaign Spotlight: "Cure CVS"
Jun 11, 2009 - The plentiful number of CVS store locations is a high convenience factor most consumers appreciate--but the more you learn about the way the company is run, the less welcoming that development may seem. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern--A Key Player in Healthcare Reform
Jun 11, 2009 - The PBS NewsHour has identified SEIU President Andy Stern as a key player lobbying for healthcare reform. Read more...

OSHA Offers $6.9 in Grants for Worker Safety and Health Training
Jun 11, 2009 - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women. OSHA is now soliciting applications for nearly $7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants available to nonprofit organizations, including labor unions and community-based and faith-based organizations that are not an agency of a State or local government. Read more...

Officer Johns: A True Hero
Jun 11, 2009 - No doubt, you've likely heard about yesterday's tragic shooting incident at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where security officer Stephen T. Johns tragically lost his life. The event is a bitter reminder about the importance of these brave men and women who serve as the "first line of defense against a terrorist attack," and the methods that can be taken to ensure their safety while on the job. Read more...

Public Employees Notch Two Victories in Keystone State
Jun 11, 2009 - Workers in two counties on opposite sides of Pennsylvania-- Montgomery County and Westmoreland County--voted late last month to unite for a voice with SEIU Local 668--Pennsylvania's Social Services Union. Read more...

10 Questions to Ask Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis at House Testimony on Disastrous Merrill Lynch Purchase
Jun 11, 2009 - Ahead of Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis' testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, we put together the top ten questions that employees, consumers, taxpayers and shareholders would like reporters and legislators to ask Ken Lewis. Read more...

Colorado Small Businesses Endorse Employee Free Choice Act
Jun 11, 2009 - Today, 225 Colorado businesses released a "directory" featuring businesses that support the Employee Free Choice Act. In this economic crisis, we have a duty to support entrepreneurs and start-up companies in building sustainable, long-term successful businesses, rather than being forced to compete against irresponsible companies in an unwinnable, low-wage race to the bottom. Read more...

Time for Answers: Bank of America's Ken Lewis to Testify on Capitol Hill
Jun 10, 2009 - Tomorrow, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis will face tough questioning in his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This will be Lewis' first trip to Capitol Hill since Bank of America failed the federal government's stress tests and a coalition led by SEIU delivered nearly 100,000 "Taxpayer Proxies" demanding that the Bank fire Ken Lewis. Read more...

Danny Glover: "Binding Arbitration, Sooner the Better"
Jun 10, 2009 - Hollywood actor Danny Glover has always used his celebrity to support unions and organizing drives, pro-worker political candidates and the Employee Free Choice Act, saying "I will always be a union activist, and I am proud of that." Today on the Huffington Post, Glover urges binding arbitration as a path to end to the conflict around the dissolution of the UNITE HERE merger. Read more...

SEIU exposes U.S. Chamber of Commerce's record of fighting common-sense legislation
Jun 10, 2009 - The very same day that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced a $100 million campaign to "defend the free market system," SEIU announced a campaign of its own: to expose the Chamber's record of opposing working families and common-sense legislation that would help our economy. Read more...

New online campaign for Employee Free Choice: Stand with working people, not greedy CEOs
Jun 10, 2009 - Yesterday SEIU launched an online campaign asking senators to stand with working people, not greedy CEOs, on the Employee Free Choice Act. In addition to putting out the four web videos, the SEIU is also launching email campaigns targeting the five senators, with much the same message and aim. Read more...

What would you ask BofA CEO Ken Lewis?
Jun 10, 2009 - This Thursday, Ken Lewis will be in front of Congress to answer questions about Bank of America's business practices. If you're an employee of Bank of America, here's an opportunity for you: What do you want to ask Ken Lewis? Submit your questions at http://letstalkbanks.com/ask/ Read more...

Organizing for America unveils its "Health Care Action Center"
Jun 10, 2009 - After holding its Health Care Organizing Kickoff this weekend with thousands of house parties across the country, Organizing for America unveiled its "Health Care Action Center." Read more...

SEIU Study Reveals $34.7 billion in "The Hidden Branch of Government": Unfulfilled California Vendor Contracts Canceled
Jun 10, 2009 - Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for all unfulfilled state department vendor contracts to be canceled. Schwarzenegger's recognition of the vendor waste is just the tip of the iceberg--SEIU Local 1000 believes the California government is hiding $34.7 billion in some 13,600 vendor contracts. Read more...

Senate HELP Committee releases draft of Healthcare Reform legislation
Jun 09, 2009 - It's been 15 years since Congress and our President last tried to fix the health care crisis in America. Today, the draft of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee's bill of health care reform legislation was released: the Americans Health Choices Act. Read more...

24 Hours of Twitter
Jun 09, 2009 - Thanks to the hard work of the Iowa Change that Works, our 24 hours of health care stories campaign on Twitter was a tremendous success. Read more...

New York State employees reach agreement with Gov. Paterson to preserve services, jobs
Jun 09, 2009 - The Public Employees Federation of New York, an SEIU affiliate, reached an agreement with the state's governor that saves the state billions, avoids layoffs, preserves services and protects union contracts. Read more...

Healthcare for Organizing Kickoff
Jun 08, 2009 - On Saturday, SEIU's Change that Works campaign joined with Organizing for America and thousands of volunteers to host Health Care Organizing Kickoff events in their communities. Read more...

When did layoffs become 'acceptable'? Put working families above Cisco profits
Jun 08, 2009 - As janitors and community supporters continue their hunger strike outside of Cisco Systems corporate headquarters in San Jose, Mercury News columnist Mike Cassidy has written a thought-provoking column about the corporate strategy of treating layoffs as 'par-for-the-course' events that are the cost of doing business in this downtrodden economy. Read more...

@ChuckGrassley: Who's Tweeting Whom?
Jun 08, 2009 - While telling the President he "has some nerve" as well as asserting "I'm no NAIL" might raise some eyebrows, we're not here to school Senator Grassley on the finer points of inter-netiquette. Rather, SEIU's Change that Works campaign is taking advantage of the Senator's connectivity to reach out directly and influence him where it counts: to reform our country's health care. Read more...

Quickening the Pace of Progress: Obama's Roadmap to Recovery
Jun 08, 2009 - At a Cabinet meeting on Monday, President Barack Obama promised to speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs would be created or saved in the second hundred days--four times the number created or saved in the first 100 days. Read more...

What Are You Going to Do About Health Care Reform?
Jun 08, 2009 - This weekend, inspired by Chris Dodd & the hardworking volunteers in Organizing for America, I set out to document what ideas people had for reforming health care in America. Read more...

24 Hours of Health Care Tweets to @ChuckGrassley
Jun 08, 2009 - This weekend, Sen. Grassley made news on Twitter yet again with a controversial pair of "tweets" he sent early Sunday morning, criticizing President Obama's call for lawmakers to begin delivering on health care reform while overseas honoring D-Day in France. Read more...

Gov. Dean Gets Fired Up in Delaware
Jun 08, 2009 - On May 29th, SEIU hosted an event with Gov. Howard Dean to discuss health care reform with people in Wilmington, Delaware. Watch a clip of Howard Dean reacting to a story from a local resident who was forced to file for divorce in order to afford cancer treatment. Read more...

"Lethal Weapon" Danny Glover Headlines Union Rally in Niagara Falls
Jun 05, 2009 - Workers United members turned up the spotlight as Hollywood actor Danny Glover chanted union slogans on the picket line with employees of Courtyard by Marriott. Courtyard Marriott has refused to negotiate a collective agreement with recently organized workers. Read more...

Janitors in midst of 7-Day hunger strike protesting Cisco Systems
Jun 05, 2009 - For two days now, dozens of janitors janitors, members of faith and community supporters have had absolutely nothing to eat, only drinking water as they determinedly camp out outside of Cisco's corporate headquarters in San Jose. The janitors at Cisco Systems first began protesting the corporation--which currently has more than $34 billion in cash assets on hand--when contractor ABM Industries Inc. laid off more than 40 percent of its total janitorial workforce in February. Read more...

SEIU Endorses Feingold Bill To Help Displaced Workers Find Health Care Jobs
Jun 05, 2009 - SEIU has endorsed Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act legislation reintroduced by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.). The new version of the bill, formerly introduced in 2004, 2005 and 2007, would establish a program to distribute grants to colleges and other institution to retrain workers in areas of high unemployment to take jobs in healthcare. Read more...

Nationwide Poll: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Enjoys Widespread Public Support
Jun 05, 2009 - The American people want our country's broken immigration system to be fixed--and they want Congress to make it happen within the year. According to new polling, public support for comprehensive immigration support remains unwavering despite the country's economic downturn. Read more...

LGBT Community Comes Out to Support SEIU UHW Home Care Members
Jun 05, 2009 - Friends and allies of SEIU are celebrating Pride month in a special way this year: Joining with home care workers in Fresno to protect their union and to keep their union voice strong in SEIU UHW. Read more...

Tell the Senate: Don't Listen to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jun 05, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce really stepped in it this week. The multi-million dollar corporate group flew in hundreds of CEOs and other businesspeople to pressure your senators into doing nothing to help working people. But boy, did it not go well for the U.S. Chamber. Write to your senators now. Read more...

Conservatives for Patients' Rights "Bulldozer" Ad Check
Jun 05, 2009 - Our health care activists have kept a watchful eye on ad buys by Rick Scott's "Conservatives for Patients' Rights," and with good reason. Scott's ads have contained demonstrably false material, misleading excerpts of interviews, and blatant fear-mongering in an attempt to swift-boat health care reform. Read more...

Eliseo Medina: Why Immigration Reforms Matters
Jun 04, 2009 - At the America's Future Now! conference in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Medina addressed attendees on why comprehensive immigration reform is an important issue to support. Watch the video of his speech. Read more...

Momentum for comprehensive immigration reform continues to build with introduction of "Reuniting Families Act"
Jun 04, 2009 - Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the "Reuniting Families Act," marking the first time in Congressional history that same-sex couples have been included as part of a multi-issue immigration bill. Read more...

Really, Canada?
Jun 04, 2009 - The right wing's bizarre attack on Canada's health care system continues. Why attack Canada? Because it's easier than defending the broken U.S. health care system. The recent media blitz on our neighbors to the north reminded us of the, ahem, sophisticated story line in South Park's 1999 feature film. (Watch our video) Read more...

The Chamber of Commerce and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lobbying Day
Jun 04, 2009 - From the moment they flew people to Washington, DC to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, things were just not going the Chamber of Commerce's way...From bringing a major labor law violator to lobby on behalf of (wait for it...) labor law reform, to getting caught in a lie by Sen. Feinstein, this can't be how the Chamber wanted their lobbying week to go. Read more...

Denied the Right to Bargain: Why We Need First Contract Arbitration
Jun 04, 2009 - The goal of workers seeking to form a union is to sit at the table with the employer and bargain an agreement on their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Gaining union representation can be a long and arduous process for workers. Even when workers are able to form a union, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) fails them because so many are denied the right to collectively bargain with their employer. Read more...

Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act Gains Support from Shipyard in Kittery
Jun 04, 2009 - Last week, the Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act billboard kicked off with style in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Covered in an article by Seacoast Online, the purpose of the tour is to urge Senators Snowe and Collins to support the Employee Free Choice Act by showing the real-life workers behind the movement against worker intimidation. Read more...

Anna Burger Speaks Out on Excessive Corporate Pay
Jun 03, 2009 - Yesterday, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger addressed a conference sponsored by the Institutional Investor Education Foundation on retrieving the excessive pay and bonuses corporate CEOs received as they helped drive the nation's economy down. Read more...

The Real Face of Schwarzenegger's Cuts to Home Care
Jun 03, 2009 - Governor Schwarzenegger says he thinks every day about the people who will be affected by his proposed cuts to health care will affect. "I know the consequences of those cuts are not just dollars," said the Governor to lawmakers yesterday. "I see the faces behind those dollars." Fresno area home care provider Carlos Martinez and his wife Mikesha Martinez show the real face of those who would be impacted the most by these cuts. Read more...

This Saturday, it begins
Jun 03, 2009 - President Obama indicated this week that he wants a health care bill that provides quality, affordability, and accessibility--and that the key to achieving all three of those goals is the public health insurance option. Let's be clear - this is big news for health care reform. Read more...

Industrial and Labor Relations Expert: The System Is Failing
Jun 03, 2009 - In an opinion piece published by the Washington Post this morning, industrial and labor relations scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner writes about the obstacles facing workers today. The system itself, she states, is failing "to defend workers' rights in a timely manner" and creates "delays that favor employers." That, in itself, is a large reason to support the Employee Free Choice's "first contract arbitration" section. Read more...

Stern: Unionized companies are a driving force in our economy
Jun 03, 2009 - Today, SEIU International President Andy Stern made the following statement in response to comments by New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" cast on the effectiveness of unionized companies. Read more...

Video: Canvassing for Fresno Home Care
Jun 03, 2009 - In this new YouTube video, SEIU UHW member and upcoming leader Frank Valdez canvasses for the first time with mentor May Santiago in Fresno. "It's very important to take care of these folks at home, and that's why I'm here," says Frank, on why he's fighting alongside his fellow union members in support of Fresno home care workers. Read more...

How about now? Reform Immigration FOR America
Jun 03, 2009 - Yesterday, a broad coalition of allies from labor, business, and community groups officially kicked off the national campaign Reform Immigration FOR America (RIFA)in Washington, DC. SEIU is a part of this exciting grassroots movement to reform immigration, and we invite you to join us. Read more...

Morning Joe Team Wakes Up on Wrong Side of Bed, Goes on Anti-Union Tirade
Jun 03, 2009 - This morning, the Morning Joe crew of MSNBC decided to go on an anti-union tirade. Clearly, they didn't drink the coffee handed to them by their unionized colleagues that help to get their show in the air. After a rant from "smart" money man Jim Cramer (who, in recent months, has admitted that he's "gotten a lot of things wrong" and that he "should do a better job") on the terribleness of unions, the entire on-air team decided to weigh in. Read more...

"Campaign for America's Future" Prepares the Way for Healthcare Reform
Jun 03, 2009 - More than 1,000 progressive leaders and activists have been in Washington, DC at the Omni Shoreham Hotel for the yearly America's Future Now! Conference, organized by Campaign for America's Future (CAF). The main 'event' of CAF's 2009 conference has been the launching of an $82 million campaign for healthcare reform, a collective effort involving more than 1,000 organizations that are part of Health Care for America Now behind President Obama's health care plan. Read more...

SEIU Vows to Block Governor Schwarzenegger's Assault on Home Care
Jun 02, 2009 - Governor Schwarzenegger gave a speech to the joint session of California legislatures this morning on the state's budget, pressing lawmakers to resolve the state's financial crisis, advocating a federal solution to do so that will devastate seniors, people with disabilities and the in-home care providers they depend on to survive. SEIU intends to fight the Governor's callous and immoral budget proposals and advance real solutions that enhance state and federal revenue, instead reducing funds for home care and other vital services Californians need. Read more...

Delivering Your Petitions to NBC Washington on Rick Scott's Infomercial: Watch the Video
Jun 02, 2009 - On Sunday, a group of DC residents delivered all 68,000 of your petitions to the NBC studios in Washington, demanding Rick Scott's phony infomercial be pulled. You should have seen the look on the producer's face when she saw the boxes of signatures waiting for her in the lobby. Read more...

Small Business Owner: Chamber of Commerce Speaks for Me like Burger King Speaks for Cows
Jun 02, 2009 - Today, Maine small business owner Ben Wootten spoke out on the congressional lobbying organized by the Chamber of Commerce against the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

"I'm too old to get rehired and too young for Social Security."
Jun 02, 2009 - This weekend, about 100 union service employees, police and firefighters in Orlando, FL, met to discuss budget cuts which would force them from their jobs. "It's not the unions causing the crisis. Read more...

Survey Results: The American Dream and the New Progressive Majority
Jun 02, 2009 - Change to Win released the results of the seventh in its ongoing series of American Dream surveys today, measuring views on how strong majorities of working Americans view the economy, the role of government, the American Dream, and the action agenda that is at the heart of the new progressive majority. Read more...

On June 6th, thousands of people are organizing for health care reform
Jun 01, 2009 - On June 6th, thousands of people just like you are beginning to organize for healthcare reform by hosting or attending a Healthcare for Organizing Kickoff with Organizing for America. We can win healthcare reform in the same way we won the election: building support one block, one neighbor, one conversation at a time. Please join us by signing up today. Read more...

155 Academics Urge Sen. Specter to Support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Jun 01, 2009 - Everyone's jumping on the train. Today 155 Pennsylvania college & university professors signed a letter asking Sen. Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Fighting to Protect Fresno Home Care
Jun 01, 2009 - They came from across Fresno County, California, the U.S. and Canada with one mission: to protect Fresno County home care. Between now and July 1st--the date the home care cuts are supposed to take effect--California home care workers, their families and supporters have much to fight for. Read more...

Take Action: SEIU Steps Ups with Open Left to Support a Public Healthcare Option
Jun 01, 2009 - SEIU has stepped up a campaign that allows Open Left readers a unique way to fight for the public option while simultaneously supporting Open Left: we will donate $1 to Open Left for every person who signs up for their healthcare campaign. Read more...

SEIU Members and Organizers Fight for Reform During Memorial Day Recess
Jun 01, 2009 - Across the country, SEIU members and Change that Works activists worked at a feverish pace to spotlight the value of reforming our broken healthcare system, with activities in Nebraska, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Montana, Ohio, Colorado and Delaware. Read more...

Over 68,000 Petitions Signed to Tell NBC and Meet the Press Not to Air Rick Scott's Phony "Documentary"
May 29, 2009 - This evening we received word that over 68,000 people (and counting!) have signed the petition calling for NBC not to air Rick Scott's "infomercial" attacking a public healthcare option that's set to air after Meet the Press on the network this Sunday. Read more...

Wells Fargo Officially Opposes Bid to Save Hartmarx from Liquidation
May 29, 2009 - The fight to keep creditor Wells Fargo from liquidating Hartmarx menswear factory appears to ramping up, as the bailed-out bank said today that it is opposing the $119 million bid by the British private equity firm Emerisque to save the bankrupt Chicago-based men's clothier...for the "good" of its workers. Read more...

Calling all DC Residents: Can you call the General Manager?
May 29, 2009 - Yesterday, we emailed about stopping Rick Scott's phony "documentary" from airing on Washington, DC's NBC4 after Meet the Press this weekend. Today, we're upping the ante. Read more...

Senator Vitter: You Can Run (for Re-Election) but You Can't Hide (from Your Voting Record)
May 29, 2009 - In a recent fundraising email, Senator Vitter attacked SEIU for exposing his votes against working families. But it's nothing compared to the hardships he's caused to middle and low-income Louisianans with his votes as the Junior Senator of Louisiana. Helene O'Brien, President of SEIU Local 21LA issued the following statement in response to Senator Vitter's most recent fundraising email. Read more...

Governor Schwarzenegger: Home Healthcare Is Not A Throw-Away!
May 28, 2009 - Today, SEIU home healthcare members closed their 48-hour vigil with a press conference on the steps of the California statehouse to protest drastic budget cuts which would drive home care workers into poverty and force seniors and people with disabilities into more restrictive and costly institutional settings Read more...

Blinding Greed
May 28, 2009 - An editorial in today's Wall Street Journal paints the current contract negotiation process as something that "works." Ask anyone who's been through the process, and they'll tell you that it works - but only for corporations. The employees, instead, tend to get the shaft. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of workers who form a union still don't have a contract after one year, and companies refuse to negotiate in good faith in over 28 percent of cases. Read more...

Rick Scott's 30-Minute Lie
May 28, 2009 - Rick Scott has a track record of deceit. Scott's previous ads contained blatantly false statements and misleading excerpts of interviews with health care professionals. Join us in telling NBC not to run this phony "documentary" this Sunday. Read more...

Progressive Revenue Options to Pay for Healthcare Reform
May 28, 2009 - Last week, SEIU Healthcare joined Citizens for Tax Justice and Health Care for America Now (HCAN) to release a report describing progressive revenue options to fund healthcare reform and the amount of revenue they are likely to raise. Read more...

Wal-Mart Responsible for Black Friday Trampling Death
May 28, 2009 - So what's the punishment for shocking corporate negligence that results in the death of a worker like in the case of Wal-Mart temporary employee Jdimytai Damour? OSHA hit them with the maximum fine allowable by law -- $7,000. Read more...

Healthy Families Act Would Guarantee Paid Sick Time for Workers
May 28, 2009 - Too many workers have jobs where they don't have any paid sick days for themselves, much less paid days off to care for a sick child or family members. to the introduction of The Healthy Families Act, introduced in Congress last week, to both sides of Congress last week by Senator Kennedy and Representative DeLauro. The legislation would allow workers to earn up to 7 days of paid sick time, with an accrual of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Read more...

President Bartlett Pledges to Pass The Employee Free Choice Act
May 27, 2009 - You may have heard of President Obama's support for the Employee Free Choice Act, but today, Catholics for Working Families is launching an ad with another president's endorsement: President Bartlett (or, as he's known in the real world, Martin Sheen). Read more...

Stop Schwarzenegger's Cruel Cuts
May 27, 2009 - Two years ago, President Barack Obama walked a day in the shoes of SEIU home care worker Pauline Beck. Today, Pauline and home care workers across California face pay cuts of up to 33% -- from $12.10 an hour down to $8. Please send a message to the Governor telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities--we're not going to let this happen without a fight. Read more...

24 Hours of Healthcare Stories in Nebraska
May 27, 2009 - Change that Works Nebraska kicked off their Memorial Day recess activities yesterday morning with their innovative 24 hours of Healthcare Stories Youtube campaign. Read more...

Sierra Club President Allison Chin: "An economy that treats workers fairly is fundamentally better for our planet"
May 27, 2009 - To mark the occasion of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Sierra Club President Allison Chin addressed a group of SEIU employees during a lunch lecture on the topics of grassroots activism, the Employee Free Choice Act and working together with labor in the Blue Green Alliance. Read more...

Thousands Gather in LA to Protest Cuts to California Home Care: Flickr Photo Slideshow
May 26, 2009 - Closing down streets, rally participants sent a clear message to Governor Schwarzenegger and Sacramento legislators that proposed cuts to the state's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which delivers in-home care to more than 400,000 seniors and people with disabilities, will not be tolerated. Check out the Flickr photo slideshow from the rally here. Read more...

Tonight in California: Thousands Begin 48-Hour Vigils to Protest Massive Cuts
May 26, 2009 - SEIU members, seniors home care givers and community supporters from across the state will hold vigils tonight on the grounds of the State Capitol to protest Schwarzenegger's proposed cutbacks that would reduce vital services to seniors and people with disabilities. Read more...

Joe the Plumber, now Jane the Patient?
May 26, 2009 - First, it was Rick Scott's Conservatives for Patients' Rights--which was essentially a front group for, um, Rick Scott. Now we've got Patients United Now (PUN), a front group of Americans for Prosperity (reminder: sponsor of the Joe the Plumber tour and world-class climate change deniers). Seems you can't have too many groups crying "CANADA!" in a crowded cable market. Read more...

Ruling of California Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 will not deter fight for marriage equality
May 26, 2009 - In a disappointing decision, the California Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that they are upholding the ban on same-sex marriage enacted by 52.3 percent of voters in November. "This ruling merely delays the day of regaining an important aspect of equality in California. It does not diminish the dignity of our members...or our determination to win equality in this country," said SEIU's Mary Kay Henry. Read more...

Baucus Embraces Insurance Option in Health Care Reform
May 26, 2009 - Montana's time in the political sun continues, as Sen. Max Baucus' role in national health care reform takes shape. Late last week, Baucus told reporters that he was fairly certain that health care reform with a public insurance option was very likely to be signed into law this year. Read more...

Judge Sotomayor's Nomination to the Supreme Court an Extraordinary Choice for Today and Tomorrow
May 26, 2009 - President Obama said he would appoint people to our courts who not only had brilliant legal minds, but who also understand how the law impacts the everyday lives of working families. Today he has fulfilled that promise by nominating U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more...

Stop Starbucks: Coffee Conglomerate Blocks Baristas from Joining Unions
May 26, 2009 - Our friends at Brave New Films are out with their latest campaign to expose corporate opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act. Next up: Starbucks. Read more...

24/7: Nebraskans Testify to the Need for Healthcare Reform (UPDATED)
May 26, 2009 - You hear it in the fields and the factories, from farmers and students and small business owners. It runs all the way from one end of our state to another, and cuts across all party lines. Nebraskans want real health care reform, and they're ready to demand action now. Read more...

SEIU Healthcare Turns Up the Heat During Memorial Day Recess
May 25, 2009 - While many will be enjoying BBQs and beach time this weekend, SEIU advocates of healthcare reform will be pushing their Members of Congress and neighbors to support measures like a public health insurance option that increases choice and reduces costs. Read more...

Remembering the DC Labor Map
May 22, 2009 - What's free and fun to do in DC over the holidays? A tour of current and historic labor sites! The brand new online DC Labor Map uses familiar Googlemaps technology to help you quickly and easily find dozens of fascinating labor art and historic labor sites, as well as union hotels and restaurants, international and local union organizations. Read more...

SEIU California Members Help Defeat Ballot Measures with Dangerous Cuts to Public Services
May 22, 2009 - By overwhelming margins, California voters rejected the false solutions on five ballot measures in the May 19th statewide special election, sending Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature back to the drawing board. SEIU members helped defeat several propositions that would have hobbled the state's public services with devastating cuts to community-based mental health services, health care, education and child welfare. Read more...

43 Members of Congress Write in Support of Hartmarx Workers
May 22, 2009 - Yesterday, 43 Members of Congress issued a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, asking him to weigh in on Wells Fargo's attempt to liquidate nearly 4,000 jobs at Hartmarx, a unionized suit manufacturer whose customers include President Obama. Read more...

Grassley Open to Public Health Care Plan Option
May 22, 2009 - Senator Grassley has been working hard to craft a health care legislation bill that works for everyone, and we applaud his considerable effort in the cause for quality, affordable health care reform. However, now is not the time to sacrifice the public health plan option for the sake of political compromise. Read more...

Big Interest Groups Throw a Hail Mary on Employee Free Choice
May 22, 2009 - A newly-formed coalition of religious leaders and people of faith--Faith Leaders for Workplace Fairness--publicly announced their support for the labor reform bill on a conference call with press last week, calling the legislation a "moral imperative" and a civil and human right. Over the last few days, several conservative websites and corporate interests have decided that such a coalition is unacceptable, because they apparently own all the stock on religion. Read more...

"Surviving the System" Lobby Day: Meet Amy Ingersoll
May 22, 2009 - On Wednesday, SEIU member lobbyists and healthcare activists joined the American Cancer Society Action Network, the Consumers Union and AARP in visiting more than 35 members of Congress to share their stories and experiences and drive home the critical need for healthcare reform. One activist came to Washington, DC all the way from North Dakota to lend her voice on the healthcare issues that matter most to her--meet Amy Ingersoll. Read more...

Job Loss Bad for Your Wallet AND Health (Employee Free Choice Act to the rescue!)
May 21, 2009 - Adding injury to insult, it turns out losing your job isn't just detrimental to your bank account: it's also bad for your physical and physiological health, according to a study in the latest issue of Demography. Read more...

No holiday for Health Care and Employee Free Choice campaigns
May 21, 2009 - Harley riders. Pancake breakfasts. Governor Howard Dean. What do they all have in common? They're just a few of the unique ways that SEIU's keeping our campaigns for health care reform and Employee Free Choice moving during the Memorial Day recess. Read more...

Sign Up and Tell Mark Fahelson: Walk A Day In Our Shoes
May 21, 2009 - On May 18th, Mark Fahelson, the Nebraska Republican Party Chairman, wrote an op-ed in Midland Voices entitled "Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act Only Sensible." We keep hearing parroted talking points and rhetoric from corporate-backed Republicans, when what we need to hear are the facts behind a bill that will help working families who are struggling to have a voice in their workplace. Read more...

Tell Governor Schwarzenegger: No more cuts to home care!
May 21, 2009 - Caring for others. It's probably the most important thing your mother ever taught you. But it's a lesson Gov. Schwarzenegger seems to have forgotten, because on May 14th the governor released a preview of his revised budget, which seeks to implement deeper cuts to the in-home care program by slicing the state's contribution toward home care worker wages by a staggering 20 to 30 percent. Read more...

Green jobs and energy are focus of President's first Economic Recovery Advisory Board meeting
May 20, 2009 - During the first quarterly meeting of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and fifteen other board members discussed green jobs and energy with the President, sharing their expertise on the creation of a comprehensive energy plan that will generate millions of clean energy jobs. Read more...

People of Faith, Sen. Harkin Deliver Strong Message to Congress for Employee Free Choice
May 20, 2009 - Over 50 religious leaders from a range of diverse faiths and denominations came to Washington, DC to lobby members of Congress on support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The lobbying day begin with an early a.m. prayer breakfast at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, followed a by press conference held with Sen. Tom Harkin. Check out our video of the event. Read more...

Missoulian Endorses Free Choice to Rebuild Middle Class
May 20, 2009 - Sociology professor Daisy Rooks of the University of Montana put the Employee Free Choice Act in its proper perspective with her glowing endorsement atop the editorial page of the Missoulian. Read more...

New Research Shows Rise of Corporate Intimidation and Threats Towards Workers for Supporting a Union
May 20, 2009 - The current system to form a union in the workplace is grossly slanted in favor of employers who too often use harassment and intimidation to stop unions and keep workers from getting a fair deal--and it's only gotten worse in recent years. A new EPI report reveals that employer tactics against workers' efforts to form unions have increased and become more punitive than in the past. Read more...

The GOP Health Care Proposal: More of the Same
May 20, 2009 - Republicans in Congress dusted off John McCain's health care proposal from the 2008 campaign and reintroduced it at a press conference in Washington today. The proposal, which serves as their counter to President Obama's plan for health care reform, replaces the coverage people have with an insufficient tax subsidy that doesn't even cover half of the average family's health care premiums. Read more...

Boardroom Shakeup at BofA?
May 20, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the feds are pressuring Bank of America to bring in directors that have more banking experience. What a novel idea! The folks in charge of overseeing the nation's largest bank should actually have some experience working with...banks. Read more...

Senate Overwhelmingly Passes the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights
May 20, 2009 - Yesterday the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights, which will strengthen consumers getting raw deals from the Big Banks. "Until we hold credit card companies accountable for intentionally trapping consumers into debt from which they cannot recover, we will continue to put the overall health of our economy at risk," said SEIU's Anna Burger after the vote. Read more...

Victory for New York City Security Officers
May 20, 2009 - After months of negotiations with national security contractors Allied Barton and FJC Security Services of Long Island, SEIU Local 32BJ security officers have won new union contracts that provide significant wage increases, employer-paid family health care and benefits for some 3,000 city-contracted security officers over the course of three years. Read more...

Proposed OSHA Standard Would Prevent Injury for Nurses and Healthcare Workers
May 19, 2009 - Last week, Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) laid the first steps toward the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act (H.R. 2381). This legislation will require that healthcare facilities provide safe patient handling using mechanical lifts and develop injury prevention plans for healthcare workers who move patients. Read more...

The Party of No...Health Care? We Hope Not.
May 19, 2009 - Last Sunday, RNC Chair Michael Steele revealed his party's intentions when it comes to fixing our broken health care system. Watch Chairman Steele demonstrate why his party is now referred to as the "Party of No". Read more...

Hampton Worker Writes, "Level the Playing Field"
May 19, 2009 - Billy Mason works at a manufacturing company in Hampton, Virginia. After 24 years of service, Mason saw a decrease in real wages; health and retirement benefits. Mason believed that the only recourse for him and his fellow workers was to organize. The company fought him and fellow organizers steadfastly with smear and fear campaign speeches by management before each shift. Read more...

SEIU Local 721 members Turn Out to Support Mental Health Services
May 18, 2009 - At a rally held at the downtown Los Angeles state building on May 13th, SEIU Local 721 members and community advocates gathered to show support for mental health services and oppose the May 19 ballot measure, Proposition 1E. Read more...

Don't balance the budget on the backs of the mentally ill: Vote NO on Prop. 1E
May 18, 2009 - In 2004, the citizens of California voted to pass legislation intended to take a new pro-active approach to improving community-based health services for the state's most historically marginalized and vulnerable population: people struggling with mental illness. Now Gov. Schwarzenegger and state legislators want to pass a ballot measure, Prop. 1E, which raids $230 million a year from funds voters intended to direct to mental health services. Read more...

These Cuts Hurt
May 18, 2009 - Security officers who protect hospitals, medical staff, and patients at one of the nation's premier healthcare organizations just had their health coverage cut by their employer Securitas. Read more...

Making a House Call at Independence Hall
May 16, 2009 - Nearly 100 doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals gathered Friday in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in support of quality, affordable health care for all. Read more...

Dick Cheney: Wrong on Employee Free Choice (And Everything Else)
May 15, 2009 - Dick Cheney is out from his undisclosed location, this time with his sights set on the Employee Free Choice Act. In an interview with FOX News this week, Cheney criticized the Employee Free Choice Act while claiming to not be against working people. Watch our video on Dick's "greatest hits" here. Read more...

Why, What a Nice Plant You Have, Rick Berman
May 15, 2009 - You may remember Rick Berman from such corporate farces as, "Pesticides: Kids Love 'Em!" and "Second Hand Smoke: You Have Two Lungs for a Reason." Now get ready for the latest episode in Rick Berman's corporate hackery: planting a former employee and Wal-Mart lobbyist as a "Democrat against the Employee Free Choice Act." Read more...

Big Banks Liquidating Your Company? Let Us Know
May 15, 2009 - Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched a toll-free hotline and website--Keep America Working--to support small business owners and workers facing job loss because of frozen credit and liquidation at the hands of bailed-out banks. Visit www.keepworkinghotline.org if your company is facing liquidation threats from big banks. Read more...

Obama Administration Blocks Harmful Cuts to Homecare Workers
May 15, 2009 - In a victory for struggling homecare workers, the Obama Administration ruled last week that California's proposed cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program violates the terms of the federal stimulus aid going to the state under the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more...

Watch Andy Stern on the Charlie Rose Show
May 14, 2009 - SEIU President Andy Stern appeared on Charlie Rose last night to discuss the economic crisis and its impact on American workers. Watch it here. Read more...

Congress, Meet Your Partner in Health Care Reform: NURSES
May 14, 2009 - This week, hundreds of RNs flooded our nation's capitol, many of us with several decades of experience in patient care. We left our families and communities because this year-2009-is the year that Congress can finally fix our broken health care system. And it can't happen without nurses. Read more...

President Obama Reaffirms Support for the Employee Free Choice Act
May 14, 2009 - In a town hall meeting today in New Mexico, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to passing the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would allow workers to bargain with their employers for better job security, wages and benefits. Watch Read more...

They Got the Message: CNN and Fox expose Rick Scott
May 14, 2009 - Yesterday morning, both CNN and FOX News confronted Rick Scott about his miserable record in the health care industry. It seems the nearly 20,000 emails you sent to CNN and FOX News were enough to get the message across, and now they're passing that message on to viewers: Rick Scott can't be trusted when it comes to health care. Read more...

Big Business Loves to Choose (When They Choose Themselves)
May 14, 2009 - In today's Washington Post, political columnist Harold Meyerson explains the importance of first contract arbitration in the Employee Free Choice Act, which is the second main plank of the legislation. Read more...

Artists Unite for Employee Free Choice
May 14, 2009 - Forty seven artists from the following unions: Actor's Equity; AFM; AFTRA; DGA; IATSE; SAG; WGAE and WGAW joined together with the AFL-CIO to produce this video in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

New Video: The Epic Battle for Employee Free Choice
May 14, 2009 - Corporate lobbyists and executives are gearing up for their next round of attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act. But the next battle is bound to show them for who they are: greedy people who will do anything to hold onto their power. Watch our tongue-in-cheek video here. Read more...

Newt takes page out of Kanye playbook; enraged over Twitterjacking
May 14, 2009 - Lately a twitterer in the name of EFCANow has taken to trying to convert followers of Republicans Newt Gingrich and Saul Anuzis to sign a pro-Employee Free Choice petition--and Newt and Saul are so mad about it they're threatening to sue. Read more...

Georgetown Hospital Food Service Workers Beat Back Subcontracting Effort
May 14, 2009 - A proposal to subcontract out food service workers at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC was recently defeated by 1199SEIU members. Read more...

TPM Café hosting online forum on "the crime wave no one talks about"
May 14, 2009 - This week, the TPM Café Book Club is addressing the hosting a running discussion of Kim Bobo's book, Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid --And What We Can Do About It. Read more...

National RN Day of Action
May 13, 2009 - Hundreds of nurses from SEIU, CNA and UAN convened in Washington, DC today for a national RN day of action. The day's activities included a morning nurses' conference, followed by a march to Upper Senate Park that grew in size along the way, gathering 500 nurses and another 500 patient advocates to rally for comprehensive health care reform. Read more...

Video: The Fight to Save Hartmarx Workers' Jobs
May 13, 2009 - On May 11, Workers United members at the Illinois Hartmarx facility voted unanimously to occupy their workplace if chief lender Wells Fargo moves to shut the factory down. Watch the short documentary released today on the events at the Hart Schaffner & Marx factory in Des Plaines, IL over the last week. Read more...

Video: Anna Burger on Labor's Role in Democracy
May 13, 2009 - "When workers had a voice on the job, when unionization was high and one in three workers had a union, not only was it good for those workers, it lifted up everybody," said SEIU's Anna Burger in an interview with the Brennan Center for Justice. "It raised the standards across America in terms of wages, healthcare, retirement security and the ability to give our kids a better life." Read more...

The Latest Victims of the Broken Health Care System: Medicare Recipients
May 13, 2009 - The big news out of Washington is that the Social Security and Medicare Trust funds are in worse shape than we thought. According to the Medicare Trustees' report released yesterday, we're going to exhaust Medicare by 2017 unless we take immediate action. Read more...

VP Biden's renewed support for Employee Free Choice: "If a union is what you want, then a union is what you should get"
May 13, 2009 - VP Joe Biden demonstrated once again today that he and the Obama administration stand firmly with working families in supporting passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Biden reiterated his opinion that labor unions are a big part of the solution in rebuilding our economy, saying there is "no way" for the administration to "level the playing field" without strengthening organized labor. Read more...

Maine's Veterans Support Employee Free Choice
May 12, 2009 - Last week, a group of Maine veterans gathered together in Portland to voice their support for the Employee Free Choice Act--and it's not only Maine's veterans who support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Shreveport Interfaith Leaders Fellowship for Employee Free Choice
May 12, 2009 - Faith leaders from Shreveport, LA and the surrounding areas gathered together today to rally around the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Tell Wells Fargo: Save Jobs at Hartmarx
May 12, 2009 - The public gave Wells Fargo $25 billion in bailout funds, but rather than investing that money in American jobs by keeping credit flowing, Wells Fargo is considering cutting the cord. oment to sign a letter to Wells Fargo Executive Vice President John Stumpf asking him to choose a bidder who will save these jobs. Read more...

Is Bank of America Clueless?
May 12, 2009 - The bank was "shocked" at the Treasury's initial figure and "negotiated" to have the number lowered by about $20 billion. Of course this begs a question as to just how healthy BofA actually is. I mean, I've heard of accounting tricks, but I didn't know you can knock off 30% of your capital shortfall through "negotiations". That's one hell of an accounting trick! Read more...

Call the Senate: Support the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights
May 12, 2009 - President Obama said he wants to sign a bill that protects credit card holders, but Big Banks are twisting the arms of your senators to get them to oppose even the most basic reforms. Make the call now: tell your senators to support the Dodd-Shelby amendment to the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights. Read more...

SEIU Nurse Participates in White House Spanish-Language Town Hall on H1N1 Virus
May 12, 2009 - On Friday, SEIU Florida Healthcare nurse Patricia Diaz joined U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and a team of Spanish-speaking Administration officials from DHS and the CDC for a White House Town Hall to discuss Government's safety and prevention plans for the H1N1 virus. Read more...

New Hampshire Gathers for Mother's Day Delivery
May 11, 2009 - This year, we here at Change that Works decided to celebrate Mother's Day by helping out where it counts: in the battle for quality, affordable health care. Our volunteers showed their commitment to the mothers and families of New Hampshire by taking the time to hand deliver flowers and unfilled prescriptions to the offices of Senator Judd Gregg and Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Hold Rally with State Politicians & Labor Leaders After Sit-in Vote
May 11, 2009 - Hartmarx workers were joined by Rep. Phil Hare, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and SEIU Illinois State Council president Tom Balanoff at a rally today at the Des Plaines, IL plant, following a unanimous vote by workers to stage a sit-in if Wells Fargo does not approve the sale of Hartmarx to a buyer that would keep it alive instead of liquidating it. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Vote to "Sit In" to Save Their Jobs as TARP Recipient Wells Fargo Threatens to Close Factory
May 11, 2009 - Mirroring the six-day protest that helped save more than 250 Republic Windows and Doors workers from losing their jobs last December, Chicago-based Hartmarx factory workers voted unanimously this morning in favor of a "sit in" style action if chief lender Wells Fargo Bank or a new owner tries to begin liquidation or close the factory. Read more...

Why Today is a Game Changer
May 11, 2009 - SEIU is joining a diverse group of organizations at the White House today, unveiling a plan to reduce the cost of health care and jumpstart the drive toward real reform. The groups are teaming up with the Obama administration to curb health care costs through improved efficiency and higher quality of care. Read more...

As part of President Obama's Job Creation Plan, SEIU Calls for Passage of Employee Free Choice Act
May 11, 2009 - As President Obama laid out his latest plans to help the nation's unemployed millions, SEIU President Andy Stern called on Congress to implement the Employee Free Choice Act as a priority part of the President's job creation plan. Read more...

Report shows NJ food service workers get low pay, few benefits
May 08, 2009 - Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new report commissioned by SEIU Local 32BJ, which found that the average hourly wage for food preparation workers in educational services was only $8.15, and that most had no health benefits. Read more...

US Chamber: We Hate Arbitration. Except For When We Love It.
May 08, 2009 - In a post on the US Chamber of Commerce's blog, Brad Peck attempts to argue against our point that corporate lobby groups - such as the Chamber itself - were long for arbitration before they started assailing the process as a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad thing. Read more...

Calling It What It Is: Frank Luntz's Hit Job on Health Care
May 08, 2009 - Opponents of health care reform have been wringing their hands these last few months. Ever since America elected a president dedicated to fixing our broken system last November, it seems that no amount of spin can distract people from the fact that we're paying billions of dollars for a health care system that doesn't work. This week, as a last ditch effort, Republican spin-doctor Frank Luntz floated a confidential memo on how to scare Americans into believing health care reform is bad. The only problem: the memo was leaked. And, now, the media and members of Congress are calling his bluff. Read more...

Mayor Bloomberg walks a day in the shoes of SEIU 32BJ security officer
May 08, 2009 - "For me and for so many of my co-workers, the main issue is our healthcare," said Annie Davis, a 54-year-old New York security officer and SEIU Local 32BJ member during her day-long visit with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Read more...

Contracts Re-opening for 140,000 NYC Healthcare Workers
May 08, 2009 - Collective bargaining on behalf of some 140,000 hospital and nursing home workers are beginning this month in New York City. Representing 1199SEIU will be an elected Negotiating Committee of some 500 rank-and-file healthcare workers. They will be conducting parallel talks with representatives of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes, and the Greater New York association of nursing homes. Read more...

Watch Live: Can the Netroots help make the Employee Free Choice Act law?
May 08, 2009 - SEIU's Michael Whitney is part of a round-table organized by Netroots Nation: "Can the Netroots help make the Employee Free Choice Act law?" It's on right now, from noon until 2pm ET, and you can watch it live. Read more...

First-time jobless claims drop
May 07, 2009 - The number of workers who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week fell unexpectedly---a possible sign that job losses in the U.S. could be moderating. Read more...

Corporate Lobbyists: We Were for Arbitration Before We Were Against It
May 07, 2009 - In a new round of attacks against the Employee Free Choice Act, corporate lobbyists and executives are showing their true, greedy selves. In recent weeks, corporate lobbyist groups such as the Center for Union Facts, the Chamber of Commerce, and conservatives like Newt Gingrich, have waged war to prevent workers from enjoying what CEOs take for granted: a contract. Read more...

Bank of America Fails "Stress Tests," Needs $34 Billion and Accountability
May 07, 2009 - Yesterday's federal government stress test results confirmed what concerned shareholders, taxpayers and bank employees have been saying all along--that Bank of America is failing taxpayers and our economy. Read more...

SEIU, Allies Working to Protect Community Mental Health Services in CA
May 07, 2009 - More than 200 community members joined elected officials, mental health advocacy organizations, and SEIU Local 1021 members at a forum last night to discuss the future of community mental health services in Sonoma County, CA. Read more...

New HHS Report: Decline in Patient Safety "Disturbing"
May 07, 2009 - The Department of Health and Human Services has released their National Healthcare Quality Report, which evaluates the quality of American health care based on data collected throughout 2008. This headline from the report sums it up: Health Care Quality Is Suboptimal and Continues To Improve at a Slow Pace Read more...

SEIU Members in Florida Defeat Anti-Union Ballot Initiative Designed to Undercut Workers' Rights
May 06, 2009 - SEIU members in Florida have helped beat an anti-union ballot initiative designed to undermine Employee Free Choice and deny workers their rights. Through a grassroots campaign, Florida members defeated the so-called "Save Our Secret Ballot" (SOSB) initiative, part of a national campaign led by big business and right-wing think tanks. Read more...

Point of View: What Prop. 1A really means for California
May 06, 2009 - The new rules under Prop. 1A would require massive savings even in bad years and would greatly reduce the funding available for public services. Prop. 1A won't reduce California's looming deficit for the 2009-10 budget by a single cent, and most of its provisions will not take effect for two years--years that should be spent hammering out real solutions to the state's budget and fiscal challenges. Read more...

Fixing Health Care: Put Your Hand In
May 06, 2009 - Sitting among the insurance executives, business leaders, and Washington lobbyists in the audience of yesterday's roundtable on health care reform were a handful of frontline caregivers from SEIU. They came from across the country to be on Capitol Hill yesterday, and they served as a powerful reminder of the people the debate over health care reform is really about - patients and their caregivers. Read more...

YouTube Video Contest: Why the Employee Free Choice Act & being in a union is important to LGBT workers
May 06, 2009 - To help give discrimination the "one two" punch, Stonewall Democrats and Pride At Work recently launched SharedAgenda.org to build support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Employee Free Choice Act. Join this campaign by submitting a video that explains to Americans why we need to quickly pass both pieces of pro-equality legislation. Read more...

Recap & Pics: May 1st Immigration Rallies in NYC and Chicago
May 06, 2009 - Gray skies and rainy conditions in NYC and Chicago didn't deter thousands of community and labor activists from marching on May 1st to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reform the immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented workers. Read more...

On National Nurses Week, We're Calling a Code On Our Healthcare System
May 06, 2009 - We've decided today isn't going to be like any Nurses Day before it. This year, you can keep your flowers and candy because this year, RNs are demanding something real. We're calling a code on our broken health care system. Read more...

Andy Stern's Testimony to Congress: The Face of the Health Care Crisis
May 06, 2009 - SEIU President Andy Stern visited Capitol Hill Tuesday in one of the last official opportunities to provide input on health care reform before a final piece of legislation is drafted next month. Learn about the standards SEIU uses to measure the success of the healthcare system that works for America's working families. Read more...

Politico labels SEIU's Dennis Rivera a key player in healthcare debate
May 05, 2009 - This week, Politico dubbed SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera "The Organizer" on their list of five people who could play a prime time role in affecting the course of health care reform. Read more...

Go Chuck!
May 05, 2009 - Today, SEIU President Andy Stern joined with a panel of health care advocates, insurance industry reps and other stakeholders at Sen. Baucus' second roundtable on health reform. The topic: reforming health care coverage. Read more...

Our Letter to Bank of America's New Chairman
May 05, 2009 - Last week, Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, was ousted by the company's shareholders from his position as chairman of the board. At the same time, nearly 100,000 of you signed "taxpayer proxy cards" calling for Lewis' removal as CEO. Read more...

How (Not) to Join a Union
May 05, 2009 - Ever wonder how, exactly unions are formed? The Center for American Progress is out with a new video that explains the process step-by-step. Read more...

Illinois Workers United Suit Makers' Jobs On the Cutting Table
May 05, 2009 - Workers United members at the Hart Schaffner & Marx (known as Hartmarx) menswear factory in Des Plaines, IL, make suits for President Obama, but their jobs may not make the cut. Read more...

"Kids Can't Wait" Campaign Launch: Free Healthcare on Wheels
May 04, 2009 - Last weekend, SEIU Healthcare Michigan members and their families attended the Detroit launch of a national initiative called "Kids Can't Wait," a campaign which seeks to draw attention to the impact of the economic crisis on children's healthcare and expand health care services to disadvantaged children. Read more...

Your Voices: What Sen. Specter's Announcement Means for Us
May 04, 2009 - If you thought that Sen. Specter's party-affiliation change from a Republican to a Democrat meant an automatic endorsement from labor unions for his 2010 election...think again. In the memo Andy Stern sent to PA members late last week, he affirmed that we will maintain our ramped-up efforts to reach out to the Senator and let our concerns be known on the need for reform to our nation's labor laws. Read more...

What a week for immigration reform!
May 04, 2009 - This Friday, May 1, I joined SEIU Local 32BJ, SEIU members and thousands of immigration advocates from around the country to march from Malcolm X Park to the White House. What I saw was a group of workers standing up and standing together for better treatment. People who know that the labor they provide carries more value than they are receiving for it, and are raising their voices to call for real reforms now. Read more...

Who is Rick Scott?
May 04, 2009 - Recently, Rick Scott bought ads for his group "Conservatives for Patients' Rights" on CNN and FOX News networks. Join SEIU in calling on FOX News and CNN to adhere to their own policies and immediately cease running CPR's distortions. Read more...

This has to stop
May 03, 2009 - Next week, SEIU President Andy Stern will be going toCapitol Hill for a Senate roundtable on fixing health care and he wants to use your voice to tell the real story of this health care crisis. Will you take a moment to share your health care story? Read more...

New video shows anti-worker tactics Wal-Mart uses against employees
May 01, 2009 - A new documentary by UFCW that tells the story of Wal-Mart's war on their own workers. In the video, ten workers from coast-to-coast detail the company's response to their organizing efforts (hint: it's not exactly warm and fuzzy). Read more...

California: Interfaith Leaders Support Employee Free Choice Act
May 01, 2009 - Interfaith leaders gathered outside of Wal-Mart in Los Angeles to "renew a covenant with workers" and call for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Wal-Mart has doggedly pursued anti-worker policies and is currently spending millions of dollars... Read more...

CPR Responds With No Refutation of Our Case
May 01, 2009 - Rick Scott's group, Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR), responded today to SEIU's written request to CNN and FOX News for removal of the group's ads. The ads, which were created by the same PR firm behind the now widely-discredited "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" ads in 2004, contain false statements and distortions that are intended to mislead the viewing public. Read more...

Los Angeles City Council Votes 13 to 1 in favor of Employee Free Choice
May 01, 2009 - Hours before the Bank of America: Enough action in Los Angeles April 28, the city council voted 13 to 1 for a resolution supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

May 1st marches across the country signal "new day" for immigration reform
Apr 30, 2009 - This May 1st, thousands of workers, labor leaders and community activists are taking it to the streets to demand justice for all workers and pressure Congress to pass humane reform that puts an end to the Bush administration's immigration policies. Read more...

Today's Hearing on Immigration Reform is Big Step Forward
Apr 30, 2009 - Today, SEIU Vice President Eliseo Medina testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security at a hearing on the need for passing comprehensive immigration reform in 2009. Read more...

Home Care Workers Unite With SEIU in Ontario and Nevada
Apr 30, 2009 - Home care workers from Ontario and Nevada are the latest workers to join SEIU in their growing campaign to raise standards and improve the quality of home care across North America and and set higher standards for thousands of home care aides. Read more...

SEIU Calls on CNN and FOX News to Pull Ads
Apr 30, 2009 - Yesterday, SEIU sent letters to FOX News and CNN requesting they pull a grossly misleading ad by Rick Scott's "Conservatives for Patients Rights." The ads, which contain false statements and misleading quotes from doctors, were produced by the same PR firm that created the now-widely discredited "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" ads against Sen. John Kerry in 2004. Read more...

The Big News - And What You Can Do NOW
Apr 30, 2009 - Senator Arlen Specter joined hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have left the Republican Party and announced that he would become a Democrat. In the past, he's risen above above partisanship to support working people - and we've worked with him on many important issues. Read more...

Huge News at Bank of America: Watch the Video
Apr 30, 2009 - Something remarkable happened yesterday. A majority of Bank of America's shareholders voted to oust Ken Lewis as Chairman of the company's board. This is huge. Shareholders cast an unprecedented vote of no confidence on Ken Lewis' leadership at Bank of America. It's the first step to real accountability at the financial giant. Read more...

Sounds and Silence: Workers Memorial Day
Apr 30, 2009 - Every April 28, the international labor movement stops to commemorate the lives and sacrifices of workers who never made it home, and to renew the struggle for safer and healthier workplaces. Read more...

Obama's First 100 Days: What he's done for workers
Apr 29, 2009 - Today marks the 100th day Obama has been in the Oval Office. "President Obama has made it clear from day one that we will not be able to rebuild our economy stronger than it was without a greater voice, and greater prosperity, for American workers," said SEIU's Anna Burger, highlighting workers' engagement during the Administration's first 100 days. Read more...

Video: 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" Delivered to Bank of America
Apr 29, 2009 - Earlier, we delivered your 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" to Bank of America, directly before the annual shareholder meeting. Read more...

Pictures from San Francisco with Mary Kay Henry
Apr 29, 2009 - SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry led a rally and protest outside of Bank of America in San Francisco yesterday. It was a windy day, but 50+ activists gathered to call for reform at Bank of America. Read more...

Pictures from Today's Rally in Charlotte
Apr 29, 2009 - Fresh in from North Carolina, here are some picture's from today's event outside of the Bank of America annual shareholder's meeting, where we presented Bank of America with over 90,000 "Taxpayer's Proxy Cards." Read more...

Breaking: Bank of America Delays Release of Vote Results to Fire Ken Lewis
Apr 29, 2009 - It seems as though the vote to oust Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and other board members is "too close to call," according to the Wall Street Journal. Read more...

Bank of America: In The Doghouse?
Apr 29, 2009 - For a while, we've been saying that people are a little ticked at Bank of America's practices. We apologize to our canine friends, who, it appears, are also joining the movement for real reform at Bank of America. Read more...

Liveblogging Bank of America's Annual Shareholder Meeting
Apr 29, 2009 - We liveblogged Bank of America's annual shareholder meeting starting at 10am EST until the very end when the meeting adjourned after 2pm. Read commentary and analysis on the meeting in which Ken Lewis' fate at Bank of America will be decided by shareholders. Read more...

Grand Total: Over 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" Signed and Delivered
Apr 29, 2009 - Just moments ago, we delivered over 90,000 "Taxpayers Proxy Cards" to Bank of America. Who are these 90,000 people? They're an eclectic mix of those who signed on the Internet and those who joined one of 100 actions yesterday, out there in your community. Read more...

The Billboard That Haunts Ken Lewis' Dreams
Apr 29, 2009 - If you're in Charlotte, NC today, be on the lookout for this giant, moving billboard. Read more...

Bank of America Blog Roundup, April 29th 2009
Apr 29, 2009 - Our Take Back The Economy campaign is picking up some steam on the web, with a good number of blogs covering our events from yesterday and today. Read more...

Live from Charlotte (via Twitter): "Bank of America's in a spiral, this greed's going viral!"
Apr 29, 2009 - Dispatch just in from outside the Bank of America shareholder meeting in Charlotte - SEIU blogger Kate Thomas writes on Twitter... Read more...

Video: SEIU President Andy Stern Speaks at Rally in NYC
Apr 29, 2009 - We've just received video from the New York City's Take Back The Economy event, where SEIU President Andy Stern and event attendees delivered a "Taxpayer's Proxy" card to the Bank of America headquarters. Watch the video here. Read more...

Bank of America Action in Palo Alto
Apr 29, 2009 - A group of people, including members of SEIU Local 2007, went inside a BofA branch with a taxpayer proxy card to cast their votes for firing BofA CEO Ken Lewis whose failed policies have wreaked havoc on the economy and put taxpayers on the hook for as much as $200 billion...so far. Read more...

Live from Charlotte: Momentum Building before BofA's Annual Shareholder Meeting
Apr 29, 2009 - We're on the ground in Charlotte, NC for Bank of America's annual shareholder meeting, where I've just been told we've reached 90,000 signed "taxpayer proxy" cards calling for reform at Bank of America. BofA CEO Ken Lewis is reportedly losing... Read more...

Sebelius confirmed, but why not sooner?
Apr 29, 2009 - It took swine flu, and 13,000 petition signatures, to remind Republican Senators that cynical politicking can have real consequences for American lives. After weeks of Republican maneuvers to delay a floor vote, the Senate yesterday voted 65-31 to confirm Kathleen Sebelius as HHS Secretary. Read more...

Live from Charlotte: Bank of America ATM Fees Begin off the Plane
Apr 28, 2009 - I just landed in Charlotte for our Take Back the Economy action outside the Bank of America shareholder meeting. I needed to get cash, but the only ATM in sight is Bank of America. Read more...

100 Turn Out in Portland BofA Action
Apr 28, 2009 - Over 100 people turned out in Portland, Oregon today to demand taxpayer accountability at Bank of America. Members and staff of SEIU Locals 49 and 503 rallied in Pioneer Courthouse Square to demand that BofA CEO Ken Lewis be fired for the bank's policies that have devastated the economy. Read more...

Video: Take Back The Economy Rally in Washington, DC
Apr 28, 2009 - Today, SEIU's Executive Vice President, Eliseo Medina, led a rally in front of a Bank of America branch near the White House. Watch it here. Read more...

Minneapolis Taxpayers Demand Change at BofA
Apr 28, 2009 - More than 30 SEIU and UFCW members gathered with other community allies at a BofA-owned insurance office in Minneapolis to hold Ken Lewis accountable for wreaking havoc on the economy. They sent a group inside the branch, where they spoke with a representative from the bank, and then held a rally outside. Read more...

Bank of America: "shortfall of billions of dollars." What you can do.
Apr 28, 2009 - This morning the Wall Street Journal reports on the first look at those financial stress tests. The results? Bank of America has a "shortfall [that] amounts to billions of dollars." Bank of America is what the Wall Street Journal called... Read more...

Andy Stern's Statement on Senator Arlen Specter
Apr 28, 2009 - Statement from SEIU President Andy Stern on Sen. Specter's announcement that he is switching political parties to become a Democrat. Read more...

Taxpayers Rally in Providence
Apr 28, 2009 - Taxpayers are rallying in dozens of cities across the country today calling for Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis to go. Today's events are off to a great start. Here's a snapshot from the event in Providence. Read more...

BofA Stressed Out?
Apr 28, 2009 - The official stress test results don't come out until next week, but if BofA fails, the government may have to pour tens of billions more into the bank. Ken Lewis' mismanagement of the bank already has taxpayers on the hook for up to $199.2 billion. Read more...

Fire Ken Lewis!
Apr 28, 2009 - Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis' failed policies have wreaked havoc on the economy. Taxpayers are getting together all over the country today to say that enough is enough and it is time for Lewis to go! Read more...

Today is Equal Pay Day for Women
Apr 28, 2009 - Today, April 28, is Equal Pay Day, marking the point in 2009 when the average woman's wages finally catch up with what the average man earned in 2008. Read more...

SURVEY: Over One-Third of Healthcare Facilities Not Prepared in Event of Pandemic Flu Outbreak
Apr 27, 2009 - Only 4 percent of surveyed union leaders representing heatlh care workers reported their workplaces as "very ready" to respond sufficiently to an influenza pandemic like swine flu, according to a new report compiled by the SEIU and six other unions. Read more...

VOTE for Limbaugh as Worst Media Moment of Obama's First 100 Days
Apr 27, 2009 - Our friends over at Media Matters are asking online readers to watch a selection of the most outrageous media moments from the first 100 days, and vote for which you think is the worst. For us, the winner here is pretty clear: Rush Limbaugh's choice words on Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

US bailout for offshored jobs?
Apr 27, 2009 - More than 20,000 people have already signed "taxpayer proxy cards" asking for CEO Ken Lewis to be fired and to reform Bank of America. Can you help us reach 30,000 in the next 48 hours? Read more...

What's the HHS got to do with it?
Apr 27, 2009 - The swine flu outbreak has prompted news outlets and bloggers to take a harder look at the Republican obstructionism that's blocked the confirmation of an HHS Secretary. Many noticed that on Sunday, when White House officials briefed the press on the spread of the virus, the official who spoke was not the Health and Human Services Secretary (whose confirmation is stalled in the Senate), but Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Read more...

Bank of America: So, About that "America" Part of Our Name
Apr 27, 2009 - While the US taxpayer has been more than generous towards Bank of America, giving the bank up to $199.2 billion in federal assistance, CEO Ken Lewis hasn't exactly returned the favor. Read more...

Arkansas Worker Shown the Door for Talking About Workplace Safety
Apr 27, 2009 - Rhonda Woods lives in Paris, Arkansas and until recently worked on a factory floor. When she brought up potentially unsafe working conditions to her boss, she was told: "If you don't like it, there's the door." Read more...

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis Blows off Retirees
Apr 25, 2009 - When asked what he thinks about calls to resign, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis appeared to care less about the lives of those who have invested his company, and more about his own bottom-line. Read more...

SEIU Nurses In Florida Relay Healthcare Headaches to State Lawmakers
Apr 24, 2009 - Nurses from across Florida gathered with State Representative Alan Williams and Leon County Commissioner Cliff Thaell in Tallahassee this week to ensure elected officials understand the dire state of our healthcare system. Read more...

New Documentary Chronicles Union Workers Building "Green"
Apr 24, 2009 - To promote green-collar jobs and clean energy manufacturing, a new film has been touring union halls as part of nationwide Earth Day celebrations taking place this week. "The Greening of Southie" tells the story of Boston's first residential green building from the perspective of blue collar union workers who are becoming our green collar workforce. Read more...

TV Ad: America Wants Green Jobs
Apr 24, 2009 - SEIU and coalition partners MoveOn Political Action, Blue Green Alliance, AFL-CIO, Environmental Defense Fund and the League of Conservation Voters launched an ad this week called "America Wants Green Jobs," to highlight good, green jobs in the clean energy economy. Read more...

When $45 Billion is Really $199.2 Billion
Apr 24, 2009 - If you've been following the news, you know by now that Bank of America is in debt to the American taxpayer in the amount of $45 billion - the amount of TARP funds (aka "bailout money") that they received since last year. But it turns out that a figure that you likely haven't heard - 199.2 billion - paints a bit more of an accurate number on how much Bank of America will most likely "borrow" from the American people. Read more...

Missoula Turns Out to talk Health Care with Ezra Klein
Apr 24, 2009 - This past week, blogger and policy wonk Ezra Klein, along with Change that Works and Forward Montana, came to Missoula to discuss the current state of health care in Montana. Thanks to your support, it was a raging success. We look forward to many more successful events to come! Read more...

Is Your Union Going Green?
Apr 23, 2009 - In the greening of the economy, workers and low-income people are not a liability or a line item--they are a part of the solution. SEIU members and their local unions across the country are leading the way in new green initiatives to promote energy efficiency and quality green jobs. Read more...

Tell Bank of America It's Time for Reform
Apr 23, 2009 - While Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, is calling for business as usual, taxpayers are calling for change. On Tuesday, April 28, thousands of taxpayers will tell Bank of America it's time for reform - and for CEO Ken Lewis to be fired. Read more...

Pennsylvania Workers Try to Meet with Arlen Specter
Apr 23, 2009 - Last week, hundreds of workers gathered together on a blustery day to tell us why we need the Employee Free Choice Act now. Read more...

Baucus Gets Things Moving on Health Care
Apr 23, 2009 - The crowd spilled into the overflow room Monday, as the Senate Finance Committee, Chaired by Montana Senator Max Baucus, began the process of, at last, making health care reform a reality in this country. Monday's hearing was an encouraging sign that we're on the right track. Read more...

Earth Day Means Clean Green Jobs for Working People
Apr 22, 2009 - This Earth Day marks a turning point in the environmental movement, with union members speaking out more than ever before for "good jobs, green jobs" and a clean energy economy. Read more...

Anna Burger joins Earth Day roundtable on role of women in the green economy
Apr 22, 2009 - SEIU's Anna Burger joined women from labor, business, academic and advocacy organizations to shine a light on the important role that women will play in our green economy at an Earth Day roundtable today at the Department of Labor headquarters. Read more...

Tweet-up Connects Senator Grassley to Change That Works Constituents
Apr 22, 2009 - Change that Works is always looking for new ways to connect Iowans to our lawmakers in Washington. Which is why we were excited when Senator Chuck Grassley announced a tweet-up: a Des Moines town hall-style event for his constituents and followers on Twitter. Read more...

Maine's Workers Travel To DC to Meet with Senators
Apr 22, 2009 - This Wednesday, Maine's workers traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Our Maine workers are making the trip all the way down to our nation's capitol to personally urge the senators to support Maine's workers by saying YES to the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU Healthcare Illinois Ad: Don't cut home care and child care to the bone
Apr 22, 2009 - SEIU Healthcare Illinois launched a hard-hitting advertising campaign this week, timed to coincide with the return of legislators to Springfield, calling on the General Assembly to stop deep cuts to child care and home care services in the FY10 budget. Read more...

Alameda Hospital Workers Win 18% Raises
Apr 22, 2009 - On April 17, SEIU UHW members at Alameda Hospital in Oakland ratified a new three-year contract, which is retroactive to April 2008 and covers nearly 130 workers. Read more...

NY Times Editorial: Viewing Undocumented Workers as Invaders is Misguided
Apr 21, 2009 - Unions see immigration reform as an issue of worker empowerment. Reform that allows immigrants to legalize and stand up against tolerating low pay and workplace would not only improve their lives, but all workers' lives. Read more...

Wake-up Call: Abuse of Hispanics Workers Will Continue Without Immigration Reform
Apr 21, 2009 - Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South, a report released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), surveys a mix of legal residents, undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens in the southeast U.S. and finds Latinos routinely subject to racial profiling, harassment by law enforcement and workplace abuse. Read more...

Yes, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Supports the Employee Free Choice Act
Apr 21, 2009 - Despite some unbalanced reporting, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis's support for the Employee Free Choice Act is not remotely in question. Secretary Solis's labor record is beyond reproach, and her support for the Employee Free Choice Act has never wavered. Read more...

Tell the Senate: Vote Immediately on Kathleen Sebelius
Apr 21, 2009 - Remember when Republicans tried to block Hilda Solis? Read more...

SEIU Master Trust Demands Investigation of Billions in Payouts for Executives in 29 of its Portfolio Companies
Apr 21, 2009 - In letters addressed to the Boards of Directors of 29 major companies in its investment portfolio, the SEIU Master Trust--a consortium of pension funds with approximately $1.3 billion in assets--demand that the companies' boards overhaul their executive compensation structure so top executives do not reap bonuses and other incentivized pay rewards regardless of the companies' performance. Read more...

The Sprint Toward the Finish Line?
Apr 21, 2009 - News broke yesterday afternoon that Senators Kennedy and Baucus have pledged to have a health care bill ready for mark-up in early June. The Senators asserted that their respective Committee bills could be 'quickly merged into a single bill for consideration on the Senate floor.' For health care advocates, this ambitious timeline indicates that the next two months will be one of the most dynamic periods in recent Congressional history. Read more...

SEIU on CNBC: Fire CEO Ken Lewis
Apr 20, 2009 - [YouTube video] Read more...

Mary Kay Henry Named Among "Top 25 Women in Healthcare"
Apr 20, 2009 - The latest issue of Modern Healthcare lists the Top 25 Women in Healthcare, naming our very own Mary Kay Henry as one of those on the front lines to reforming our healthcare system to provide quality, affordable healthcare for all. Read more...

WNYC Interviews SEIU's Eliseo Medina re: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation
Apr 17, 2009 - SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina joined President of the Department of Professional Employees Paul Almeida, both representing Change to Win unions and AFL-CIO unions, to discuss the groups' unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Read more...

Unions 1, Pirates 0
Apr 17, 2009 - The American crew members of the Maersk Alabama - a ship recently hijacked by Somali pirates - fought back and won. They specifically cited their union membership as a reason for how they were able to beat the pirates. Read more...

Public Workers Pay Taxes Too!
New Hampshire Public Employees Protest Job Cuts
Apr 17, 2009 - On Wednesday, over a hundred members of SEIU Local 1984 in New Hampshire joined state employees at the Concord State House for a Tax Day protest against possible public employee layoffs and cuts in pay and benefits. The state budget recently passed by the House would impose a mandatory 2 percent "tax" on 51,000 public workers, pulling $100 million out of the New Hampshire economy, even as local retailers are really struggling. Read more...

In Case You Missed It: Rallies, Events Continue Across the Country in Support of Employee Free Choice Act
Apr 17, 2009 - In Washington, they may have questioned whether the Employee Free Choice Act battle was drawing to a close. Good thing no one told the rest of the country, where rallies and activities in favor of the bill are going strong. From Maine to North Dakota, activists gathered to tell their Senators, the time for the Employee Free Choice Act is now. Read more...

CIR/SEIU Members Discuss Healthcare Reform during Congressional Recess
Apr 16, 2009 - Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare have been participating in in-district health care reform events during the Congressional spring recess. Several events took place over the past week in New Jersey, New York and New Mexico. Read more...

First Wal-Mart Workers in North America Gain Union Representation
Apr 16, 2009 - It took nearly four years, but unionized workers at a Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Wal-Mart store have finally won their first collective agreement--the first of its kind in North America. Read more...

Fire CEO Ken Lewis: Sign Your Taxpayer Proxy
Apr 15, 2009 - While Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, is calling for business as usual, taxpayers are calling for change. It's time for Bank of America to stop the policies and practices that helped crash our economy and hurts its customers with unfair fees and hidden costs. Read more...

Senator Grassley Says Progress on Healthcare Depends Upon Bipartisanship
Apr 15, 2009 - "The true test of this bipartisanship process will be how we handle the details," said Senator Charles E. Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, last week in a Mason City, Iowa, health forum including panelists from AARP and SEIU. Speaking about competition between insurance companies, Local 199 member and RN Mary Burke commented, "I think competition would actually be meaningful if we have a public health care system. If you don't have everybody insured, we're still going to have the problem." Read more...

Nebraska, not DC
Apr 15, 2009 - Now, in my experience, there aren't that many cherry blossoms in Nebraska this time a year. Or statues of Civil War generals. Or, uh, White Houses. But for whatever reason, that's the backdrop the Chamber of Commerce has chosen for their new anti-Employee Free Choice Act attack ad in the state, an ad whose theme of is supposedly "You can't let Washington tell Nebraskans what to do." Read more...

Labor Groups United to Unveil Unified Immigration Reform Framework
Apr 14, 2009 - Today, the Change to Win federation and AFL-CIO unveiled a unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The proposal endorses legalizing the status of tundocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. and opposes the adoption of employers' incentive to hire undocumented workers rather than U.S. workers. Read more...

1199SEIU Wins Largest Union Victory in Boston-Area Hospital in Two Decades
Apr 14, 2009 - More than 800 healthcare workers at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, the largest medical center in the Caritas Christi Health Care chain, voted last Thursday to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU. Read more...

Dennis Rivera and Michael Bloomberg: Health Care Reform is a Must
Apr 14, 2009 - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera have published a joint op-ed on the Huffington Post with a simple message: health care reform must happen this year, period. Read more...

SEIU to Chamber of Commerce: Stop Using Taxpayer Bailout Funds to Undermine Working Families
Apr 14, 2009 - On their blog yesterday afternoon, the Chamber of Commerce admitted to accepting dues from member companies who have received taxpayer bailout money. The Chamber of Commerce must stop accepting taxpayer funds to lobby against taxpayer interests that would improve the lives of hardworking Americans. Read more...

"Faces of Employee Free Choice" come to Colorado
Apr 14, 2009 - This past week, the Employee Free Choice Act came home to Colorado in a way that hadn't been seen before: with a traveling billboard featuring two people whose lives would have been better had the act been in place. Read more...

Service-Sector Workers Increase Wages and Benefits with Unions
Apr 14, 2009 - A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) shows that nationally, unionization raises service workers' pay 10.1 percent (about $2.00 per hour), compared to non-union service workers, and increases the likelihood that the worker will have health insurance and a pension. Read more...

Video: Why Working Families Need the Employee Free Choice Act
Apr 13, 2009 - In their own words, workers speak out about how the current system to form unions is broken--and why working families need the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Chamber of Commerce's New Anti-worker TV Ads: More of the Same
Apr 13, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching a $1 million television ad campaign this week against the Employee Free Choice Act--using the same, tired lines they've used in the past to defeat popular legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read more...

Qvisory Online Community Offers Practical Life Tools for Young Adults
Apr 12, 2009 - Qvisory, a non-profit organization, launched with the support of SEIU, combines advocacy with selected benefits focused on the needs of young workers. Qvisory relaunches tomorrow with an updated website and new services to help get young workers through the recession. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act: Paving the Road to Economic Recovery
Apr 09, 2009 - The Center for American Progress Report (CAP) is out, and the results are definitive: labor unions are a crucial part of fixing our economy. Read more...

Greed
Apr 09, 2009 - Getting rich is everything to Wall St. For years, greedy CEOs have done all they can to reward themselves while exploiting working people. Read more...

Standing for Security
Apr 09, 2009 - Today more than 30,000 private security officers nationwide have come together to form a union with SEIU and together have won wage increases, increased training, and affordable health benefits. Together we have built a strong voice to bring more professionalism... Read more...

Spring is Heating Up!
Apr 09, 2009 - Members of Congress are home for the April recess break, but Virginia Change that Works is hard at work - building momentum to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Over the April recess, Change that Works plans actions across Virginia,... Read more...

President Obama Creates Office of Health Reform
Apr 08, 2009 - By executive order, President Obama established the White House Office of Health Reform today. According to the order, it "will provide leadership to the executive branch in establishing policies, priorities, and objectives for the Federal Government's comprehensive effort to improve access to health care, the quality of such care, and the sustainability of the health care system." Read more...

Public Outrage Over Bank of America's Self-Serving, Predatory and Dangerous Practices Heats Up
Apr 08, 2009 - In recent weeks, there's been a growing chorus of public outrage over the lavish bonuses paid to bank executives like Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, whose self-serving profit schemes and risky financial deals led to today's economic collapse. Read more...

NYT: We Should Have a Public Health Insurance Option
Apr 08, 2009 - The New York Times is out in front with an early endorsement of a public health insurance option as part of any plan to fix health care: A new public plan - to offer consumers greater choice, keep the private... Read more...

Watch MSNBC's "Ed Schultz Show"
Apr 08, 2009 - Yesterday evening, MSNBC's The Ed Show featured SEIU's Stephen Lerner about the importance of employee free choice. Read more...

Labor Leaders Form National Labor Coordinating Committee
Apr 07, 2009 - The AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the National Education Association announced today the creation of a National Labor Coordinating Committee to consult among their affiliated unions and to act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans. Read more...

Ezra Klein: Fixing Health Care Shouldn't Mean Choosing Between Two Extremes
Apr 07, 2009 - Rather than deciding as a society how much will be spent in the coming year and then figuring out how best to spend it, we abdicate collective responsibility and let individuals fend for themselves. So although Britain and Canada have decided that no one will go without, even if some must occasionally wait, the U.S. has decided that most of those who can't afford care simply won't get it. Read more...

Any Time, Any Reason?
Apr 07, 2009 - We play by the rules. We pay our credit card bills on time and we pay what we owe. But the big banks don't play by rules. They can jack up our interest rates at almost any time and for almost any reason on your balance. Read more...

Senator Specter on the Employee Free Choice Act: Then and Now
Apr 07, 2009 - This morning Senator Arlen Specter appeared on MSNBC's and spoke about his new position on the Employee Free Choice Act -- which he formerly co-sponsored and now announced he will not even allow for debate on the bill. Read more...

Senator Schumer: Competition Works for Health Care
Apr 06, 2009 - That's where Senator Schumer comes in. During the coming months, as the plans for health care reform unfold, his job is to make sure Congress is looking out for patients and not profits by including a public health insurance option into the mix. Backing him up will be President Obama and the soon-to-be-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. And, of course, all of us. Read more...

Standing Up to Contracting-Out in Our Schools
Apr 03, 2009 - When the Windham Board of Education announced its plan to outsource school foodservices out to a private, for-profit food services vendor, CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 members began mobilizing public support immediately to pressure school officials to reject it. Read more...

New TV Ad for the Employee Free Choice Act: "Fabric of America"
Apr 03, 2009 - Politico reports on a new ad for the Employee Free Choice Act that debuts this weekend. Read more...

Free Sebelius!
Apr 03, 2009 - It's with great disappointment that we received news this morning that an "unnamed Republican Senator" put a hold on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary. At a time when the U.S. economy is collapsing under the elephantine costs of our broken health care system, how is it that one anonymous Senator can obstruct filling the leadership post of our nation's top health agency? Read more...

St. Catharines Workers United Local 2347 Wins with Overwhelming Community Support
Apr 03, 2009 - It's been a long time coming, but Diane and her co-workers finally have the union they wanted, said Alex Dagg, Canadian director of the new-formed Workers United yesterday. Read more...

Moving Forward: Congress Passes President Obama's Budget
Apr 03, 2009 - Today, we moved a little bit closer to fixing health care. Nothing about it was easy, but Congress has passed a budget that includes a historic commitment to health care reform. It follows the president's directive to establish a health reform reserve fund to cover the cost of health care without raising the deficit. Consider this a promise to the American people that real change is coming this year. Read more...

"Remembering King, Realizing the Dream" March and Rally in LA April 4th
Apr 02, 2009 - The 5,000 member SEIU-SOULA (Security Officers United in Los Angeles) Local 2006 will join community organizations in a three-mile march to commemorate the 41st anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's death on April 4th in LA. Read more...

Detroit Nurses Win Wage Collusion Settlement to Boost Recruitment
Apr 02, 2009 - Nurses in the Detroit area are celebrating a $13.6 million settlement reached with St. John's Health System in a class action lawsuit brought to expose attempts by area hospitals to hold down wages for nurses despite an ongoing shortage of RNs willing to work in acute care hospitals. Read more...

Depression in California's Inland Empire Shows Need for Employee Free Choice Act
Apr 02, 2009 - Tom Woodruff, the director of Change to Win's Strategic Organizing Center and an Executive VP at SEIU, has a piece in the Huffington Post that paints a picture of just how hard the economic crisis has hit workers in California's Inland Empire, where unemployment is above 12 percent Read more...

Budget Coming As Soon As Today
Apr 02, 2009 - The AP is reporting that Congress is expected to take a final vote on a budget resolution as early as today. Both the House and Senate Budget Committees released their own proposals last week that protect the key investments President Obama had requested for fixing health care and restoring the economy. Read more...

What happened when I talked about a union
Apr 01, 2009 - In 2007 alone, more than 29,000 workers were fired or disciplined for union activity. Trisha Miechur, a Certified Nurse Assistant at a ManorCare nursing home in Easton, PA, is one of those workers. Read more...

National campaign launches to ensure 2010 Census counts all Latinos
Apr 01, 2009 - Today Ya Es Hora, a coalition of Spanish-language media and Latino organizations, briefed national media on the third phase of its historic civic engagement campaign, HAGASE CONTAR! (It's Time, Make Yourself Count!), which launch a grassroots media and education campaign to supplement Census Bureau efforts to reach the traditionally hard-to-count Latino community. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern to be honored at 11th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards
Apr 01, 2009 - Tonight, April 1st, SEIU President Andy Stern will be recognized for his social and political advocacy work by Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) at the 11th annual Keepers of the Dream awards. Read more...

Joe the Plumber: Clueless on the Employee Free Choice Act
Apr 01, 2009 - "Joe the Plumber" campaigned across Pennsylvania to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act - the only problem is, he has no clue what he's talking about. When asked a basic question about the bill - that majority signup currently exists as a way for workers to join unions - Joe the Plumber's mental pipes got clogged. Watch this great video Read more...

Joe the Plumber Fights Employee Free Choice; Real Plumbers Fight Back
Apr 01, 2009 - Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher is back, still missing a plumbing license. That's not stopping him from lecturing actual plumbers -- some of them, I believe, actually named Joe -- about how unions somehow are conspiring to destroy civilization as we know it. Read more...

The Union Advantage for Women
Mar 31, 2009 - In 2007, women made up 45 percent of union members--and by 2020, women will be the majority of the unionized workforce. Women have a great deal to gain from unionization, as union victories work to pave the way for workers to bargain for affordable family health care, fair wages, improved working conditions, and a better life for their families. Read more...

'West Wing' actors join workers, members of Congress to unveil "Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act" campaign
Mar 31, 2009 - On Tuesday, March 31, Hollywood "West Wing" stars Martin Sheen and Bradley Whitford descended upon the nation's Capitol to join workers, union leaders and members of Congress for the unveiling of a new ad and grassroots campaign. Read more...

Jet-Setting CEOs
Mar 31, 2009 - Right now, Colorado CEOs are flying to Washington, DC to march on the offices of Colorado Senators Michael Bennet & Mark Udall. The CEOs - accompanied by corporate lobbyists - will demand that our senators refuse to level the playing... Read more...

Empowering Workers through Employee Free Choice
Mar 31, 2009 - Today, the Politico debuted a special section online and in print about the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Tell the Treasury: Fix Bank of America, Fire CEO Ken Lewis
Mar 31, 2009 - Firing GM's CEO is a positive step towards restructuring this critical American industry. But the Obama Administration needs to apply the same lesson to the financial sector: replace failed leadership and shepherd the industry into a new era. Sign our petition to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calling for Ken Lewis to be replaced as Bank of America CEO. Read more...

White House Report: The Costs of Inaction
Mar 30, 2009 - The White House issued a report on health care this morning that serves as a sobering reminder of the urgent need for reform. Released online at HealthReform.gov, the report documents the widespread effects of the health care crisis across the United States. Read more...

Bank Workers Worldwide Speak Out Against "Hard Sell" to Customers
Mar 30, 2009 - In a teleconference briefing today, UNI Finance Global Union gathered bank employees from the U.S., UK, Brazil, and Denmark for a "special insider media briefing" on short-term, profit-driven banking procedures that put customers and economies at risk. Read more...

Making Work Pay with the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 30, 2009 - Almost as soon as she begin her new job as a housekeeper at Jorgensen's motel, Amy Swanson knew that the workplace conditions she and her coworkers were subjected to were untenable. There was no access to affordable healthcare and her wages were pitifully low. She and the other employees of the Helena, Montana motel had no job security, and little to no say in what their schedules would be from week-to-week. Read more...

SEIU, Blue Green Alliance Urge Climate Change Legislation in 2009
Mar 30, 2009 - On Friday, four labor unions and two environmental organizations representing six million people announced their support for comprehensive cap-and-trade climate change legislation in 2009. The Blue Green Alliance's goal is nothing less than to transform the U.S. economy through global warming solutions and create millions of family-sustaining green jobs in the clean energy economy. Read more...

Rep. Donna Edwards Answers Questions about the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 29, 2009 - Congresswoman Donna Edwards stopped by the blog Firedoglake.com Saturday afternoon to talk with supporters. The Employee Free Choice Act was the topic of many questions from commenters. Here's what Donna Edwards said. Read more...

The DREAM is back!
Mar 27, 2009 - Yesterday, the DREAM came alive again as S.729 and H.R.1751--the new DREAM Act--was introduced to Congress. The DREAM Act would correct a flaw in our immigration laws that currently provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children. Read more...

Bailout Watchdog Team Drops by "Secret" Financial Services Roundtable Meeting
Mar 27, 2009 - Despite efforts by the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR)--the lobbying organization for banking and financial industries--to keep the location of their spring meeting secret, a group of spirited protesters found them yesterday in Washington, D.C. at the luxury hotel Read more...

Really? Joe The Plumber? Really?
Mar 27, 2009 - We've got some news that will leave you scratching your head and wondering, "when will he go away for good?" Joe the Plumber, who is neither Joe (his name is Sam) nor a licensed plumber has accepted an opportunity to become the new symbol and embodiment of the front groups campaigning against Employee Free Choice. Read more...

SEIU COPE TV ad for Scott Murphy - NY-20
Mar 27, 2009 - SEIU COPE (Committee on Public Education) released an ad today in support of Scott Murphy in New York's 20th Congressional District. Read more...

Medical Outrage: Investigation of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Mar 27, 2009 - One of the founding principles at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston has been the quest to "treat patients compassionately" -- a commitment that caregivers have devoted their lives to fulfilling. Unfortunately, hospital administrators at BIDMC haven't always shared the same commitment to compassion, or to the "transparency and honesty" so often touted in glowing press releases and glossy pictures provided to the media. Read more...

SEIU RN Linda Bock speaks at Obama's online town hall
Mar 27, 2009 - At the White House's online town hall yesterday, SEIU nurse Linda Bock thanked President Obama for giving her the opportunity to be heard and offer a front line perspective of the health care crisis. Bock expressed the importance of nurses having a voice in the solution to fix health care, to create a system that puts caregivers in charge of the decisions that affect their patients. Read more...

Landmark Nurse Wage Class Action Suit Moves Forward
Mar 26, 2009 - The landmark lawsuit filed by Detroit nurses over efforts by hospitals in their area to collude to hold down wages for RNs is moving forward. Federal Judge Gerald Rosen rejected arguments from Mount Clemens General Hospital in Michigan that the landmark suit has no merit and ordered the case to proceed. Read more...

Helping Laid-Off Workers Afford Health Coverage
Mar 26, 2009 - Laid-off workers can get much of their healthcare insurance paid for through a new law that makes changes to the health benefit provisions of COBRA, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Read more...

Arlen Specter: Don't Cave to Big Business
Mar 25, 2009 - We need Congress to act as swiftly on real economic recovery for working people in America as they did to bail out Wall Street. Senator Specter can bring this change - but he needs to hear from you now. Read more...

Small Business Owners Weigh In on Free Choice
Mar 25, 2009 - On Monday, the Senate Republican Conference held an Anti-Employee Free Choice hearing in Washington. The goal? Using the hearing as a mechanism to publicly trash components of Free Choice. Read more...

Anna Burger on TPMtv
Mar 25, 2009 - Talking Points Memo talks with Anna Burger, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer, about the economy and the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Healthcare Equality Project Launches
Mar 24, 2009 - More than 20 coalition partners in 13 states and Washington, DC, launched the Healthcare Equality Project on Tuesday. The coalition--which includes Congress members, physicians, nurses and community advocates--will urge Congress to pass healthcare reform that addresses the serious and pervasive inequalities in America's health care system. Read more...

SEIU's Michael Kerr nominated for Department of Labor post
Mar 24, 2009 - Last week, President Obama announced SEIU's Michael Kerr as his nominee for Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) with the Department of Labor. Read more...

Don't Play Games with Atlantic City Casino Dealers
Mar 24, 2009 - The new Gaming Workers Council brings together four of the nation's largest labor unions to put the combined force of 15 million union members behind casino unionization drives across the country. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Gaming Division, SEIU, UAW and AFL-CIO are standing together on behalf of workers in the casino industry, concentrating on jump-starting stalled contract talks in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Detroit and Connecticut. Read more...

Top 5 Things to Know About Healthcare Equality
Mar 24, 2009 - The healthcare system Americans deserve will deliver quality affordable health care to ALL no matter the color of their skin, the language they speak, economic status, or geographic location. The longer we wait, the worse it gets. Read more...

Half of California's state workforce covered by new contract agreement
Mar 23, 2009 - SEIU Local 1000 members voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract providing the strongest layoff protections and furlough limits state workers have ever had. The agreement affects 95,000 California workers and limits some of the emergency measures imposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to bridge the state's $42 billion budget gap. Read more...

Confirm Kathleen Sebelius
Mar 23, 2009 - [YouTube video] Read more...

Obama Says: 'I Will Help You' Find Health Care for Son
Mar 23, 2009 - SEIU Local 721 member Robin Lewis, who works for the LA County Dept. of Children and Family Services, told President Obama directly how important health care reform is for her son, Kolin. Read more...

Why Obama's Budget Matters
Mar 23, 2009 - The first step is making sure the President's budget gets the support it needs from leaders in Congress. His budget makes a huge down-payment on reforming healthcare this year, and toward erasing the disparities that have resulted in unequal care. We need to show our strong and unequivocal support for the Presidents budget. Already, Obama has done more to reform health care than George Bush did in eight years. Read more...

TN: Emergency Health Care Meetings Tomorrow
Mar 20, 2009 - We're organizing four emergency meetings tomorrow, March 21, to make a plan of action for how we can urge Tennessee Congressmen Jim Cooper and Bart Gordon to help pass President Obama's budget. Read more...

Taxpayer money shouldn't be used to lobby against working peoples' interests
Mar 20, 2009 - Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, the recipients of TARP funds are instead using their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors--us. Read more...

Security Officers nationwide hitting the streets in support of the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 20, 2009 - After attending the National Worker Mobilization in Washington D.C. March 8-11, security officers returned to their home cities and spread out to talk to non-union security officers about the Employee Free Choice Act. Hundreds of security officers represented by SEIU spoke with more than 500 officers who currently don't have a union in 12 cities, signing them up to take action on the important worker legislation. Read more...

President Obama Reiterates Support for Making it Easier for Workers to Organize
Mar 20, 2009 - At the Costa Mesa town hall meeting this week, Obama reiterated his support for making it easier for workers to form unions to restore balance and improve millions of Americans' economic standing. Read more...

Wall Street Journal: Employee Free Choice Act "does not remove the secret ballot"
Mar 20, 2009 - Corporate front groups' one-line attack on the Employee Free Choice Act is the false claim that it somehow eliminates the secret ballot option for workers to join unions. But in this morning's Wall Street Journal, the paper's ed board admitted that argument just isn't true. Read more...

SEIU, CNA/NNOC Announce Transformative Agreement
Mar 19, 2009 - SEIU and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) today announced the signing of a transformative cooperation agreement. The two unions will work together to organize hospital workers throughout the country who don't yet have a union voice, with CNA/NNOC as the leading voice for RNs, and SEIU as the leading voice for all other hospital workers. Read more...

We Want Justice, Not Blood
Mar 19, 2009 - Yesterday, I sat for several hours in a House subcommittee meeting, waiting for a satisfying moment that never came. Scores of cameras, dozens of spectators, and the "Ladies in Pink" (who nearly got thrown out of the hearing for waving signs that said "Jail AIG") joined me as we waited for hours to hear from the CEO of AIG, Edward Liddy. Read more...

A Reality Check for AIG
Mar 19, 2009 - We've just returned from our local AIG headquarters here in D.C., where around 130 people stood in the rain to take part in our Take Back the Economy day of action. Demonstrators held signs, sang songs, and presented AIG with a "reality check" worth billions of dollars from the American people. Read more...

Take Back the Economy Actions: AIG Building Management Reacts
Mar 19, 2009 - Our action at the DC headquarters of "Bailout King" AIG just finished, but not before we obtained an internal email from building management in anticipation of our event. Read more...

Take Back the Economy Actions: Arrests at Peaceful Protest in Rhode Island
Mar 19, 2009 - We got word that our peaceful protest for TakeBackTheEconomy.org in Rhode Island was stopped by police with 8 arrests. Read more...

Putting Our Money Where Their Mouths Are
Mar 19, 2009 - Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, America's biggest banks have, instead, used their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors - us. Here's a quick look at a few of these groups. Read more...

March 19 Day of Action Against Corporate Excess
Mar 18, 2009 - As public anger erupts at over bonuses to AIG executives and almost daily revelations of abuses by Wall Street giants, we're channeling our frustration and anger into action that can make a difference. On Thursday, March 19, thousands of people nationwide will demonstrate outside major banks and demand real change. Read more...

Surprise! Rush Gets It Wrong on Free Choice
Mar 18, 2009 - The always-entertaining leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, had these words to say about Employee Free Choice today: "One day, Tony Soprano will walk in with a lead pipe and he will start beating people upside the head to vote to unionize." Read more...

Sometimes 'Sorry' just isn't enough: Fix CNBC Now!
Mar 18, 2009 - Responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable has been sorely lacking from news giant CNBC, who in recent months has seemed to be doing PR for Wall Street--instead of investigating and debunking lies to report the behind-the-scenes facts the public needs to know. Read more...

Congress Needs to Hear From Us
Mar 18, 2009 - There are lots of lessons to be learned from previous attempts to fix health care - and a few critical mistakes that we cannot repeat. One of those mistakes is assuming that, just because a piece of legislation doesn't say "health care reform" in the title, it isn't critical to solving the crisis. Read more...

From Reno to Capitol Hill
Mar 18, 2009 - This week has been quite the whirlwind. I left my home in Reno to join coworkers from my hospital (and hundreds of other SEIU members from across the country) to talk to our elected officials in Washington, DC about the need for the Employee Free Choice Act, and why giving workers a voice will help get our country back on track. Read more...

SEIU Workers on Why They Want a Union
Mar 17, 2009 - With corporate interest groups going on the attack around the Employee Free Choice Act, workers are now speaking out about why they want to join a union and the employer resistance and intimidation they've encountered when trying to organize their workplace. Watch SEIU workers share their stories about why the Employee Free Choice Act matters to them. Read more...

No economist needed to see the flaws in Secretary Geithner's latest TALF proposal
Mar 17, 2009 - SEIU's Anna Burger issued a statement yesterday commenting on Treasury Secretary Geithner's latest TALF proposal to invite private equity and hedge fund investors to a fire sale of bank assets--a fundamentally flawed plan Burger says is no more than a "return to the very same policies and practices that triggered the financial crisis in the first place." Read more...

Congressman Boren and Cintas Hanging You Out to Dry
Mar 17, 2009 - Corporate special interests are spending *millions* of dollars on lies, propaganda and twisting arms -- all in a desperate, greedy bid to keep hard-working Oklahomans like you from sharing in the American Dream. And Rep. Dan Boren is more than happy to help those corporate interests. Read more...

Gallup Poll: Majority of Americans Support the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 17, 2009 - In the first independent poll conducted this year on the issue, Americans are firmly and overwhelmingly in support of not only the Employee Free Choice Act, but of workers' rights and of labor in general. Read more...

Had enough of corporate irresponsibility?
Mar 16, 2009 - Word broke yesterday that despite being crowned the "Bailout King," AIG is going to pay out more than $400 million in bonuses. We've had enough. On Thursday, March 19, thousands of people nationwide will demonstrate outside major banks and demand real change. Read more...

New Sheriff in Town: Labor Secretary Solis Takes Oath of Office
Mar 16, 2009 - On Friday morning, former California Rep. Hilda Solis was officially sworn in as Secretary of Labor by Vice President Joe Biden at the U.S. Dept. of Labor headquarters. The confirmation of Hilda Solis as labor secretary is a momentous occasion that SEIU and organized labor had been anticipating--and fighting for--since Barack Obama first nominated her in mid-December for the position. Read more...

America's Recession-Resistant Jobs
Mar 16, 2009 - For the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs or feared for their job security in the past couple of months, one might think there are simply no jobs to be had in this current economic down spiral. Although no job is 100 percent secure, it's encouraging to know that there are job sectors that are still in need of educated employees right now. Read more...

SEIU Leaders on Employee Free Choice
Mar 13, 2009 - SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and Executive VP Eliseo Medina both had shared their thoughts on Employee Free Choice Act this week. Listen to--and watch--the interviews here. Read more...

About That New "Study" Funded by Front Groups that Oppose Free Choice...
Mar 13, 2009 - This week, opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act have been pointing to a fundamentally flawed study, whose findings claim that the US will lose 600,000 jobs in the year 2010 if the Employee Free Choice Act passes. The findings of the study itself, we found, have no external validity. Read more...

SEIU Supports New Bill to Ease Debt for Nursing Students
Mar 13, 2009 - Iowa Congressman Tom Latham and Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin introduced a bill on Thursday aimed at easing the debt burden on nursing students and combating America's nursing shortage. Read more...

O'Reilly Responds
Mar 13, 2009 - Bill O'Reilly refused the challenge to come walk a day in our shoes, because he's already "been to those places." While he may have visited Billings, Montana, we seriously doubt he's spent a day there caring for a sick patient, or keeping an office building secure in Chicago. Read more...

Missouri Home Care Workers Take Next Step to Form a Union
Mar 12, 2009 - Following on their hard work last November passing ballot initiative Proposition B to create a statewide Quality Home Care Council, Missouri home care attendants today filed for a union election with the State Board of Mediation. The more-than-16,000 workers who care for people with disabilities and seniors in Missouri's consumer-directed independent provider program will unite to form a new SEIU-AFSCME local union. Read more...

Recession reaching all the way to Sesame Street
Mar 12, 2009 - It looks like even beloved Muppet characters Big Bert and Ernie aren't safe in this economic chaos, as Sesame Workshop, the non-profit producer of Sesame Street, announced Wednesday it is laying off one-fifth of its 355-member workforce. Read more...

SEIU 32BJ Worker Testifies before Congress As Employee Free Choice Act is introduced
Mar 11, 2009 - Testifying before Congress, SEIU 32BJ member Kelly Badillo related how his union helped him and his family get back on their feet in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy. "My story exemplifies that businesses and unions can work together for the benefit of hardworking Americans like me. My daughters are grown and have jobs of their own, but I can only hope they can enjoy a strong voice on the workplace like I have had," said Badillo. Read more...

Ten Things You Should Know About the President's Budget
Mar 11, 2009 - President Obama recently unveiled his budget for getting America back on track - and it includes a significant downpayment toward fixing health care. As usual, opponents of reform are on the attack, attempting to turn our national discussion on health care into an uninformed, schoolyard brawl. Just check out Rep. Zach Wamp's recent appearance on MSNBC: Read more...

Level the Playing Field with Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 11, 2009 - Last night, SEIU's Stephen Lerner was on MSNBC's Hardball and had a great exchange with Chris Matthews that explains our case for the Employee Free Choice Act. Lerner delves into the hypocrisy of business groups' new "campaign" of allegedly standing up for workers' rights. Read more...

"Crackpot Economics" from Big Business
Mar 11, 2009 - Corporate-backed opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act are out with their latest Big Lie. A coalition of industry groups commissioned a "study" that claims the unemployment increases as more workers join unions. Read more...

SEIU, Coalition Partners Launch Retirement USA Initiative
Mar 11, 2009 - SEIU partnered with The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and the Pensions Rights Center to launch Retirement USA, an initiative working for a new retirement system that, along with Social Security, will provide universal, secure, and adequate income for future retirees. Read more...

What is the media saying about yesterday's Employee Free Choice rally?
Mar 10, 2009 - Yesterday, hundreds of workers from across the country rallied at the offices of major corporate industry associations to expose the huge scope of their DC lobbying against measures that could help working people in today's economy. We've compiled a short round-up of the media coverage surrounding SEIU's demonstrations - here are a few highlights. Read more...

Five Things to Know about the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 10, 2009 - The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress. Want some great reasons to support this bill that you've been hearing so much about? Here's five. (And if you already support it, please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to do the same.) Read more...

Poll: Voters Want a Public Health Insurance Plan
Mar 10, 2009 - The numbers are in. A recent poll conducted by Lake Research indicates that 73% of voters want to see a public health insurance option as part of health care reform in 2009. And guess what? It's smart fiscal policy, too. Read more...

Today's the day
Mar 10, 2009 - An important step toward restoring balance and fairness to our economy was taken today--the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate. SEIU President Andy Stern and SEIU member Regina Schwartz recorded a video message for you about the Employee Free Choice Act. Please watch the video and ask your Members of Congress to actively support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced
Mar 10, 2009 - Today is the day. At 12:15 today, Congress officially introduced the Employee Free Choice Act. This much-needed bill will help our country's economic recovery and help restore the middle class. Watch SEIU President Andy Stern speaking about why America's middle class needs the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

New York Nurses Celebrate Landmark Legal Settlement
Mar 09, 2009 - Nurses in Albany, NY reached a settlement in a class action case with Northeast Health, a network which has seven locations throughout the region and provides care for approximately 175,000 people each year. The $1.25 million deal is the first settlement of five national lawsuits aimed at stopping hospitals from allegedly conspiring to depress nurse wages, with similar class-action lawsuits are moving forward in Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and San Antonio. Read more...

Hundreds Demonstrate at Chamber of Commerce, Industry Trade Groups To Expose Massive Anti-Worker Lobbying
Mar 09, 2009 - We've just returned from Lafayette Park - right across the street from both The White House and the Chamber of Commerce - where hundreds of workers from across the country joined with labor, religious and community leaders to stage one amazing rally. Read more...

TONIGHT on MSNBC at 9 PM: Watch SEIU President Andy Stern
Mar 09, 2009 - Tonight, SEIU President Andy Stern will be the first guest on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," airing at 9:00 PM (EST). He'll discuss why protecting unions is essential to protecting the economy and the current debates on state stimulus spending. Read more...

Janitors Call On Banks to Use Taxpayer Money to Create Jobs, Not Reward CEOs
Mar 09, 2009 - On Thursday, hundreds of Chicago janitors and supporters rallied at Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg to call for good jobs and an economic recovery that works for everyone, not just the people at the top. Janitors marched from Woodfield Mall to the bank, chanting loudly and holding purple banners reading "Value Work." Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced Tomorrow in House, Senate
Mar 09, 2009 - The Politico reports that tomorrow both houses of Congress will introduce the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows workers to decide for themselves how they'd like to form a union rather than management making that decision for them. Read more...

Can My Boss Do That?
Mar 06, 2009 - When workers face job loss, they often don't know where to turn for answers. They may be improperly denied their last paycheck, not given the proper amount of notice, or told by their employer that they cannot collect unemployment benefits. New website "Can My Boss Do That" will act as an online clearinghouse to help people understand their rights and protections on a state-by-state basis. Read more...

What a Week for SEIU's "Scary Movie"
Mar 06, 2009 - Since "Scary Movie - The Horror of the Employee Free Choice Act" was unleashed, it's been watched on YouTube more than 100,000 times, with 350+ comments from viewers who wanted to share their thoughts and opinions. We wanted to share some of our favorite comments from YouTube with you - check them out. Read more...

VIDEO: SEIU Attends White House Forum on Health Care Reform
Mar 06, 2009 - President Obama made his commitment to quality, affordable health care crystal clear yesterday at his White House Forum. After attending the forum, SEIU President Andy Stern, Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, and SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera had this to say... Read more...

Unemployment Climbs Further to Hit 25-Year High
Mar 06, 2009 - There's no place to hide, as workers from coast to coast, in almost every sector, are being affected as companies forced to cut their costs slash jobs. As the economy shed 651,000 jobs during the month of February, all 50 states reported increased unemployment for the first time on record. Read more...

Tell Bill O'Reilly: Walk a Day in Our Shoes
Mar 06, 2009 - This week Bill O'Reilly launched a baseless attack on members of the Service Employees International Union. SEIU members responded to O'Reilly by inviting the "news" man to walk a day in their shoes and find out what it's like to work in a real job. Watch this video response to Bill O'Reilly, and then sign our petition to O'Reilly to walk a day in the shoes of an SEIU member. Read more...

Let's Dance
Mar 05, 2009 - Let's dance. That's what Vice President Joe Biden told union members today in Florida. What's got the Vice President ready to tango? The Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU's National Worker Mobilization for Employee Free Choice
Mar 05, 2009 - On Monday, religious leaders, and community allies will join hundreds of workers for a 3 p.m. rally across from the Chamber of Commerce to tell corporate CEOs to stop standing in the way of an economy that works for everyone. Read more...

White House Health Summit
Mar 05, 2009 - Today, President Obama hosted a one-day health forum at the White House to officially launch a discussion on how we can bring about meaningful change in health care. The 120 participants - Republicans, Democrats, insurance companies, labor, doctors and patient advocates, including SEIU's President Andy Stern, Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and SEIU Healthcare chair Dennis Rivera - will be working together to offer up ideas for the best way to make reform happen. Read more...

Taking Cover: Analysis Shows Business Trade Groups Carrying Corporate Campaign Against Employee Free Choice While Companies Distance Themselves
Mar 05, 2009 - New analysis of lobbying disclosures shows that the corporate lobbying effort against the Employee Free Choice Act is being waged largely by industry trade associations and front groups rather than by individual companies. Read more...

Massachusetts Nursing Home Caregivers Overcome Union-Busting at Its Worst
Mar 04, 2009 - When executives at Northern Berkshire Healthcare received word that the nursing home staff at Massachusetts Sweet Brook Care Centers petitioned to join 1199SEIU in January, they wasted no time before launching an anti-organizing campaign. Their thinly veiled effort to strip caregivers of their voting rights didn't fool anyone--including the National Labor Relations Board, who issued its decision in favor of workers at Sweet Brook Nursing Home , ruling that the long term care workers will be eligible to vote in an upcoming union election. Read more...

New Report on Illegal Workplace Firings Shows Clear Need For Employee Free Choice
Mar 04, 2009 - Today, a report issued by the Center for Economic and Policy Research points to a fairly disturbing (not to mention illegal) trend during the 2000s: if you looked at all of the campaigns to earn unions, you'd find that more than one-fourth of them have been "marred by an illegal firing" of at least one worker as he or she fought for representation in the workplace. Read more...

"Our Vote is earned, not given:" Workers Drive Michigan's Mayoral Endorsement Process
Mar 04, 2009 - Watch SEIU members talk about their involvement in the Detroit Mayoral election, unprecedented member involvement and the importance of political action in this video, produced by the SEIU Michigan State Council. Read more...

Standing Up for Homecare Workers in Washington (Video)
Mar 04, 2009 - I attended a hearing at the Rayburn building about "Family Friendly Policies". A very brave woman named Rebia Mixon Clay told a very compelling and powerful story about the vicissitudes of she faces every day as a home health care Worker. Ms. Mixon Clay, was succinct, on point and eloquent. In a very personal and uplifting way she brought home the plight of many people in this country. Read more...

President Obama: "We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act"
Mar 04, 2009 - President Obama demonstrated once again that he stands firmly with working families in supporting passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Here's what he said yesterday to the AFL-CIO... Read more...

SEIU Homecare Member Testifies for Family-Friendly Workplace Policies
Mar 03, 2009 - For over a generation now, millions of working Americans have struggled to find a balance between work and family. "I know this hearing is about good family policies but everything comes back to money, something nobody seems to have enough of these days," said Rebia Mixon Clay, SEIU member and homecare worker from Chicago, in her testimony this morning before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Read more...

Scary Movie - The Horror of the Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 03, 2009 - In reality, the Employee Free Choice Act is a bipartisan, common sense economic recovery for working families that will pump billions into our nation's economy. Read more...

More than 3,000 Chicago Janitors Rally for Good Jobs to Strengthen Our Economy
Mar 02, 2009 - On Sunday afternoon, over 3,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors and community supporters crowded into the historic Chicago Theater and then marched to LaSalle Street in an effort to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting bonuses. Read more...

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Backs Employee Free Choice Act
Mar 02, 2009 - Make that three Nobel laureates in economics. Joseph Stiglitz, an American economist, professor at Columbia University and Nobel laureate in economics, has added his name to the growing list of now-40 economists who endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act via a full-page ad in the Washington Post last week. Read more...

SEIU's 'Top Choice' is Nominee
Mar 02, 2009 - Moments ago, President Obama announced his nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. SEIU has deployed unprecedented resources and staff toward winning health care reform this year--and we're excited to have a proven advocate for quality, affordable care at the helm of Health and Human Services. Read more...

Los Angeles Healthcare Unity Rally
Mar 02, 2009 - On Thursday, Feb. 26--the same day the president's budget was presented to Congress--several hundred SEIU members from around the Los Angeles area rallied to support the president's vision to fix healthcare. The workers gathered outside SEIU UHW-W's Commerce office and were joined by congressional candidate Judy Chu. Read more...

What We've Been Waiting For: A Pro-Working Family Labor Secretary
Mar 02, 2009 - During the course of the last few weeks, more than 30,000 people asked the United States Senate to support a pro-working family Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis. Thanks to all of your efforts, she was confirmed and sworn into office just a few days ago. You can check out all we've done to support Hilda Solis here. Read more...

Watch SEIU President Andy Stern on C-Span
Feb 28, 2009 - Don't miss Andy Stern this weekend on Washington Journal, C-Span's national public affairs show. Stern will discuss the American worker in the current economy, the Obama Administration, expectations of the Labor Department under new Secretary Hilda Solis, and what role labor plays in uplifting America's working families and communities. Read more...

Green Jobs: "Clear Path to a Stronger Middle Class and a Stronger American Economy"
Feb 27, 2009 - The world is facing a historic opportunity to rebuild our global economy through investments in sustainable projects that will create new jobs, reduce our dependence on oil and protect our planet after decades of mismanagement. Read more...

Speaker Pelosi: We Will Fix Health Care This Year
Feb 26, 2009 - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was on the Rachel Maddow Show last night to discuss, among other things, the timeline for health care reform. Read more...

Who Dares Mess With GOP Chairman Michael Steele?
Feb 26, 2009 - The GOP's new chairman, Michael Steele, has been making the media circuit rounds over the last few days. One of his TV tactics has been to throw red meat at the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Take a look at this FOX News interview where Steele reveals he's open to retribution for Republicans who are brave enough to choose the best interests of their constituents over obstruction: Read more...

Change to Win and AFL-CIO File Complaint Against Marcus Foundation, Center for Union Facts
Feb 26, 2009 - Huffington Post's Sam Stein and AFL-CIO's Seth Michaels are both reporting on the latest news concerning the now-infamous Bank of America-sponsored conference call against the Employee Free Choice Act. In a joint complaint to the IRS, Change to Win and the AFL-CIO are alleging that the actions that took place on that call were illegal - under the tax code governing the tax-exempt status of the organizations that participated in the call. Read more...

Andy Stern Interviews on USA Today and Huffington Post
Feb 25, 2009 - Today, interviews with SEIU President Andy Stern have been published in both USA Today and the Huffington Post. In both, Stern talks about the Employee Free Choice Act, discussing timeline and strategy for the piece of legislation. Read more...

White House Budget Suggests "Health Care is a Go"
Feb 25, 2009 - Today, news reports suggest that the president intends to make a serious investment in fixing, once and for all, our broken health care system. According to the Associated Press, the White House budget includes $634 billion for health care over the course of 10 years. Read more...

Many, Many Economists: We Like What the Employee Free Choice Act Does
Feb 25, 2009 - Today, in a full page ad in the Washington Post, thirty-eight prominent American economists released a statement, entitled "Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is critical to rebuilding our economy and strengthening our democracy." The economists - a group that includes two Nobel laureates in economics - argue that one of the main reasons for our economic slump is the "erosion of workers' ability to form unions and bargain collectively," that shifted the wealth of our country from "broadly-shared prosperity" to "growing inequality." Read more...

LA's Homecare Movement Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary!
Feb 25, 2009 - On February 25, 1999, the dream that started with a few became reality for all as workers voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU 434-B. Read more...

Obama's Speech: A Health Care Milestone (Video)
Feb 24, 2009 - I just finished watching Obama's address to Congress with a group of SEIU nurses. I won't name names, but some of us have tears in our eyes right now. For us, this is a moment more than a decade in the making. When our movement started, having a president who would speak so honestly and passionately about the need to fix health care was something we dreamt about, but it was hard to imagine. Read more...

The Bold Leadership America Needs to Confront A Broken Healthcare System
Feb 24, 2009 - Change to Win Chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger issued the following statement after attending President Obama's address to Congress this evening: Read more...

The President's Address to a Joint Meeting of Congress
Feb 24, 2009 - Tonight, at 9pm ET/8pm CT, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress about his budget priorities and draw a blueprint for the year ahead. Read more...

Congratulations, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis!
Feb 24, 2009 - Great news comes out of the Senate, where Hilda Solis was just confirmed as President Obama's Secretary of Labor. "For Secretary Solis this is not just another job, but the culmination of a lifetime of action serving as a voice for people who work," said SEIU President Andy Stern following today's bipartisan vote by the U.S. Senate to confirm Hilda Solis' as the next Secretary of Labor. Read more...

Community Members, Advocates and 1199SEIU Members Fight Queens Hospital Closings; Cuts to NY Healthcare
Feb 24, 2009 - Hundreds of healthcare workers, members of 1199SEIU and elected officials marched down Queens Boulevard on Saturday to rally against the imminent closures of two local hospitals: the Saint John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica. The two hospitals are in danger of shutting down after its operator, Caritas Healthcare, filed for bankruptcy and notified the two hospitals' 2,500 employees that both facilities would close their doors by the end of February. Read more...

Anna Burger to Tim Geithner: No More TARP Funds for Businesses that Use Bailout to Lobby
Feb 24, 2009 - As reported by Elana Schor at TPMDC, the labor federation Change to Win (of which SEIU is a part of) is "taking a major step today in the effort to restrict bailed-out bank lobbying." Of note is a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner from SEIU Secretary-Treasurer and CtW Chair Anna Burger, which calls for Principal Financial Group's $2 billion TARP application to be denied due to their lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

What Residency Looks Like: Announcing the Winners of CIR/SEIU's Photo Contest
Feb 24, 2009 - A picture is worth a thousand words, so CIR/SEIU Healthcare decided to hold their first-ever photo contest, asking for photos submissions taken by members representing what it's like to be a resident physician on any given day. Read more...

Vote Today: Write to Your Senators
Feb 24, 2009 - During our current economic crisis, it's important that we have a strong Secretary of Labor as the voice of working people. Hilda Solis will be responsible for unemployment benefits, enforcing the minimum wage, and managing job creation and training programs. Click here to send a note to your senators in support of Hilda Solis before today's vote. Read more...

Why Healthcare Can't Wait
Feb 23, 2009 - "Through the years, there have been many issues where labor and business don't see eye to eye. Here's one where we firmly agree: the need to fix healthcare, now, not in spite of the economic crisis, but because of it. For this reason, we are proud to stand together with President Obama as he reinforces the urgency of health care reform in the State of the Union speech before Congress," SEIU's Andy Stern and Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler write on The Huffington Post. Read more...

VIDEO: Health Care Dominates White House Fiscal Responsibility Summit
Feb 23, 2009 - The first-ever Fiscal Responsibility Summit took place on Monday at the White House. Advisors at the highest levels of the Obama administration hosted members of Congress as well as leaders from a wide range of organizations to discuss solutions to long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation. SEIU President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger were among the attendees at the event. Read more...

It was March 10, 1968: Listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Speech at 1199SEIU
Feb 23, 2009 - "I'm often disenchanted with some segments of the power structure of the labor movement but in those moments I begin to think of unions like Local 1199," said Dr. King in one of his last speeches at SEIU Local 1199 to union members and supporters before his assassination in 1968. Read more...

Members Speak Out at Oscar-eve Protest of MPTF Seniors' Home Closure
Feb 22, 2009 - More than 250 caregivers, members of the entertainment industry and family members of the facility's elderly residents gathered together outside an "The Night Before" Oscars' MPTF fund-raiser Saturday night at The Beverly Hills Hotel to protest the impending closure of the fund's long-term care facility. Read more...

Burger King Backs off Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act
Feb 20, 2009 - Under pressure from SEIU activists and allies like Brave New Films, Jobs with Justice, and the Coalition for Social Justice this week, Burger King scrambled to respond to allegations that it lobbied against the Employee Free Choice Act while paying its workers poverty wages. In a statement issued Friday, Burger King apparently backed off its opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

California Workers and Allies Rally for Easier Unionization
Feb 20, 2009 - SEIU members, community leaders and supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act rallied in San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento and Santa Rosa yesterday, arguing that a real economic stimulus package for California should make it easier for workers who want a union at work to have one. Read more...

VIDEO: My First Week in Washington DC with SEIU
Feb 20, 2009 - I've always been impressed with our nation's capitol. The huge buildings, sweeping landscapes, and grand stone staircases - it's all so big, it makes me a little disoriented and, gulp, small. But all those buildings are filled with people. And if there's anything I've learned as a nurse - people are people. We all eat and sleep and want to make the world a better place. Read more...

Thanking Members of Congress for SCHIP Support
Feb 20, 2009 - SEIU joined with several groups to launch a $10 million ad campaign to applaud Members of Congress for voting to expand and strengthen the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Read more...

New TV Ad Urges NY Gov. Paterson to Use Medicaid Stimulus Funds
Feb 19, 2009 - The Healthcare Education Project (HEP), a joint initiative of 1199SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) has begun airing two new television ads urging Governor David Paterson to use a portion of the nearly $11 billion in Medicaid funding New York State will receive under the federal economic stimulus package to avoid massive health care cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home care. Read more...

In Blow to State's Working Families, CA Legislature Approves New Budget Plan
Feb 19, 2009 - As the California Legislature passed a budget package today, Gov. Schwarzenegger applauded legislators as having the "courage to stand up and put the needs of Californians first." SEIU members have a different viewpoint of the budget plan, which includes $14 billion in budget cuts that will affect crucial social programs. Read more...

Motion Picture Television Fund CEO named "World's Worst" as Silver Screen Seniors Face Eviction
Feb 19, 2009 - MSNBC's Keith Olbermann gave the Motion Picture Television Fund's president and chief executive Dr. David Tillman the title of "World's Worst" person last night, for closing the retirement home for film-industry employees for no good reason. Read more...

Sebelius Rumors Spur Buzz, Reactions
Feb 19, 2009 - Last night, the New York Times broke news that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is President Obama's top pick for heading up the Health and Human Services agency. Gov. Sebelius brings significant experience to the role - serving for eight... Read more...

New Report: Employee Free Choice Act Could Create A $49 Billion Stimulus Package for the American Worker
Feb 18, 2009 - In a new report for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, researchers David Madland and Karla Walter argue that a more-unionized workforce would lead towards a stronger economy for the United States. According to the report, the key to a sustainable economy is to increase the purchasing power of hard-working Americans - and one way to do that is by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Pride in Black History Month
Feb 18, 2009 - In this video, Gerry Hudson and SEIU staff talk about the significance of Black History Month and the role progressives can play in helping President Obama bring real change to this country. Read more...

Change: The Next Steps
Feb 18, 2009 - Thanks in part to your hard work, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law yesterday afternoon. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Gives Workers a Fair and Democratic Chance to Form Unions
Feb 18, 2009 - The Employee Free Choice Act, the legislation supported by President Obama and large majorities of both houses of congress will not eliminate secret ballots in union representation (period). Read more...

Editorial Highlights Health Care Reform as Top Priority for State Stimulus Funds
Feb 18, 2009 - Keep Health Care Reform on Track is the title of a Boston Globe editorial that ran today urging the need to use economic stimulus funding to protect the state's healthcare safety net Read more...

Tracking the Stimulus: money + media coverage
Feb 17, 2009 - Keeping in line with his campaign's theme of accountability and transparency, the Obama administration has put up a new website to help people track how the economic stimulus money is spent. Read more...

Hard-fought wins in new contract for for 95,000 California state workers
Feb 17, 2009 - After more than nine months of hard-fought negotiations during dismal economic times, California's largest employee union SEIU Local 1000 has reached a tentative agreement with the state early on a new contract covering 95,000 state workers. This tentative agreement would increase job security for members, provides savings for the state and improve conditions for every state employee represented by Local 1000. Read more...

SEIU's Anna Burger: Economic Stimulus and How it Will Work
Feb 17, 2009 - "President Obama really wants to make sure the voice of people are heard in Washington and that as we develop economic policies, they work for people across our country: for workers, for business, for the economy as a whole," says SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger in a MarketWatch video interview on Friday. Read more...

Why Health Care Reform Can't Wait
Feb 17, 2009 - Fixing health care isn't just possible this year - it's absolutely necessary. Every day, people are losing their jobs and their health care. The swelling ranks of uninsured threaten to put more strain on state programs and push the entire system to the breaking point. Read more...

Public Support for the Employee Free Choice Act
Feb 17, 2009 - Want to get an idea of the public support of the Employee Free Choice Act? The latest public poll showed 73% support the bill while only 21% oppose it; that's not quite as stark as the contrast on the Hill earlier this month, but Congress should get the picture anyway. Read more...

VIDEO: MSNBC Exposes Source of Health IT Smears
Feb 13, 2009 - Your efforts to uncover the misinformation campaign against health IT are gaining major traction in the mainstream media. MSNBC dug further into the smear tactics being used against health IT on last night's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Read more...

Hypocrisy Watch: Bank of America Uses Bailout to Fight Economic Recovery
Feb 13, 2009 - Watch this video about Bank of America using taxpayer money to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, then encourage Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to set lobbying restrictions on bailed out banks. Read more...

Video and Pics: Bank Bailout Hearing Action
Feb 12, 2009 - Yesterday, as bailout bank CEOs entered the Rayburn House building to testify before Congress on how they used bailout funds, they were greeted by the playful chants and clever signs of SEIU members. Check out video and photo slideshow of the demonstration here. Read more...

SEIU Members Deliver Petition Signed by 22,500 in Support of Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor
Feb 12, 2009 - Last week, SEIU President Andy Stern sent a video message out to the SEIU community via email, calling on Congress to confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor and urging people to sign on in support. Yesterday, we delivered the names of these signees to Senators Kennedy and Enzi. Read more...

Ken Lewis, What's Really In Your Company's Best Interest?
Feb 12, 2009 - Yesterday, in a congressional hearing about major banking institutions' use of TARP funds (a.k.a. the "bailout" funds approved by Congress last fall), something that can only be described as "enraging" occurred. When pressed by Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), Bank of... Read more...

Celebrating Black History: special edition computer desktop wallpapers
Feb 12, 2009 - As part of SEIU's 12th annual celebration of Black History Month, our talented SEIU Creative Services team has designed four special-edition computer desktop wallpapers for use on your Mac or PC. Download them now and you can celebrate Black History Month all month at work or at home. Read more...

Update: Health Care Provisions in the Economic Recovery Act
Feb 12, 2009 - The Speaker of the House has released a report outlining the key points of the compromise the House and Senate have reached on the Economic Recovery Act. There's lots of good news for health care. Read more...

How to get the change we need
Feb 12, 2009 - Call Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and thank them for supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Tuesday and urge them to vote for it on final passage as part of an economic solution for America's families. Read more...

Introducing SEIU's Member Lobbyists
Feb 11, 2009 - Nine SEIU members and workers from key states across the country have relocated to Washington, DC for a three-month long stint as a grassroots lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Stay tuned for updates, as our members report to us on what they're hearing about health care, the Employee Free Choice Act and restoring economic strength to Main Street. Read more...

SEIU Urges Full Senate Vote On Rep. Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor
Feb 11, 2009 - SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement on the importance of today's vote by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Representative Hilda Solis' nomination as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Read more...

SEIU's Mary Kay Henry: "Equality is a Labor Value"
Feb 11, 2009 - "The fight for the freedom to marry is dear to me, for safeguarding my own partnership and for realizing the same goals of social and economic justice that we advance every day at SEIU and in the labor movement," writes SEIU's Mary Kay Henry today, in a blog post for Freedom to Marry Week. Read more...

Caregivers Defend Health IT
Feb 11, 2009 - Yesterday, we told you about Rush Limbaugh's rant against the measures to improve health IT in the Economic Recovery Act. Normally, Rush goes largely unnoticed by most of the general public. But his irresponsible comments about health IT have hit... Read more...

Sign Our Petition in Support of Solis' Nomination for Labor Secretary
Feb 11, 2009 - Can you believe it? President Obama nominated a pro-working family Secretary of Labor! How novel. But for some conservatives in the Senate, the prospect is too much to handle. Read more...

Watch the Senate Banking Committee Hearing on TARP Oversight
Feb 11, 2009 - A group of SEIU members are on the Hill this morning, calling on Congress to prevent companies that are receiving massive taxpayer subsidies from spending money on lobbying that may pit their corporate interests, and the interests of highly compensated CEOs, against taxpayers' interests. Watch the C-SPAN hearing live as these CEOS are called on by Congress to account for the taxpayer money they've received. Read more...

Limbaugh Doesn't Get IT
Feb 10, 2009 - Health care professionals nationwide are writing to their newspapers today to refute claims by Rush Limbaugh on two provisions in the stimulus package: comparative effectiveness research and health IT. Both are designed to provide health care professionals with objective, up-to-date information on treatments, tests and procedures available to them. Read more...

Senate Approves Economic Stimulus Bill
Feb 10, 2009 - As President Barack Obama neared the end of his FL town hall appearance today on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, news broke that the economic stimulus bill had successfully cleared the Senate by a vote of 61 to 37. Read more...

Senate Moves Forward On Stimulus Package
Feb 10, 2009 - The Senate last night moved forward on the Stimulus Package, voting 61 to 36 to end debate and bring the measure on a vote today. Read more...

Sen. John Kerry on Employee Free Choice & Small Businesses
Feb 09, 2009 - Senator John Kerry has an op-ed published this weekend on the Employee Free Choice Act. He begins his opinion piece with a strong defense of unions and their value to the US economy, while adding in a full frontal assault on the Big Business interests that are actively trying to prevent American workers from having rights and prosperity. Read more...

Andy Stern on Leadership: "Big Business, Big Failures"
Feb 09, 2009 - "Too many leaders tried to justify their own or companies behavior rather than admit that the system they promoted that had made them wealthy, while creating gross inequities, and economic calamities was flawed," wrote SEIU President Andy Stern last week on the Washington Post's "On Leadership" online forum. Read more...

Marching for Employee Free Choice Act in LA
Feb 07, 2009 - On Thursday, hundreds of workers marched 10 miles in the rain from downtown Los Angeles to the Federal Building to call on Congress to rebuild America by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. All along the route, workers highlighted some of the issues facing working men and women all across the county -- from facing foreclosure to the struggles of workers fighting to earn a living wage and join a union Read more...

Unemployed Americans stretch from sea to shining sea
Feb 06, 2009 - The job loss numbers released on February 6 by the Labor Department show employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January--the deepest cut in payrolls in a single month since December 1974. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern: Confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor
Feb 06, 2009 - President Obama nominated Congresswoman Hilda Solis in December to be our next Secretary of Labor, but conservative Republicans are blocking her confirmation simply because she supports working people. SEIU is pushing hard for Hilda Solis to be confirmed as Secretary of Labor and taking action to urge others to join in. Read more...

Anna Burger Named to President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Feb 06, 2009 - Anna Burger, chair of the Change to Win labor coalition and International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), today was named to President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board in a ceremony at the White House with President Obama. Read more...

U.S. Senate Should Move Forward with Solis Nomination for Secretary of Labor
Feb 05, 2009 - "Hilda Solis is the right choice for Secretary because she understands personally the challenges workers face in a global economy and the need for a bold new agenda that expands healthcare for everyone and gives American workers a greater choice and a greater voice, said Andy Stern SEIU President Andy Stern, urging the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to move ahead with a scheduled vote on the nomination of Hilda Solis for secretary of labor Read more...

Good Jobs, Green Jobs: Help Wanted
Feb 05, 2009 - Green job creation and training is happening right now, all over the country, fueled by the belief that it is possible to ease the intensity of our climate crisis and employ more people to work in better jobs (all at the same time). Read more...

Member Testimony: It happened to me, and it can happen to you too
Feb 05, 2009 - You never think that it could happen to you, but in today's economy it's getting harder and harder to know who's got your back. That's why today I'm in Washington D.C. lobbying my U.S. Senators and urging them to vote for the Economic Recovery Act, which will provide the emergency financial help our states need so they won't have to balance the budget on the backs of workers. Read more...

What We Won for Kids' Health
Feb 05, 2009 - Yesterday, health care advocates nationwide celebrated a major victory for our movement. President Obama signed the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) into law. President Obama characterized the bill as a "down payment" on winning quality, affordable health care for all Americans, not just our children. Read more...

Flickr photo slideshow from Employee Free Choice petition delivery rally
Feb 04, 2009 - To see photos from the Employee Free Choice petition delivery rally, watch SEIU's Flickr slideshow here. Read more...

Contrast on the Hill: Country Club CEOs vs. Hardworking People on the Employee Free Choice Act
Feb 04, 2009 - In the halls of Congress, CEOs having their "Executive Lobby Day" are spreading lies and misinformation in order to keep wages down and perpetuate inequality. How do we know this? Because we went into one of their presentations at a CA country club and captured video of how they talk about defeating the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Thousands Rally on Capitol Hill to Turn Up the Heat on Employee Free Choice Act
Feb 04, 2009 - Thousands of union members and allies gathered on Capitol Hill today for a rally to kick off the delivery of 1.5 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act to members of Congress, where union members gave first-hand testimony about their efforts to form a union. Read more...

Union Leaders Around the Globe Call for Immediate Private Equity Reforms to Avoid Further Economic Crises
Feb 04, 2009 - "For our global economy to thrive and grow again, corporations, governments, and non-state actors -- like labor unions -- must work together towards a system where competition is based on the quality and sustainability of goods and services provided, not... Read more...

Corporate America's Chicken Little Strategy
Feb 04, 2009 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) have adapted a Chicken Little strategy. When confronted with legislation to improve American workers' lives, the Chamber and NAM invariably threaten economic ruin and rampant government control. Read more...

Thousands of Workers to Deliver 1.5 Million Petitions to Congress Supporting Employee Free Choice
Feb 04, 2009 - SEIU members, workers from other unions, Rep. George Miller, and Sen. Tom Harkin will join workers today in delivering 1.5 million post cards supporting the Employee Free Choice Act to Senators and other lawmakers. Read more...

Senator Daschle's Resignation
Feb 03, 2009 - Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination today for Secretary of Health and Human Services. In a statement released by the White House, Sen. Daschle stated: "If 30 years of exposure to the challenges inherent in our system has taught me anything, it has taught me that this work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction. Right now, I am not that leader." Read more...

Video: Tellers Make Change at Bank of America
Feb 03, 2009 - Last week, as reported on our blog, , concerned citizens across the country participated in events where they talked directly to employees and Bank of America customers on what's happening with their company and why their CEO needs to be fired. We've put together a video from some of these events. Read more...

Quoted: Labor-lovin' Presidents
Feb 02, 2009 - Following Friday's unveiling of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force, Obama delivered his most emphatic public remarks on his support for labor unions, saying, "I don't see organized labor as part of the problem...To me, it's part of the solution," said President Obama following Friday's unveiling of the new administration's Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Read more...

Celebrate Black History with SEIU!
Feb 02, 2009 - For the 12th year, SEIU is set to celebrate Black History Month with a program of dynamic speakers, education and entertainment. This year's theme is "The Challenge of Change --A Look at the Course of Black History." Read more...

HCAN Poll: Americans are Ready for Reform
Feb 02, 2009 - Health Care for America Now, one of SEIU's partner coalitions released the results of a poll that shows broad public support for comprehensive health care reform. According to the poll, there is "intense and widespread voter support for the choice of a public health insurance plan as part of comprehensive, national health care reform." Read more...

Vice President Biden on Employee Free Choice: "This Year"
Feb 02, 2009 - Last week, in a CNBC interview with John Harwood, Vice President Joe Biden talked about the timeline for passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Our Early Victory: By The Numbers
Feb 02, 2009 - Last week's reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program was touted by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers as an important first step to fix health care. It was our first glimpse of what happens when both parties come together around improving access to quality care. Read more...

Republicans Choose Obstructionism Over Stimulus
Jan 30, 2009 - "Many in the House Republican leadership talked a big game about hearing the message of change Americans so clearly delivered in November, but when it came time to vote they showed they care more about playing the old game of obstructionist opponents than fixing out economy," said SEIU's Anna Burger on The Hill's Congress Blog today. Read more...

SEIU Ad Praising Sen. Reid's Work on Behalf of Nevada's Working Families
Jan 30, 2009 - SEIU believes in rewarding work and in tune with motto, we're rolling out a new television ad campaign today in support of Senator Harry Reid's work on behalf of Nevada's working families. Read more...

Obama Inauguration: We Were There!
Jan 30, 2009 - Watch video highlights of SEIU members, leaders, and staff at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. WE WERE THERE!... Read more...

For the Truth on Arbitration, Look at Companies' Actions - Not Words
Jan 30, 2009 - The corporations and their front groups that oppose the Employee Free Choice Act say that the use of arbitration to help workers and companies reach agreements will hurt business and put federal bureaucrats in charge. That's what they say...Now here's what they do: in fact, companies use arbitration all the time to resolve disputes because they like that it's fast, fair, and inexpensive. Read more...

Obama and Biden Launch Middle Class Working Families Task Force
Jan 30, 2009 - Today President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden announced the creation of the Middle Class Task Force, which the White House blog says is "targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America." Read more...

Quote of the Day: Joe Biden on the Middle Class
Jan 30, 2009 - Vice-President Joe Biden, chair of the new Working Families Task Force, in an interview yesterday with CNBC: Read more...

MSNBC Reports on Bank of America's Anti-Worker Conference Call
Jan 30, 2009 - Reaction to Sam Stein's recent Huffington Post article on Bank of America's anti-Employee Free Choice conference call has been sweeping. Wednesday night, on MSNBC show 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., host David Shuster reported on the call during his "Hypocrisy Watch" segment. Airing some of the tape from the call, Shuster makes a special comment. Read more...

Our Job Is Just Beginning
Jan 29, 2009 - "Four Million Down, 40 Million to Go:" After three days of debate on a series of amendments to the bill, the Senate passed the bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program on Jan. 29. This program will ensure that millions of children, many of whose parents have lost their employer-provided health care coverage through layoffs and cutbacks, will be able to receive doctor check-ups, dentist visits, and preventive care. Read more...

Lilly Ledbetter and Working Women Finally Get Justice
Jan 29, 2009 - In making pay equity the first bill he signed into law, President Obama took an essential first step at restoring protections eroded by the harmful U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear. Read more...

In 2008, More Than 88,000 Workers United in SEIU
Jan 29, 2009 - The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual union membership report yesterday that showed an increase in union membership nationwide for 2008 -- the largest growth rate on record since 1983. Growth in SEIU -- 88,926 members -- accounted for nearly 21 percent of the national growth. Read more...

New TV Ad Campaign Targets House Republicans Completely Out of Touch with Working People in America
Jan 29, 2009 - SEIU and coalition groups Americans United for Change, MoveOn.org Political Action and AFSCME unveiled a new television ad campaign that aims to to pressure key and potentially deciding votes in Congress and build momentum behind President Obama's "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act". Read more...

Tellers Make Change: Go to Bank of America Today at Noon
Jan 29, 2009 - Today, we're asking you to go to a Bank of America location to talk directly with employees about what's happening with their company - and why their CEO should be fired. Read more...

Caring for the Caregivers - NY Times Editorial
Jan 28, 2009 - Informed by SEIU research and experience, a New York Times editorial this morning unfortunately reveals that one of the fastest-growing areas within the health care field - home care for the elderly - is also one of the lowest paid and most exploitable. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern: "Less social dialogue and more social change"
Jan 28, 2009 - "Financial manipulation, greed and deregulation have led to economic havoc," writes SEIU President Andy Stern in a op-ed today on Reuters. Stern will join over 40 Heads of State and 1,600 of the world's most powerful CEOs at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Read more...

Union Women, Labor Leaders & Online Activists Advocate for Solis Confirmation
Jan 28, 2009 - Stop delaying confirmation of Rep. Solis as secretary of labor: As Obama said in his inaugural address, "let's put away childish things" and get on with the workings of government. Read more...

1199SEIU and Boston-Area Allies Reach Historic New Accord to Improve Health Care for Community, Patients and Workers
Jan 28, 2009 - 1199SEIU, the Area Trades Council and Caritas Christi Health Care, the largest community based health system in Massachusetts, yesterday announced a historic and groundbreaking new accord ensuring fair union voting conditions for the system's employees when they are deciding whether to form unions. Read more...

Shortening the work week to stimulate the US economy
Jan 27, 2009 - Yesterday, companies across the employment spectrum announced more than 65,000 job cuts around the country and around the world, another alarming indication that more pink slips, pay freezes and economic hardships are in store for working families. President Obama cited... Read more...

For Aliquippa Caregivers, Relief is On the Way
Jan 27, 2009 - Earlier today, we reported on a group of caregivers in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania who were fighting for weeks worth of unpaid wages from their former employer, Commonwealth Medical Center. State media outlets covered the story throughout the week, including this report... Read more...

Audio Leak: Bank of America Hosts Anti-Employee Free Choice Conference Call
Jan 27, 2009 - Sam Stein, the political reporter for the Huffington Post, just published a vital article on corporate America's fight against the Employee Free Choice Act. Entitled "Bailout Recipients Hosted Call to Defeat Key Labor Bill," Stein writes about a conference call - hosted by Bank of America - and audio of the event that he's managed to obtain. Read more...

Time to Go: Bank of America must fire CEO Ken Lewis
Jan 27, 2009 - Over the last few months, it's become abundantly clear that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis just doesn't get it. The era of greed and irresponsibility is over. Bank of America tellers make about $24,000 a year. That's less than what the CEO of a company bought by Bank of America paid for his curtains during the $1.2 million redecoration of his personal office. Enough is enough. Today, we're calling on Bank of America to fire CEO Ken Lewis. Read more...

Nurses, Caregivers Left Out in the Cold
Jan 27, 2009 - A story is brewing in southwestern Pennsylvania. There, in a little town called Aliquippa, PA, nurses, aides and other frontline caregivers have been denied weeks in backpay, after their employer--Commonwealth Medical Center--filed for bankruptcy and had its license revoked... Read more...

Kids' Health on the Line
Jan 26, 2009 - There is strong public support for SCHIP, and strong bipartisan consensus. Our kids are our future, and if there's one message that young voters and immigrant voters sent last November, it's that they are so over the tired appeals to categories and ideologies that divide us. SEIU President Andy Stern weighs in on the reauthorization and strengthening of the Children's Health Insurance Program on the National Journal - read it here. Read more...

Stronger Economic Future for America Requires Long-range Vision
Jan 26, 2009 - "The millions of working people reeling from the severe economic recession need a recovery package that not only addresses the crisis and relieves the pain, but also lays the groundwork for a stronger and fairer future," writes SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on Politico's The Arena, commenting on what kind of stimulus plan this country needs to get our economy back on track. Read more...

Former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich on the Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 26, 2009 - In an editorial for the Los Angeles Times today, former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich gives his advice on how we can reverse this deepening recession and give middle class Americans the greatest opportunity for a better life. Read more...

Economist Paul Krugman's Open Letter to President Obama
Jan 24, 2009 - Paul Krugman, a Nobel-prize laureate in Economics, professor at Princeton University, and a columnist for the New York Times has published an extraordinary piece in the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine. In it, he writes an open letter to President Obama, giving his advice on some steps that he'd advise the new president to take in order to get our economy back on track. Read more...

Tell Gov. Schwarzenegger We Need Real Budget Solutions in California Now
Jan 23, 2009 - Today Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina spoke at a rally in Sacramento, California where over 1,000 SEIU members from across the State came together to speak out for real solutions to the state's budget crisis. Read more...

CA Security Officers win historic victory as Kaiser Permanente replaces irresponsible contractor
Jan 23, 2009 - Security officers who work for Kaiser Permanente medical facilities won a big victory over irresponsible security contractor Inter-Con. -- a company that used threats, intimidation and termination tactics for three years against struggling officers supporting efforts to join a union. Read more...

Why Smart Investments Include Health IT
Jan 22, 2009 - This week, the National Journal asked health care advocates and experts to weigh in on the issue of health IT as part of the larger economic recovery package. Read Andy Stern's response here. Read more...

Obama Staffing Up, Calling Meetings for Health Care
Jan 22, 2009 - Politico reports that President Barack Obama plans to convene a White House working meeting to address the nation's health care system sometime in the late winter or early spring--the latest signal from the Obama Administration that health care will be a top priority in 2009. Read more...

President Obama on America's Workers in the Washington Post
Jan 21, 2009 - Just prior to taking office, President Barack Obama gave an in-depth interview with the editorial board of the Washington Post, in which he reiterated his strong support for America's workers and the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina on Supporting & Uniting Long Term Care Workers
Jan 21, 2009 - "We have a new U.S. President who openly promotes unions and a nation poised for change. Will the labor movement be ready to seize the moment? We must be. In my own union, SEIU, the largest union in California and... Read more...

Obama's Inaugural Address: A Moment to Define A Generation
Jan 21, 2009 - Obama delivered his Inaugural Address in a decisive and inspiring manner, calling for no less than the remaking of America and summoning generations, new and old, to return "to a new era of responsibility." Read more...

Inauguration of Barack Obama: "Yes, Workers Can"
Jan 20, 2009 - "Words seem inadequate when I try to capture what the inauguration of Barack Obama means to working people. How can you describe what it feels like to a janitor or healthcare or childcare worker who has felt so powerless for so long to now feel so powerful," said Andy Stern on the eve of President-elect Barack Obama's Inauguration. Read more...

Martin Luther King Jr. Day...A Day On, Not a Day Off
Jan 18, 2009 - As a tribute to Dr. King's legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. Read more...

Talking Health Care with Russell Simmons
Jan 18, 2009 - SEIU is here at the Sundance film festival with playwright, poet, actor and activist Sarah Jones, who is camped out in the Variety Lounge to discuss health care with filmmakers and celebrities. On Friday, Jones sat down for a few minutes with hip hop pioneer and philanthropist Russell Simmons to talk about fixing our broken health care system. Read more...

Pictures: Actions at Bank of America HQs Across the Country
Jan 16, 2009 - Yesterday, activists descended on Bank of America headquarters in Los Angeles, Charlotte, New York City, and Boston to present our demands of the campaign. Read more...

Momentum for the Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 16, 2009 - Claims by corporate interest groups that the Employee Free Choice Act is losing support and won't be voted on simply ignore the facts. President Obama and Congress are committed to rebuilding America's middle class through quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Fixing COBRA Cannot Wait
Jan 16, 2009 - With unemployment at a 16-year high, expect the ranks of the uninsured to swell, putting more strain on state programs that help those in need. COBRA - if made to work - can literally be a lifeline. Read more...

Manifest Hope: DC Online Contest Winners Selected for Inauguration Art Gallery
Jan 16, 2009 - SEIU partnered with Manifest Hope: DC, MoveOn PAC and Obey Giant to launch a nationwide online contest last month to gather the best artwork celebrating the grass roots campaign that helped elect Barack Obama as president. The 15 winning entries-- selected from a pool of over 1,000 submissions--have been announced. Read more...

New TV Ads Renew Call to Action to Make Our Economy Work for Everyone
Jan 15, 2009 - A new national TV campaign launched today by American Rights at Work in support of the Employee Free Choice Act continues the call to action that it's time our economy worked for everyone. The ads feature workers making their case for the legislation and focus on the fact that Employee Free Choice will grant working people the power to bargain for better wages, benefits and increased job security. Read more...

Video & Campaign Launch: "Tell Bank of America: Help Your Workers or Give Back the Bailout"
Jan 15, 2009 - When taxpayers gave Bank of America a $25 billion bailout, the country's largest bank was supposed to use the funds to help jumpstart the economy. Rather than using the loan to keep money flowing through the financial system to ensure that the bank continues lending to consumers, as was the original intent, Bank of America has instead misspent the money on foreign investments, executive salaries, and corporate jets. Read more...

Online Activist Report: Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization
Jan 15, 2009 - Yesterday, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 passed by an overwhelming margin. If you want to see how your representative voted, click here to see the vote report by state, as well as a breakdown of your online efforts through SEIU.org to get connected to your representative. Read more...

CEOs: We'll take our ball and ship it overseas
Jan 15, 2009 - Business leaders and CEOs are developing a new strategy to combat the Employee Free Choice Act: threaten to take jobs overseas and divest from America. Failed Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney said as much this morning: It is an idea... Read more...

CBS News: Where Did The Bailout Billions Really Go?
Jan 15, 2009 - In October, the federal government gave Bank of America and Merrill Lynch a combined $25 billion in bailout funds. According to the Wall Street Journal, the move was designed "to keep money flowing through the financial system, ensuring that banks continue lending to companies, consumers and each other." Unfortunately for the taxpayers footing the bill, Bank of America appears to have had another agenda. Read more...

Images of Hope: Art Exhibit at SEIU HQ Jan. 19 - 22
Jan 14, 2009 - SEIU is hosting the Change That Works open art exhibit SEIU art exhibit at headquarters in Washington, DC from January 19 through January 22. The works of art to be displayed were commissioned by acclaimed street artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic Obama "HOPE" image. The exhibit shines a spotlight on artists across the country using their voices to amplify and motivate the grass roots movement for social justice and political action Read more...

Andy Stern: "Let's Stay Focused on the Right Kind of Economic Recovery"
Jan 14, 2009 - Even after the collapse of the myth of the market, conservatives are still waging class warfare on the rest of us. Read more...

Obama Transition Team Member David Bonior: "Get a Hold of Inequality" with the Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 14, 2009 - On this weekend's edition of Meet the Press, former Rep. David Bonior, a member of President-elect Barack Obama's economic transition team, talked about ways the next Administration can help get the economy back on track. One proposal sorted by President-elect Obama and 60 percent of the public is the Employee Free Choice Act, which will help employees bridge the gap of wage inequality in the country today. Read more...

The First Step: House Passes Children's Health Insurance Plan
Jan 14, 2009 - I don't often get emotional when I watch C-SPAN, but I just saw something I've been waiting to see for two years. The U.S. House of Representatives, after receiving hundreds of your phone calls, passed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. Read more...

What's in a name? The Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 13, 2009 - Under the Employee Free Choice Act, workers' freedom to choose to form a union would be restored. Read more...

Unraveling the Arguments Against a Public Plan
Jan 13, 2009 - USA Today dove head first today into the increasingly crowded pool of newspapers who are taking a stand for fixing our nation's broken health care system. The paper examines one key piece of Obama's health care proposal--: offering a public plan that would compete with private insurers to provide the best services and benefits at a competitive cost to consumers. Read more...

The Economic Argument for the Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 13, 2009 - As the new administration and Congress works to lift the U.S. economy out of the economic crisis, we've been working on some analyses on how our country has recovered economically since the 1940's. Economic success occurs when rising wages spur consumer spending, and new research makes a solid case as to why the Employee Free Choice Act would be a "stimulus" that gets our economy back on track. Read more...

Act Today for Children's Health Insurance
Jan 13, 2009 - Congress is getting ready to re-introduce a bill that would extend health insurance to more than 4 million children currently without coverage. Strengthening the children's health insurance program isn't just a victory for the 9 million kids who can't afford basic care; it's a huge win in the movement to fix health care for all Americans. Read more...

Member Voices: "Giving workers a hand on the wheel"
Jan 13, 2009 - Here's a great op-ed from an SEIU nurse about the free and fair election she and her coworkers had when they formed a union at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas thirteen years ago....and why their election process experience was a "special exception to a broken rule." Read more...

Media Reports: Hilda Solis Headed Towards Confirmation, Has Bipartisan Support
Jan 12, 2009 - Last Friday, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Rep. Hilda Solis, appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to confirm her appointment. We've compiled a short round-up of the media coverage surrounding Secretary-designate Solis' confirmation hearings. From Washington-insider publications like the National Journal, to local papers like the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the consensus is clear: Hilda Solis appears to be headed towards confirmation, and her eagerness to begin working on behalf of all the working people in our great nation has earned her bipartisan support. Read more...

Yet Another Corporate Front Group: "Save Our Secret Ballots"
Jan 12, 2009 - Meet the new Right-to-Work-for-less laws: state ballot initiatives to mandate "secret ballot" elections for union votes, trying to preempt the Employee Free Choice Act. On December 30, 2008, a new coalition calling itself the "Save Our Secret Ballot" (SOSB) coalition emerged onto the scene, announcing an under-the-radar state-level campaign to amend the state constitutions of Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada and Utah to require a secret-ballot election for union representation. Read more...

Twelve Union Presidents Hold Unity Meeting
Jan 12, 2009 - Twelive union presidents held a "unity" meeting January 7 in Washington. They emerged pledging "broad participation" in the effort, but no specifics. In attendance at the session, called by former House Democratic Whip David Bonior, chair of American Rights at Work, were presidents of five of Change to Win's seven unions, six of the 56 AFL-CIO unions, and new National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. Read more...

Facts Fact Roundup: Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 09, 2009 - We're already hearing - and seeing - good things from Congress about their priorities for 2009. Read more...

Unemployment Skyrockets, Making 2008 Worst Jobs Year since WWII Era
Jan 09, 2009 - Economists were already braced for bad news in this morning's December 2008 employment report from the Department of Labor, but the numbers released were even worse than expected. Read more...

SEIU's Unwavering Support of Workers' Rights Advocate Rep. Hilda Solis as U.S. Secretary of Labor
Jan 09, 2009 - The success of the American worker is key to the success of the American economy - and few understand that better than President-elect Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Labor, champion of working families Rep. Hilda Solis. Read more...

Member Voices: "My Journey to Home Care as a Profession"
Jan 09, 2009 - As a caregiver for someone with little income and a terminal illness, it's easy to see that our healthcare system is broken...The first step in healthcare for all is taking back control of our healthcare from the pharmaceutical and insurance companies that profit from keeping us all unwell. Read more...

Watch Secretary of Labor-designee Hilda Solis Live
Jan 09, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Rep. Hilda Solis, will appear before a Senate committee this morning to confirm her appointment. We'll be livestreaming her confirmation hearing here on SEIU.org. You can watch it here starting at 9:30am EST. Read more...

Change That Works: Video Chat with Andy Stern
Jan 08, 2009 - This week, SEIU is launching our Change That Works campaign. This campaign will be a massive, grassroots movement to turn America's unprecedented hope into unparalleled progress. Read more...

New SEIU Television Ad Promotes Health Care Reform as Top Domestic Priority
Jan 08, 2009 - SEIU launched a new TV ad buy today about the importance of healthcare reform in regaining the economic prosperity of this nation. Read more...

Andy Stern on 'Early Victories' in Fixing Health Care
Jan 08, 2009 - This week, the National Journal invited key health care advocates and experts to respond to the following question: What early health care victories should President-elect Obama and Congress seek before Washington works on broad health care reform legislation? Read Andy Stern's response here. Read more...

Tune In for Live Video Chat with Andy Stern
Jan 08, 2009 - Join us for our Change That Works campaign roll-out today at 4:00 p.m. EST. It is an opportunity to answer any questions you have for SEIU President Andy Stern, in a live video chat that will air on www.SEIU.org. You can submit your question right now by clicking here. [Read more] Read more...

Obama To Give Economic Address Today at 11 a.m.
Jan 08, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama's office announced the details of his major speech on the economy Wednesday afternoon, advocating "urgent action" on his economic stimulus plan. Read more...

Change That Works Campaign Kicks Off
Jan 07, 2009 - Today, SEIU launched the "Change That Works" campaign to bring economic relief to millions across the country, help fix the nation's broken healthcare system, and guarantee workers can freely decide whether to join with their coworkers in a union. Read more...

Reports From Your Health Care House Meetings
Jan 07, 2009 - The reports are coming back from your health care meetings, and can't be more impressed. From everything you've said, it looks like your meetings were substantive, full of ideas and expertise, and were a rousing success. We thought we'd share a small sampling of the ideas that you've submitted to us from your group discussions. Read more...

Take Action: Help Strengthen the Economy Today
Jan 07, 2009 - As Congress reconvenes this week and the Obama administration prepares to step on to the world stage, strengthening our staggering economy sits at the top of everyone's agenda. Read more...

The Only Way to Mass Prosperity
Jan 07, 2009 - "There is no historic precedent for mass prosperity absent mass collective bargaining. The model cannot be constructed," writes Harold Meyerson, making the case Employee Free Choice in a Washington Post op-ed today. Read more...

SEIU In The News: January 7, 2008
Jan 07, 2009 - Here's a look at some of SEIU's press coverage over the past two days -- Read more...

Congress Must Act Now to Provide Economic Relief for Working People
Jan 07, 2009 - SEIU members are pressing for the economic recovery package as the first part of a wider campaign, Change That Works, designed to bring economic solutions to Main Street, including efforts to fix the nation's healthcare system and ensure workers have a voice on the job. Read more...

New York Times: Employee Free Choice Act Is "Vital"
Jan 06, 2009 - The New York Times hit the nail on the head when it called for swift passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. In thoughtful analysis of workers' role in an economic recovery, The Times wrote "The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed." Read more...

SEIU to Unveil Major National Campaign to Bring Economic Solutions to Main Street
Jan 05, 2009 - Two million-member labor union to involve millions of Americans in an intensive state-by-state campaign to help President-Elect Obama enact Change That Works. Read more...

Anna Burger: 2009 Will Be the "Year of the Middle Class"
Jan 05, 2009 - "By rebuilding the American Dream for millions of families and rewarding work instead of one's wealth, greed or market manipulation, we can strengthen our economy for generations to come," says SEIU's Anna Burger, giving us her boldest political predictions for 2009 on Politico's The Arena. Read more...

SEIU In The News: January 5, 2008
Jan 05, 2009 - SEIU In The News - January 5, 2008: Coverage of the union in national and local press outlets and blogs Read more...

The Employee Free Choice Act: What's At Stake
Jan 05, 2009 - In 1980, the United Labor Unions set out to organize employees at Detroit fast food chains in the hopes of sparking a nationwide movement to unionize the workforce in this fast-growing industry. As a rookie organizer working on the campaign, I learned firsthand what is at stake when workers stand up for better wages, healthcare, and a voice on the job. Read more...

New SEIU Ads Put Focus on Employee Free Choice Act
Jan 05, 2009 - This morning SEIU unveiled online advertising to promote the New York Times' recent support of the early passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads are running on the websites of The Hill, Roll Call, Politico, the Washington Post, and progressive blogs Read more...

McScrooged Actions: Flickr Photo Slideshow & Video Clips
Dec 30, 2008 - SEIU members and supporters went to almost 100 McDonald's locations around the country on December 18 to speak directly with employees about free choice. We wanted to share some photos and video with you all from McDonald's visits that took place in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit and Washington, DC. Read more...

SEIU Partners with Manifest Hope for Inauguration Art Gallery
Dec 30, 2008 - SEIU, MoveOn PAC, and Obey Giant are partnering with Manifest Hope:DC in launching a nationwide contest to gather the best work celebrating the grass roots campaign that helped elect Barack Obama as president. The contest is calling for entries of visual artwork that convey the urgency of encouraging a national dialogue focused on heathcare reform, the green economy and workers' rights. Read more...

Wal-Mart Gets a Makeover So It Can Fight Economic Recovery
Dec 29, 2008 - 'Twas the night before Christmas when Wal-Mart told the world it decided to settle 63 lawsuits to the tune of $640 million; most of those lawsuits alleged that Wal-Mart "underpaid its employees." So what prompted the usually greedy Grinch to give more than half a billion dollars to its employees? It must've been a passing wind of Christmas Cheer, right? Not quite. Read more...

Your Health Care Meet-Ups: All Over The News
Dec 29, 2008 - Despite the busy holiday season, Americans throughout the country - from caregivers like nurses, doctors and pharmacists to ordinary health care consumers - have been gathering to hold their own health care meetings. You've brought your friends, your family, like-minded individuals, and even those who have different points of view together to share their ideas and input on health care reform that comes from the ground up. News report after news report has been gracing our inboxes over the holiday season - from national papers like the New York Times to small, local papers from your areas. Read more...

NY Times Endorses Employee Free Choice: "The Labor Agenda"
Dec 29, 2008 - There's a great editorial today from the New York Times on unions and the Obama administration's commitment to labor - giving basically a full-throated endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act and why it is such an important part of an economic recovery program. Read more...

Reasons for Hope for the Uninsured
Dec 29, 2008 - This morning, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial focusing on the uninsured and the incoming Obama Administration. The editorial board's conclusion? That "a can-do spirit and sense of urgency from a president-elect who wants 'change' are the best things America's uninsured have going for them." Read more...

SEIU would like to wish all of you and your families a Happy and Safe holiday season
Dec 23, 2008 - Posting here on SEIU.org is going to be light for the next couple of weeks because of the holidays. A lot of our staff will be enjoying well-deserved time off from now through the New Year to rest, recharge... Read more...

SEIU's Roundtable Health Care Discussion
Dec 23, 2008 - This is a busy time of year for all of us -- making it all the more impressive that thousands of Americans are hosting health care discussions in their homes and communities this week. Last week, SEIU staff convened a health care discussion of our own. We decided to capture the meeting on video and wanted to share some highlights with you all. Read more...

New Poll Shows Widespread Support for SCHIP Expansion to Cover Legal Immigrant Children
Dec 23, 2008 - Encouraging news from a poll released yesterday, which shows that more than two-thirds of the public (82 percent) supports SCHIP renewal and for extending children's health benefits to legal immigrant children. Read more...

Sen. Ben Nelson: Anti-Free Choice Ads are "Smear tactics that insult me and my fellow Nebraskans"
Dec 22, 2008 - SEIU calls on "Americans for Job Security" to engage in an honest conversation with Nebraskans about their positions rather than trying to mislead Nebraskans. Read more...

1199SEIU Website and Magazine Win National Labor Media Awards
Dec 22, 2008 - SEIU1199's Our Life and Times magazine and local union website www.1199seiu.org won a total of eight awards in this year's journalism contest of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA). Read more...

Andy Stern on Bloggingheads.tv: The Future of Labor
Dec 22, 2008 - Andy Stern appeared on Blogging Heads TV today to talk about why we need the Employee Free Choice Act and stimulating our economy. Watch clips from the appearance below or the entire thing over at Blogging Heads TV. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Weekend Round-up
Dec 22, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Dec. 19 - Dec. 22, 2008 Read more...

Touring DC Labor Online
Dec 22, 2008 - What's free and fun to do in DC over the holidays? A tour of current and historic labor sites! The brand new online DC Labor Map uses familiar Googlemaps technology to help you quickly and easily find dozens of fascinating labor art and historic labor sites, as well as union hotels and restaurants, international and local union organizations. Read more...

A Labor Secretary Working Families Can Count On
Dec 19, 2008 - "If jobs and incomes are our yardsticks, then the success of the American worker is key to the success of the American economy," said President-elect Barack Obama at a Chicago press conference earlier today as he announced the nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis for secretary of labor. Read more...

ON LEADERSHIP: Andy Stern Explores Vision and Motivation with WaPo's Steven Pearlstein [Video]
Dec 19, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern talks about Wal-Mart, Obama's many strengths and people skills and and changing the status quo in a Washington Post video interview with Steve Pearlstein, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Commentary. Read more...

Victory at McDonald's
Dec 19, 2008 - Yesterday SEIU members and supporters went to almost 100 McDonald's locations around the country to speak directly with employees about free choice. And guess what: we won! McDonald's issued a statement backing down from their previous opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act because of your work...Please share with us your thoughts and comments on how your "McScrooged" action went yesterday, and upload photos and video. Read more...

A New Year's Resolution for America's Working Families: Creating An Economy that Works for Everyone
Dec 19, 2008 - Big Business is working overtime ... not to help get our troubled economy get back on track, but to prevent American workers from freely being able to join unions and bargain for better wages, health benefits and job security. And to those wondering about big business' alleged concerns about preserving workers' right to a secret ballot, rest easy: The Employee Free Choice Act does NOT eliminate the right to a secret ballot election. Read more...

Arizona Gov. Signs Order to Give Over 25,000 State Employees a Voice
Dec 18, 2008 - Breaking News for State Employees: Gov. Napolitano just issued an executive order that will give state employees in Arizona the same freedom to vote to form an employee organization that most Arizonans already possess. Read more...

How did your McScrooged action go today at McDonalds?
Dec 18, 2008 - We hope your action at McDonald's today went well! Please tell us any comments on how it went and upload photos and video here as well. Read more...

SEIU President Andy Stern Hails Nomination of Hilda Solis to Lead Department of Labor
Dec 18, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement in response to reports that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Representative Hilda Solis as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Read more...

Rep. Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary A Win For America's Workers and Employee Free Choice
Dec 18, 2008 - The announcement of Representative Hilda Solis as President-elect Obama's Secretary of Labor is great news for America's workers. Solis comes from a union family and has never forgotten her roots in her public service career. [Visit SEIU's blog for more] Read more...

Everyone Coming Together for Health Care House Meetings
Dec 18, 2008 - In addition to the nearly-250 SEIU discussions that have been scheduled, over 4,200 meetings have been scheduled nationwide. It's clear that the Obama team is trying to build some consensus among all parties. This makes it more than vital that caregivers like you attend these events. We're in the trenches every day, and our expertise absolutely needs to be heard. Read more...

SEIU Responds Bush's Proposed Changes to Guest Worker Program
Dec 18, 2008 - The Bush Administration's proposed changes to the H2A guest worker program are the wrong policies at the wrong time by making it easier for big business to exploit some of the lowest-paid workers in the country. Read more...

Take Action Now: McDonald's Today at Noon
Dec 18, 2008 - Last week we told you that McDonald's wasn't lovin' free choice at work. Several thousand of you stood up and told the company what you think about their efforts to stop their employees' free choice. Read more...

SEIU Janitors and Business Leaders Unveil New Model for Making Health Care More Accessible And Affordable for Thousands of Low-wage Workers
Dec 17, 2008 - In a city where one in three residents live without health care, the unveiling today of a new clinic in Houston that will offer low-cost, quality care to over 5,300 of the area's commercial office janitors is an innovative step in the right direction. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 16 - Dec. 17, 2008
Dec 17, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Dec. 16 - Dec. 17, 2008 Read more...

"Freezin' for a Reason" in West Hartford, CT
Dec 17, 2008 - Public schools bus drivers in CT working without a contract since May protest employer's delays; demand higher wages and affordable health insurance Read more...

Over 200 Health Care Meet-ups Scheduled And Counting
Dec 16, 2008 - Last week, we wrote about the opportunity for you to become a health care leader in your community by hosting a health care meet-up near you. Thursday, December 18th at 3pm EST, we'll be hosting a conference call for people who have signed up to be hosts. Read more...

Corporate Front Group Americans for Job Security Airs Misleading Ad on Employee Free Choice
Dec 16, 2008 - The latest ad from Americans for Job Security, a corporate front group that has already spent millions to deny workers a voice on the job, attempts to mislead the public about the Employee Free Choice Act and the 2 million members of SEIU. Read more...

Local Unions Team Up For Needy
Dec 16, 2008 - Washington Gas workers and management from several unions in the DC area teamed up this year for a toy drive to benefit the Community Services Agency's (CSA) Holiday Basket program. Read more...

Share Your Voice, Be a Health Care Leader in Your Community
Dec 15, 2008 - Beginning this week, SEIU health care professionals, leaders and members will hold discussions with the Obama transition team about making comprehensive, affordable health care a reality for everyone in America. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Weekend Clips Round-Up
Dec 15, 2008 - SEIU In the News: Weekend Round-up Read more...

Washington Hispanic Publishes Op-Ed by SEIU Local 32BJ Director: "Giving Workers the Choice on Unions"
Dec 15, 2008 - "Although most workers would like to join a union, very few ever get the chance to vote. In fact, employers have been stifling the efforts of workers to lawfully organize a union through elections," writes Jaime Contreras, Director of the Capital Area of 32BJ. "The Employee Free Choice Act restores a fair and even balance between workers and their employers. The bill also creates a process for resolving contract disputes and cracks down on companies that punish workers for exercising their rights." Read the full op-ed. Read more...

Long Island College Hospital Interns and Residents Win Vote to Join CIR/SEIU
Dec 15, 2008 - Last week, interns and residents at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn, NY unanimously voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) of SEIU Healthcare. Resident physicians at LICH will work with CIR to ensure that vital services like maternity and pediatric care remain open. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: Spotlight on Mark McKinnon
Dec 15, 2008 - On December 9th, the Washington Post quoted Mark McKinnon on the Employee Free Choice Act. What the Post failed to mention is that McKinnon is an advisor and spokesman for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI), a big business front group formed months ago solely to fight the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Blue Green Alliance Expands to Include SEIU, CWA and National Resources Defense Council
Dec 15, 2008 - The Blue Green Alliance press conference is the highest priority for a few of us this morning. This unique group formed initially by the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club has recently grown to include the National Resources Defense Council, the Communications Workers of America and SEIU. Read more...

Workers at Smithfield Meatpacking Plant Vote for Union
Dec 15, 2008 - In an incredible piece of news that's been a long time coming, workers at Smithfield Tar Heel in North Carolina, the world's largest meatpacking plant, voted for union representation yesterday with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Read more...

More than 400 March to Support Workers Struggling for a Voice on the Job
Dec 12, 2008 - As a part of a nationwide campaign to restore the American middle class, more than 400 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gathered yesterday at the University of Colorado-Aurora campus for a march to highlight the need for health care reform and legislation that will protect workers' rights to have a voice on the job. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: Restoring the Middle Class
Dec 12, 2008 - Did you hear about the corporate CEOs who just agreed that paying themselves 344 times more than their workers was hurting our economy by undermining consumer spending power - and have decided to reduce their pay and offer workers a raise and better benefits? Read more...

Anna Burger: The Economic Recovery Program Our Nation Needs
Dec 12, 2008 - Anna Burger has a piece in the Huffington Post today, making the point that the Employee Free Choice Act is key to any economic recovery program: Read more...

Americans Working More, Playing Less
Dec 12, 2008 - If you're feeling a little more worn out and weary at this time of year than usual, it could be because leisure time for American workers decreased by 20 percent this year, according to a new study released this week. Read more...

Don't Overlook Dr. Lambrew, Today's "Other" Big Appointment
Dec 11, 2008 - There was much excitement today over Obama's nomination of Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Director of the White House Office on Health Reform (as there should have been), but it overshadowed another very encouraging appointment -- Dr. Jeanne Lambrew as Deputy Director of the White House Office on Health Reform. Read more...

Daschle Officially Named as Next HHS Secretary
Dec 11, 2008 - President-elect Obama today officially nominated former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and Director of the White House's new Office on Health Reform. Read more...

Be a Health Care Leader in Your Community
Dec 10, 2008 - Dr. L. Toni Lewis, an MD and leader from CIR/SEIU checks in from Denver, CO. She's there with other leaders from across the country to help build the game plan for fixing health care. Read more...

JP Morgan Chase offers Laid-Off Chicago Factory Workers $400,000
Dec 10, 2008 - Things appear to be looking up for the Chicago factory workers staging a sit-in since Friday to protest the closing of their workplace, the Republic Windows and Doors plant: JP Morgan Chase has stepped up and offered $400,000 to cover severance pay for the workers who are peacefully occupying the Chicago factory around the clock. Read more...

Video: Fact Check on Anti-Free Choice Advertisement
Dec 10, 2008 - "There have been many attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act by corporate-funded front-groups who are trying to spread myths and misrepresentations to confuse people," says SEIU staffer Ari Yampulsky. See the video fact check that addresses a recent anti-free choice advertisement. Read more...

VIDEO: Former Senator Tom Daschle Gives Major Healthcare Speech
Dec 10, 2008 - Sen. Tom Daschle, leader of President-Elect Obama's health policy team, is speaking live right now in Denver on fixing America's health care system, at the 2008 Colorado Health Care Summit. Watch and listen now. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 10, 2008
Dec 10, 2008 - The daily round-up of news coverage of SEIU (Dec. 10, 2008) Read more...

Labor Tackles Tough Topics at UN Climate Change Conference
Dec 10, 2008 - Earlier this morning at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, what is always the 800-pound guerilla in the room for labor and environment was introduced: coal. Coal miners, those employed in coal-related industries, entire towns and even states for which coal is the economic life blood all feel threatened by the movement for cleaner energy sources. Read more...

Andy Stern: The Sensible Approach to Fixing Health Care
Dec 10, 2008 - Andy Stern weighed in this morning on the National Journal's health care blog. He talked about cutting through the argument between two extremes that has halted progress on health care reform and finding a middle ground solution that addresses the crisis head-on. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: The Facts on the Secret Ballot
Dec 10, 2008 - Hardly. Most CEOs don't want to give workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether to join together for a voice at work. It's not surprising, especially when you consider that CEOs are now paying themselves an average of 344 times more than workers. Read more...

SEIU Members to Hold March, Rally Supporting the Freedom to Join Unions and Emphasizing the Need to Fix the Broken Health Care System
Dec 10, 2008 - This Thursday, more than 500 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will hold a rally at the Denver Convention Center to highlight the urgent need for health care reform and legislation that will protect workers' rights to have a voice on the job. Read more...

No Surprise Here: New Report Names Wal-Mart as One of the World's Five Worst Labor Rights Violators
Dec 10, 2008 - As human rights advocates around the world celebrate International Human Rights Day, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has released "Working for Scrooge: 5 Worst Companies for the Right to Associate," a list of the five worst multinational corporations for union organizing. Find out which corporations top the list here. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 9, 2008
Dec 10, 2008 - SEIU In The News: December 9, 2008....find out what's going on in the union today. Read more...

Join our Employee Free Choice Facebook Cause
Dec 09, 2008 - We're stepping up on social networking efforts today, with our first Facebook Cause. It's to engage you in the effort to fight for the freedom to choose a union by passing the Employee Free Choice Act -- so that our economy can work for everyone. Read more...

Reporter Wins Media Award for Coverage of Security Officers' Fight for Affordable Health Insurance and Fair Wages
Dec 09, 2008 - At the first annual Minnesota Ethnic and Community Media Awards last week, a reporter won top honors in the Community Services division for her three-part series in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder that covered the contract battle and groundbreaking one-day strike waged by SEIU Local 26 security officers in Minneapolis in early 2008. Read more...

Stand with Chicago Workers of Republic Windows & Doors to Hold Bank of America Accountable
Dec 09, 2008 - Scores of workers were laid-off with little notice from a Chicago factory last week when the factory closed down abruptly after Bank of America canceled the company's financing. The workers staged a "peaceful occupation" of the Republic Windows and Doors plant and in day five of an around-the-clock sit-in of the plant. Read more...

Tell McDonald's: Don't Oppose the Employee Free Choice Act
Dec 09, 2008 - Over the weekend news broke that the fast food giant is organizing its store owners to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. McDonald's has reportedly even formed an "internal response team...to actively participate in the opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act." Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 6 - Dec. 8, 2008
Dec 08, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Dec. 6 - Dec. 8, 2008 Read more...

ER Caregivers: We're A Little Concerned, Here
Dec 08, 2008 - A new study funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sought to measure how truly widespread the problems that face our emergency rooms are, seeking to measure ER caregivers' opinions on physical environment, staffing, inpatient coordination, and "information coordination and consultation." The results were far from a surprise... Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: All About Majority Sign-up
Dec 08, 2008 - The corporate misinformation campaign is already running strong--spreading lies and distortions about the Employee Free Choice Act. One blatant mischaracterization suggests that this common sense proposal is somehow a "radical" change to federal labor law. Read more...

Labor's Place at the Table at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Dec 08, 2008 - For the second consecutive year, SEIU is participating in the Labor Delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, taking place this week in Posnan, Poland. Union representatives from Mexico, India, the U.K., the U.S., Korea, Sierra Leone and elsewhere are making sure that the concerns of and effects on working people the world over are an essential part of every discussion at the conference. Read about their work and experiences on the SEIU blog. Read more...

"Let's 'Share the Wealth'" - Wall Street Journal weekend interview with Andy Stern
Dec 08, 2008 - America's most powerful union boss says Europe offers a good economic model...Read the Wall Street Journal's December 6 weekend interview with SEIU President Andy Stern. Read more...

Join the Healthcare Debate at Change.gov
Dec 05, 2008 - Already, discussions have begun, including a growing health care debate at Change.gov, the Obama transition team's website. You and I know that for any health care initiative to truly succeed, nurses need to be included - and the Gallup poll proves it. Now's the perfect time to put our credibility to use. Each of us needs to lend our much-needed caregiver expertise to the discussion Read more...

Health Care Reform: We're Ready NOW
Dec 05, 2008 - Today, I heard the incoming Secretary of Health and Human Services talk about "word clouds" in a major policy speech. I saw the next presidential administration organizing online discussions and house parties instead of lobbyist luncheons and corporate fundraisers to... Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 4 - Dec. 5, 2008
Dec 05, 2008 - NATIONAL SEIU NEWS: Obama Policymakers Turn to Campaign Tools Washington Post, 12.4.2008 Andy Stern: Let's 'Share the Wealth' Wall Street Journal (Interview), 12.5.2008 Daschle: Fixing Health Care "Top Priority" In Fixing Economy TPM Election Central, 12.5.2008 New Documentary Released on... Read more...

The Employment Situation? Not Good
Dec 05, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Labor announced at 8:30 a.m. today that another 533,000 jobs were lost in November; catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent--and bringing the grand total number of jobs lost this year to a whopping 1.7 million. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act Fast Facts Update: It's the Economy
Dec 05, 2008 - On Wednesday, December 3rd, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm released a statement calling for the quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Enemies of Change: Refuting Arguments against the Employee Free Choice Act (Pt. 1)
Dec 05, 2008 - You and I know that the same people and corporations who have destroyed our economy, shipped jobs overseas and created the largest gap in pay between workers and CEOs oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

Andy Stern on Ed Schultz Show
Dec 05, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern will be on the Ed Schultz show today, at 12:30 ET today. You can click here to listen to him live and discuss the nation's current economic crisis. Read more...

SEIU Healthcare Launches Online Version of Newsletter
Dec 04, 2008 - Current and past issues of SEIU Healthcare News are now available online. The newsletter is issued bi-weekly to keep SEIU, members, activists and friends informed of efforts around the country to deliver quality care to patients and give healthcare workers a voice on the job. Read more...

Wal-Mart's Failure to Protect Its Workers: An Unfortunate Symbol
Dec 04, 2008 - Jdimytai Damour, a temporary Wal-Mart worker, became a symbol to millions of low-wage workers last Friday when he died a needless death because Wal-Mart failed to take the necessary precautions to protect him. He became a symbol of those workers quietly yielding to unsafe working conditions because they have no voice. Read more...

In Your Words: Fixing Health Care
Dec 04, 2008 - Last week, I told you about our opponents' latest low-road tactics in their fight to stop health care reform; and I invited you to shine a little light on their ploy by writing letters to your local newspapers. The response was amazing. Read more...

Award-Winning Video on SEIU Labor Leader Eliseo Medina Shows Evolution of Immigrant Rights Movement
Dec 04, 2008 - Today, the Santa Fe Film Festival will screen Tribute to Eliseo Medina, a short film documenting SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina's remarkable career. From a 19-year-old grape picker to his leadership today as one of the most important labor and immigrant rights leaders in the country, Medina's story shows us the power of "yes we can" thinking and reminds us how grassroots campaigns can change the course of history. Read more...

With 30-hour shifts, the doctor is ALWAYS in
Dec 04, 2008 - SEIU Healthcare members understand that long hours and little sleep are a dangerous fact of life for RNs and physicians alike. For years, we've worked to shine a light on the dangers of long hours to patient care and to the well-being of health care workers. A recent study by the Institute for Medicine (IOM) is a welcome addition to the advocacy work being done by CIR/SEIU Healthcare members to limit extended shifts for residents. Read more...

Addressing the Real Cost of Healthcare Reform
Dec 03, 2008 - "The failures of our current system are already costing us billions. If we do nothing and let health care continue on its current course, the cost would be greater than the cure," writes SEIU President Andy Stern yesterday on NationalJournal.com's Health Care Expert Blog. Read more...

Obama Restates Employee Free Choice Act Support
Dec 03, 2008 - Barack Obama's transition team reiterated the president-elect's strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act late yesterday, the Huffington Post reports. Read more...

SEIU Healthcare's Resident Physicians Comment on "Extended Shifts" Report
Dec 03, 2008 - In response to the Institute of Medicine report, "Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety," SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) released a statement yesterday calling for stronger limits on extended resident work. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Fast Facts Update
Dec 03, 2008 - In the current economic climate, the American public is eager to see Congress take action to strengthen the middle class and restore our nation's economy. To help working families improve their standard of living and get our economy back on track, Congress should pass federal legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 3, 2008
Dec 03, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Dec. 3, 2008 Read more...

Gallup: Americans Remain Broadly in Support of Labor Unions
Dec 03, 2008 - The question "Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?" was first asked in 1936, a year after Congress passed the Wagner Act establishing the right of most private sector employees to join unions, to bargain collectively with their employers, and to strike. Seven decades later, Americans have maintained a generally favorable view of unions, with the most recent update from Gallup showing a 59 percent of those surveyed back unions, while only 29 percent disapprove of them. Read more...

Fiscal Relief to State and Local Governments
Dec 02, 2008 - Listen to some key comments on the need for immediate fiscal relief to state and local governments --- from leading experts on states budget and tax policy who met with SEIU local leaders recently. Read more...

WaPo: 5 Myths About Our Ailing Health-Care System
Dec 02, 2008 - There's a great opinion piece in last Sunday's Washington Post that dispels 5 myths about America's health care system. Written by Shannon Brownlee and Ezekiel Emanuel (incidentally, the brother of incoming Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel), the article debunks... Read more...

SEIU In The News: Dec. 2, 2008
Dec 02, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Dec. 2, 2008 Read more...

For Women, Joining a Union is like Going to College
Dec 02, 2008 - Some great news for working women came out today. A new study shows that joining a union raises a woman's wages and benefits on par with having a college education. Read more...

SPECIAL REPORT: Haiti Stole My Heart
Dec 01, 2008 - In light of the devastation in Haiti and the suffering of so many people in the aftermath of two hurricanes and two tropical storms, the Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare leaders made a decision to offer support. Two SEIU Healthcare Florida members volunteered to travel to Haiti on a healthcare mission - their stories are truly inspiring. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2008
Dec 01, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2008 Read more...

Security Officers Protecting Downtown Boston Towers and Office Buildings Reach Agreement
Nov 26, 2008 - Over a thousand security officers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 615 in Boston announced a tentative agreement yesterday after opening negotiations last July with the three of the largest security companies in the area, Allied Barton, Securitas and Northeast Security. Read more...

Add Your Voice for Change
Nov 26, 2008 - You've probably seen that Obama's transition team has launched a website, Change.gov, to stay in touch as they prepare to move into the White House. Yesterday evening, they launched a new section inviting citizens to weigh in on the state of health care in America. Read more...

Day 2 of Unfair Labor Strike for SEIU Healthcare Minnesota Hospital Workers
Nov 25, 2008 - SEIU Healthcare Minnesota hospital workers are uniting and taking a stand for their future. More than 200 members who work at Regina Medical Center begin a 2-day strike on Monday in the face of a proposed 50 percent cut to their pension and an increase in to overall healthcare costs. Read more...

Historic New Deal for 25,000 Massachusetts Home Care Workers to Improve Jobs; Boost Care
Nov 25, 2008 - Today, a new contract was finalized for 25,000 Massachusetts personal care attendants (PCAs) who will get a 15 percent pay raise, health insurance and paid sick time. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 25, 2008
Nov 25, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 25, 2008 Read more...

Here We Go Again
Nov 25, 2008 - You can hear the jaws dropping as people read James Pethokoukis' latest piece on health care in U.S. News' Capital Commerce blog. Pethokoukis takes partisan politics to a new level by urging Republicans to block any efforts by Obama (or any other Democrat) to fix health care. Read more...

SEIU Staff News Update: New Division Director for Property Services
Nov 24, 2008 - Laphonza Butler will become the Division Director for Property Services as of November 25, 2008. Read more...

'Workers of the World, Unite': Case Study Recognizes SEIU's International Campaign Efforts
Nov 21, 2008 - Today, the Journal of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) called SEIU's global effort to organize private security officers in several African countries, the United Kingdom, and other locations "One of the most developed campaigns aimed at building a global union and raising standards for low wage service..." Read more...

SEIU's Anna Burger Responds to Obama's Efforts to Fix Economy
Nov 21, 2008 - In today's edition of Politico's The Arena, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger comments on what can be done about the nation's economic policy. Read more...

Former SEIU Political Leader Appointed as Obama's Political Director
Nov 21, 2008 - This afternoon, Patrick Gaspard was named the White House political director for President-elect Barack Obama. Gaspard served as national political director for much of Obama's general election campaign and was named associate personnel director for the transition effort. Read more...

Employee Free Choice Act News: "Re-establish the Middle Class" - November 21, 2008
Nov 21, 2008 - SEIU Local 32BJ leader Jaime Contreras makes the case for why America's economy needs the Employee Free Choice Act: In this economic crisis caused by corporate greed, working Americans are in urgent need of the immediate relief that union wages... Read more...

Watch Now: Andy Stern Brings Your Voice to Congress
Nov 20, 2008 - Pointing to the combined impact of the health care and economic crises on the lives of working families nationwide, SEIU President Andy Stern called on President-Elect Barack Obama and key leaders in Washington yesterday to work together to address the nation's ailing health care system in the short-term. Read more...

New Television Ad Highlights Need for Employee Free Choice Act
Nov 20, 2008 - As the nation's current economic crisis continues and wages stagnate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class. A new nationwide television ad campaign serves as a reminder that we need the Employee Free Choice Act to level the playing field for America's workers by giving them a fair and direct path to form unions. Read more...

Former Senator Daschle to be Nominated for HHS Secretary
Nov 20, 2008 - Multiple news sources, including NBC News, are reporting that Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-ND) "has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services," and will therefore be nominated to the position. In that role, Daschle would be in charge of the FDA, Medicare and Medicaid, among other programs. Read more...

Wal-Mart Watch Joins Efforts to Give Workers a Voice on the Job
Nov 19, 2008 - Wal-Mart Watch announced today that it is joining efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that Wal-Mart's employees and other workers around the country will have the choice to form a union to advocate for better wages and benefits. To martial all available resources toward this effort, Wal-Mart Watch is merging its operations into SEIU to share knowledge and expertise and best serve the efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 19, 2008
Nov 19, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 19, 2008 Read more...

Join the Conversation: Live Video Conference with SEIU President Andy Stern
Nov 19, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern is talking with bloggers, members, and health care activists in a live video conference today at 2:30 p.m today. He'll be reporting back on the congressional testimony he gave this morning on the combined impact of the health care and economic crises on the lives of working families nationwide. Click here to join the conversation. Read more...

Home Depot Founder to CEOs: You "Should Be Shot"
Nov 19, 2008 - In the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill in Congress that would give workers the free choice to form unions, we've seen some crazy hyperbole from greedy CEOs and their front groups who oppose free choice for workers. Home Depot founder and ex-CEO Bernie Marcus, for example... Read more...

Andy Stern Testifying Today on Economics Of Health Care Reform
Nov 19, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern will be testifying at a congressional hearing on health care and the economy. He¹ll be using the comments submitted by members and activists to tell show Congress how deeply this is affecting people all across the country. Read more...

SEIU Funding & Leadership Out-Ranks Dozens of Groups During Presidential, Senate Races
Nov 18, 2008 - SEIU Financial Support & Leadership Out-Ranks Dozens of Groups During Presidential and Senate Races Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 18, 2008
Nov 18, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 18, 2008 Read more...

TONIGHT: Watch Andy Stern's Interview on NBC Nightly News
Nov 18, 2008 - SEIU President Andy Stern will be featured in tonight's NBC Nightly News broadcast to talk about critical issues the Obama Administration must address for all working families. Tune in to NBC Nightly News tonight, November 17, beginning at 6:30 pm EST to watch. Read more...

Help SEIU President Andy Stern Bring Your Story to Capitol Hill at Senate Hearing on Health Care Reform Tomorrow
Nov 18, 2008 - Yesterday afternoon, SEIU International President Andy Stern sent out an email to healthcare activists asking for input on the testimony he will be offering on the combined impact of the health care and economic crisis on working families at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance at 10:00 a.m. tomrorow, November 19. Read more...

"Now is the time to roll up our sleeves..." Letter to the Editor from SEIU Healthcare Member
Nov 18, 2008 - "No matter if you voted for President-elect Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain, if you are a union member, small-business owner or retiree, we share one community. We need to play our part to help our elected leaders fulfill their campaign promises," writes SEIU Healthcare member Charlotte Anibas from Local 1199NW in a Seattle Times LTE. Read more...

Leading Massachusetts Physicians Voice Support for Free and Fair Union
Nov 17, 2008 - Free & Fair Elections = Quality Jobs, Quality Care Hospital workers across Boston are calling for free and fair union elections so they can have a voice in protecting patient care and improving jobs for working families. In an open... Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 15 - Nov. 17, 2008
Nov 17, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 15 - Nov. 17, 2008 Read more...

SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera Addresses Links between Nation's Failing Economy, Ailing Healthcare System
Nov 16, 2008 - "We have a president who has promised to prioritize health care and improve the lives of workers. We have a Congress that has committed to providing economic relief for families--including affordable health insurance," wrote Dennis Rivera, SEIU Healthcare chair in The Hill's Congress Blog. Read more...

A Blueprint And A Call To Action For The Nation's Ailing Healthcare System
Nov 15, 2008 - "One week since the historic election that brought a sea change of hope and energy to our country, we're already getting a clear picture of what to expect from new leadership in Washington in 2009," writes SEIU Healthcare Chairman Dennis Rivera today on The Hill's Congress blog. Read more...

Anna Burger on Meet the Bloggers
Nov 14, 2008 - Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger was on Meet the Bloggers today, talking about the Employee Free Choice Act. Watch it now: Read more...

Why Employees Need Free Choice to Join Unions: Let's Cut to the Chase
Nov 14, 2008 - The Saturday, Nov. 8th edition of The New York Times had a lengthy piece by Steven Greenhouse about the growing chorus for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would restore free choice for people who want to join a union. Towards the end of the article is a simple sentence that bears further examination, because it gets to the heart of why we need Employee Free Choice... Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 14, 2008
Nov 14, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 14, 2008 Read more...

Anna Burger to Appear on Meet the Bloggers
Nov 14, 2008 - Today on Meet the Bloggers watch Anna Burger, SEIU secretary-treasurer and Change to Win chair, discuss how the Employee Free Choice Act can revitalize our nation's middle class and why it's so important to give workers the right to form unions in the workplace. Read more...

SEIU Canada: Comcare Home Care Workers Vote to Join Union
Nov 13, 2008 - Sudbury area home caregivers employed by Comcare Health Services voted overwhelmingly on November 10 to form a union, becoming members of SEIU Local 1 Canada. Read more...

PSA Campaign Aims to Address the Mental Health Consequences of Combat
Nov 13, 2008 - PSA Campaign Aims to Address the Mental Health Consequences of Combat Read more...

SEIU, Coalition Partners Urge Health Care Overhaul
Nov 13, 2008 - SEIU and its Divided We Fail partners AARP, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Businesses published an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama in USA Today this week, calling for comprehensive healthcare reform in the new administration's... Read more...

SEIU In The News: Nov. 13, 2008
Nov 13, 2008 - SEIU In The News: Nov. 13, 2008 Read more...

SEIU Supports New Blueprint to Solve Health Care Crisis by Senator Max Baucus
Nov 12, 2008 - SEIU issued a statement in support of the diagnosis of and prescription for mending our broken health care system released today by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the chairman of the Finance Committee. Read more...

Passage of Proposition B for Quality Home Care Ensures Choice to Live at Home for Seniors, Disabled
Nov 12, 2008 - Seniors, people with disabilities, attendants, and home care advocates celebrated the passage of Proposition B, the Quality Home Care Act, as a major victory in the effort to ensure quality home care services for Missouri's growing senior population and its citizens with disabilities. Read more...

Gerry Hudson Shares Ideas with Alternet re: a Progressive Health Care Reform Agenda
Nov 12, 2008 - This weekend, Alternet asked dozens of writers, experts and activists about priorities for President-elect Barack Obama's early days in office. SEIU Executive Vice President Gerry Hudson wrote, "Health care costs are rising at almost double the rate of wage increases for the average American worker. Read more...

"How do you see the outcome of the presidential election changing the health care reform debate?"
Nov 12, 2008 - "This election showed that American workers are struggling with the rising cost of everything -- from food to fuel to housing to health care. They know that skyrocketing health costs are shrinking their paychecks, and if they lose their jobs they lose their health care." Read more...

Workers Recount Their GOTV Efforts for a New Economic Agenda
Nov 11, 2008 - Union members from SEIU and the Change to Win federation gathered at a press conference Friday to tell their stories of hope and optimism to promote a new era for positive government and a progressive agenda for worker-driven economic growth. Read more...

Putting Healthcare on the Map
Nov 07, 2008 - This week, we're celebrating. SEIU members, local and International staff across the country knocked on doors and called voters to help get out the vote and move millions of Americans to the polls to bring home victory for Barack Obama. Read more...

Fast Fact: In Just Five Months...
Nov 04, 2008 - Through last night, SEIU members knocked on 2,435,645 doors in battleground states and key races across the country. Read more...

Fast Fact: Millions Contacted Over the Phone
Nov 04, 2008 - Through last night, SEIU members and staff made 16,137,541 phone calls in battleground states and key races across the country. Read more...

Fast Fact: SEIU Expanded the Electorate
Nov 04, 2008 - During the general election, SEIU's members registered 102,156 new voters in battleground states. Read more...

SEIU Members Launch New Ohio Ad
Oct 30, 2008 - Today, SEIU announced a new television ad, titled "Meghan," that will air on cable and broadcast TV as well as online across Ohio through the end of the election. The ad highlights John McCain's record of voting for tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas through the story of one Buckeye worker. Read more...

Lynn and Barry Goldman, New Hampshire
Oct 22, 2008 - Under Barack Obama's plan, self-employed people and small business owners like the Goldmans would get help getting access to health care in several ways: Read more...

SEIU Launches New Ad
Oct 15, 2008 - SEIU is going up with this latest ad, asking... What's the difference between Bush and McCain? Read more...

SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana: Homecare Workers Set National Standards for Help at Home Workers
Oct 15, 2008 - Nearly 5,000 members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana employed by Help At Home (HAH) will vote on a historic new contract that paves the way for thousands more Help At Home workers across the country to join the union. Read more...

Pennsylvania RNs win mandatory overtime ban
Oct 10, 2008 - It's been seven years in the making, but on Wednesday, Pennsylvania state legislation against mandatory overtime for nurses and healthcare workers passed its last hurdle on its way to the Governor's desk. Read more...

Pennsylvania Nurses and Patients One Step Closer
Oct 08, 2008 - It's been seven years in the making, but on Wednesday, state legislation against mandatory overtime for nurses and healthcare workers passed its last hurdle on its way to the Governor's desk. Read more...

Vital Signs: Freda Blakerby, RN
Oct 08, 2008 - I became an LPN in 1983 and an RN in 1993. In 2003, at the age of 55, I became disabled by a genetic disease and lost my job. Read more...

SEIU Nursing Assistant Will Be At Tonight's 2nd Presidential Debate
Oct 07, 2008 - Jean Ann Berg, a nursing assistant and member of SEIU Healthcare Florida, will be in the audience at tonight's 2nd Presidential debate, waiting to ask John McCain why he wants to tax healthcare benefits and make it harder for families to afford coverage. Read more...

New Ad: SEIU Members Make Health Care Deciding Issue For Uncommitted Voters
Oct 06, 2008 - Today, SEIU announced a new, multi-state television and field campaign aimed at targeting undecided voters in the final weeks of the presidential election with information on the difference between the Obama and McCain health care plans. Read more...

So... Now What?
Oct 03, 2008 - Written by SEIU International President Andy Stern Let's face it: the Bailout Bill doesn't get to the heart of what's wrong with our economy. Neither you, nor I, nor many of those who voted for it believe that this bill... Read more...

Confused Sarah Palin Contradicts John McCain on Unions
Oct 02, 2008 - Sarah Palin spoke with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier this week and - surprise, surprise - completely contradicted John McCain's virulent opposition to unions and the Employeee Free Choice Act.Palin credited "good union jobs" for why her family had... Read more...

NEW SEIU TELEVISION AD: Thelma Drake Is "Wrong for Veterans, Wrong For Virginia"
Sep 30, 2008 - A new television ad by SEIU details the multiple votes Congresswoman Thelma Drake has cast against improving health care for our nation's veterans, making the case that she is "Wrong for Veterans, Wrong for Virginia." Read more...

Video: Mark Warner Walks a Day
Sep 30, 2008 - Here's video from the Walk a Day in My Shoes 2008 with Former Governor Mark Warner and PCA Shareen Miller: Read more...

Our Economic Recovery Plan
Sep 29, 2008 - Now that the Bush Administration's $700 billion Wall St. bailout appears to be dead, we need to have a full discussion about how to solve our economic problems. Join me in calling for a New Era for Working Families that puts the government on the side of the people. Read more...

$17,000 an Hour for CEO of Biggest Ever Bankruptcy
Sep 25, 2008 - One of the reasons SEIU is organizing and mobilizing support for the Employee Free Choice Act is to restore balance in the workplace. While the imbalance of rights at work is a serious issue of its own, there's an astounding difference in compensation between workers and CEOs. Let's look at CEO pay: while the minimum wage for workers is just $6.55 an hour, the average pay of a CEO is $6,153 an hour. Read more...

Watch Andy Stern on Meet the Bloggers
Sep 25, 2008 - Earlier this month SEIU President Andy Stern appeared on the weekly online talk show Meet the Bloggers to discuss the Employee Free Choice Act. Watch the episode featuring Stern now: Read more...

Be One in a Million for the Employee Free Choice Act
Sep 25, 2008 - A robust middle class. Economic growth and shared prosperity. The American Dream. None are possible unless workers have the free choice to bargain for a better life--in their workplaces and in our nation. Read more...