Tell Congress: Stop the Cuts to Education
Feb 05, 2013 - On Thursday February 7th, we are going to make sure that our elected officials hear directly from us how cuts to federal education funding would hurt our children and communities. Read more...
401(k)s suck during tough economic times, so now what?
Feb 04, 2013 - One in four Americans are dipping into their retirement plans to pay for more immediate needs such as tuition, overdue bills, credit cards and mortgages. Read more...
A bully for a boss?
Jan 23, 2013 - The May Institute of Massachusetts has spent thousands of dollars on union-busting consultants to ensure that their workers remain voiceless on the job. Read more...
Cuts to Head Start would hurt my family
Jan 15, 2013 - If Congress cuts Head Start programs to try to help close the deficit, it will negatively affect the unemployment rate as well as society as a whole. I owe my career and financial survival to the Head Start program and I know there are millions of other families out there that strongly believe - as I do - in this program. Read more...
Who Wants to "Fix" Your Social Security?
Dec 12, 2012 - The 71 publicly held firms in the coalition behind the "Fix the Debt" campaign have a combined deficit of more than $100 billion in their employee pension funds, but it hasn't stopped them from telling Congress how to fix... Read more...
Things Your 401(k) Won't Say
Nov 21, 2012 - How much information is your 401(k) retirement plan withholding? It could more than you think. Read more...
Young workers' retirement hopes dwindle with retirement options
Nov 16, 2012 - Younger Americans in their late 30s are now the group most likely to doubt their ability to retire with dignity, a major shift from three years ago when baby boomers nearing retirement age expressed the greatest worry. Read more...
The Politics of Contingent Academic Labor
Oct 18, 2012 - At colleges and universities, a lack of commitment to job security and academic freedom has great consequences that weaken the culture and academic rigor of the university. Read more...
Ask Mitt About Social Security
Oct 15, 2012 - Whether he's telling donors his true thoughts about working people or shaking hands with seniors on the campaign trail, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney doesn't talk about how to strengthen Social Security. Read more...
Another Retirement Option for Amparo
Oct 03, 2012 - Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Sept. 28 a bill to create the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, the nation's first state-administered retirement savings program for private-sector workers that will positively impact the lives of child care providers like SEIU Local 99 member, Amparo Moreno. Read more...
Memo to Gov. Jerry Brown: Please sign this bill.
Sep 28, 2012 - The New York Times joined California workers, lawmakers and retirement policy experts in urging Gov. Jerry Brown to sign the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, SB 1234 into law. Read more...
Member Leaders Challenge Elected Officials to Win for the 99% During August Recess
Sep 18, 2012 - In Washington, D.C., lots of members of Congress talk about "tough" budget decisions. But for too many, their focus is on dollar figures instead of what's at stake in our communities. Member leaders will be engaging Senators and House members in this fight in the coming weeks and months so they can bring our stories back to Capitol Hill and win for the 99%. Read more...
Still Fighting for Retirement Security
Aug 31, 2012 - As we celebrate the many hard-fought battles of the Labor Movement this Labor Day, SEIU is committed to working with its allies and elected officials to deliver retirement security to all workers as part of a broader agenda to fight for social and economic justice for America's 99%. Read more...
'Who is Professor Staff?': The Rise of a Low-Wage, High-Tuition Model of Higher Education
Aug 28, 2012 - The Center for the Future of Higher Education (CFHE) and the New Faculty Majority (NFM) recently released a report on the rise of the low-wage, high-tuition model of Higher Education. The quality of education these students receive is greatly impacted. Read more...
Coalition of SEIU members and allies lobby for retirement security for all in California
Aug 13, 2012 - On Tuesday August 7 and Wednesday August 8, SEIU members from locals 1000, 521, 1021, and 99 lobbied key members of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee and the California Assembly Speaker to ask their legislative representatives to support SB 1234, legislation sponsored by Senator Kevin DeLeon that will open a secure retirement savings vehicle for California workers who currently lack access to a portable, secure, reliable retirement savings account. Read more...
$5 A Day?
Jul 25, 2012 - Nearly half of middle class workers can expect to live off a food budget of just $5 a day when they retire. Read more...
Students Fates Caught in the Middle of Budget Talks
Jul 24, 2012 - According to the NEA, If Congress fails to find a reasonable solution to the federal budget crisis, education funding will drop to drastically low levels not seen since 2003. Read more...
VP Joe Biden Stands Behind Medicare & Medicaid to Ensure Retirement Security
Jul 23, 2012 - July 30th marks the 47th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. This week, Vice President Joe Biden, in an address to 100 community leaders representing millions of seniors and their families from across the country, reinforced President Obama's commitment to preserving these two programs on which we all rely. Read more...
SEIU members advocate for same-sex marriage in Maryland
Jul 20, 2012 - SEIU members are proud to collaborate with Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the campaign to defend marriage equality at the ballot box in Maryland this November. Watch the new video featuring 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East members talking about their beliefs in family, fairness, and standing up for what's right. Read more...
Baltic or Boardwalk: What Does the Future Look Like for Millennials?
Jul 09, 2012 - What will happen to Millennials if the government doesn't explore new retirement models to provide more workers with protection against outliving their savings for retirement? Read more...
Marriage Equality Efforts Should Include Retirement Security
Jun 29, 2012 - As we reflect on marriage equality victories during LGBT Pride Month, we must remind ourselves to do more to ensure same-sex couples also have the right to retire with dignity. Read more...
Five Things to Consider Before Cutting Pension Benefits
Jun 25, 2012 - While America's confidence in the ability for all workers to retire with dignity continues to decline, voter support of public pension plans is also dwindling. Unfortunately for public service workers like police, firefighters and teachers, they may begin to see significant cuts to their retirement benefits. Read more...
The Social Services Block Grant: A Thing of the Past?
Jun 20, 2012 - At a time when our communities require investment in services for children and people who are elderly and disabled, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is on the chopping block. In an attempt to generate savings by the House-approved budget, the House Ways and Means Committee recently voted to completely eliminate SSBG even though it funds these vital services. Read more...
The Ripple Effect of Change
May 28, 2012 - I started taking care of kids in my home when my daughter was just a year old. Childcare seemed like a good way to make a living while staying at home and raising my own daughter. Now she's fourteen and I have a thriving family childcare business in central Seattle. What has really kept me in this work is my commitment to and belief in the power of the union to create a more just world for my daughter, the kids I take care of, and all working people. Read more...
Blueprint for the Future: Public Services Division Adopts Winning Solution for a Fair Economy
May 28, 2012 - We see the effects of the crisis every day. People struggling because they are out of work. Families who can't afford child care. People with disabilities unable to access the support services they need to live independent lives. Crumbling and potentially dangerous roads and bridges. Read more...
Retire in Poverty or Work Until You Die?
May 24, 2012 - Retiring in poverty is a reality for millions of California workers who don't have access to reliable retirement income beyond Social Security. SB 1234 gives workers more choices by creating a voluntary, portable retirement plan with guaranteed benefits. Read more...
We Remember The Dead And Fight Like Hell For The Living!
Apr 28, 2012 - Workers around the world commemorate April 28th as a day of remembrance honoring those who've died or been seriously injured on the job. The date for Workers Memorial Day coincides with Congress passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act forty-one years ago. Though the Act remains a promise that every worker deserves the right to a safe job, we all know that we have a lot of work ahead us. Read more...
Coming Cuts in January Will Devastate the Child Care Industry
Apr 27, 2012 - Every day our members care for children while their parents go to work. Over the past few years, this industry has seen cuts at the Federal and state level that have led to growing wait lists and a shrinking workforce... Read more...
Yesenia Conde, Parent, Hartford, CT
Apr 26, 2012 - My name is Yesenia Conde and I am a resident of Hartford, Connecticut. I am a mother of two children, both of whom are Care4Kids recipients. I work as a parent educator at Mi Casa Family Services and Educational Center,... Read more...
Cantave Pamphile, Direct support professional, tells Congress to get its priorities straight
Apr 25, 2012 - My name is Cantave Pamphile. I started this work because of the experience I had with my nephew. He has Down Syndrome and I saw what my sister was doing to take care of him. I wanted to be... Read more...
Cassandra Battle, Assistant Teacher at Community United Head Start
Apr 24, 2012 - Cuts have already made it impossible for Cassandra to do her job. Her center is short staffed now and regulations that require two teachers in a classroom make it difficult to teach. If there's only one teacher in the classroom... Read more...
Angela Hughson, Family Childcare Provider, Austin, MN
Apr 23, 2012 - “I always enjoyed taking care of little children. I went to a 2 year college in the Human Service Program with the intention of doing child care. After being in a child care center I wanted to do it on... Read more...
Tax Day 2012: Workers Rally to Call on Rich, Corporations to Pay Their Fair Share
Apr 17, 2012 - Thousands of SEIU members and their allies rallied on Tax Day in cities across the country to raise awareness of the gross disparities in the nation's tax code and to demand that policymakers ensure the economy works for everyone, not... Read more...
Senators Block Buffett Rule, Side With the 1%
Apr 16, 2012 - This week, a minority of the U.S. Senate blocked consideration of the “Paying a Fair Share Act," also known as the “Buffett Rule” that would impose a minimum tax rate on those making more than $1 million per year. Read more...
The Buffett Rule: Tax Fairness for all Americans
Apr 03, 2012 - Last year, billionaire Warren Buffett paid a lower percentage of his income in taxes than his secretary did. Many working families pay 20, 25, and even 30 percent of their hard-earned dollars in taxes. By Buffett’s own admission - that... Read more...
House passes radical Ryan budget
Apr 02, 2012 - House Republicans' 1% Budget: All-Out Assault on the 99% House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently released the House Republicans' Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution. It is a mix of tax giveaways to the wealthy and corporations and extreme... Read more...
Radical Ryan Budget Passes House
Mar 29, 2012 - As a result of the Ryan Budget, as many as 14 million fewer Americans could have access to services under Medicaid. Read more...
Reclaiming Wisconsin One Year Later
Mar 12, 2012 - The middle class and working people of Wisconsin and around the world will never forget March 9, 2011. This was the day that Gov. Scott Walker and his legislative allies rammed through the collective bargaining rights-stripping bill in an illegal meeting in the dead of the night. Exactly one year later, more than 60,000 people held a "Reclaim Wisconsin" rally at the capitol building in Madison. More details and photos here. Read more...
The Private Prison Industry: Resistance isn't Futile.
Feb 28, 2012 - The private prison industry is on the march. In recent months the industry moved to take over 24 state prisons in southern Florida and buy five prisons in Ohio. Now it's making moves in Michigan. Read more...
American University Adjunct Faculty Vote to Join SEIU Local 500
Feb 17, 2012 - In response to growing inequality on campus including near-poverty wages with no benefits, adjunct faculty at American University voted to join SEIU Local 500. More than 1,000 adjuncts will now have a collective voice with the union. American University is the third university in the Washington, DC metro area to vote to form an adjunct faculty union. Read more...
Fired for getting married, Maine worker ordered reinstated with back pay
Feb 01, 2012 - An arbitrator has ordered the State of Maine to reinstate, with back pay, a Maine Bureau of Insurance worker whom it fired in 2010 for marrying an insurance company manager two years earlier. "No one can believe I got fired just because of my marriage, but it's true," said Michael Nadeau, the reinstated (married!) Maine Bureau of Insurance worker. Read more...
New Report Shows Pre-K Education Key to Rising out of Poverty
Jan 22, 2012 - The new international study from Pew confirms what working Americans and the Occupy movement have experienced first-hand, which is that in America, the rich are getting richer - and they're passing that advantage on to their children at the expense of everyone else. Read more...
All Workers Deserve Justice and Protection
Jan 19, 2012 - The freedom for employees to work in a safe and healthy environment has always been an essential right for workers in our country - but one we've had to fight to protect. Working families deserve employers who respect their safety... Read more...
Occupying the New Hampshire Primaries
Jan 17, 2012 - got involved with the Occupy the New Hampshire Primaries because I could see that the Occupy protestors really wanted support from the labor unions. In some discussions I had, however, it seemed that Occupy people were blaming unions for the current economic situation because they think we get these huge state salaries and benefits. I'd explain that we're not we're not looking at this movement as just "us". We, union members, feel that everybody deserves healthcare and a decent retirement. Our involvement in Occupy is not an attempt to steer all this towards just us, we're trying to spread the middle class out to include everybody. Read more...
Congress And Now An NLRB Member Play Politics With Your Livelihood...And Your Rights
Nov 28, 2011 - In another reprehensible attack on workers, the sole Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board Brian Hayes has threatened to resign in order to deny the Board's three-person quorum it requires to issue any rules. Hayes' resignation threat is specifically aimed at working people, in that it would cripple the Board from adopting a modest new rule that would remove frivolous lawsuits and red tape that delay union elections which the Board intends to pass this year. Read more...
#N17: Bridge Actions Cross The Country
Nov 17, 2011 - Despite months of demands by our community, despite millions of people out of work calling for change, Congress and the Wall Street banks continue to maintain the status quo, enriching themselves at the expense of the rest of us. We'll be live-blogging throughout the day as these actions take place. You can also follow us on Twitter at @SEIU for breaking news, photos and lots of live updates from actions happening in cities including Los Angeles, DC, Portland, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, and many more. Read more...
People with Disabilities and Workers Team Up to Fight the "Right Fight"
Nov 16, 2011 - Today leaders from the union and disability advocacy movements joined together to sign a historic document called "Guiding Principles: For Partnerships with Unions and Emerging Worker Organizations When Individuals Direct Their Own Service and Supports." Read more...
See work that needs doing? Snap a pic for Congress
Nov 08, 2011 - SEIU has teamed up with other community, labor and advocacy groups on a project to collect photos of bridges, dams, roads, schools, levees, or any other piece of our infrastructure that needs repairing. We plan to send those photos along with a message to Congress to powerfully remind them--and the public--of all the ways our communities could be improved if we put the millions of people who are unemployed back to work. Can you help? Read more...
California State Workers Want to Retire With Dignity
Oct 27, 2011 - On Wednesday, the California State-Assembly Conference Committee on Public Employee Pensions met at the City of Carson council chambers to discuss public pensions in advance of Governor Jerry Brown's proposal for reform. As a member of Californians for Retirement Security, Jesus E. Hernandez urged the Committee to remember workers like him when considering pension fixes and reforms. Jesus has worked as a caterer and cook at the University of California, Riverside, for the past 12 years, and like most of California's public employees, he will depend on his meager but hard-earned pension as a main source of income when he retires. Read more...
Alvin Jackson: Baton Rouge Constable Fighting for Working Families
Oct 24, 2011 - Alvin R. Jackson is a father, mentor, community leader, law enforcement educator and proud Service Employees International Union Local 21 LA member. Jackson, a Sergeant Deputy Constable, has diligently served the City of Baton Rouge for 22 years. The Baton... Read more...
SEIU Member Leadership Profile: Officer Rachel Thomas
Oct 17, 2011 - Born and raised in the city she now serves, Rachel Thomas is a 29-year veteran of the Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department. She's also the secretary of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers' Local 364 (part of SEIU's Local 5000) and... Read more...
Governor Brown Helps Protect Public Libraries and Taxpayers by Signing AB 438
Oct 12, 2011 - We beat the privatization beast in California! SEIU 721 member leaders and library workers from Los Angeles and Ventura counties led a successful 14-month campaign to protect quality public services and preserve good, middle class jobs at public libraries.... Read more...
Public Employees Respond to Governor's Threat to Reject Jobs Money
Sep 29, 2011 - It's no surprise that Florida's economy is struggling. Our unemployment rate has stalled at 10.7% and many of Florida's major cities have not yet rebounded from the brutal housing market collapse of two years ago. But when President Obama unveiled... Read more...
A step towards better child and home care in Connecticut
Sep 22, 2011 - Hartford - Connecticut's seniors, people with disabilities, and young children applauded Governor Dannel P. Malloy yesterday for signing an executive order that will improve the quality and stability of care they receive. The order, hailed as a first step toward... Read more...
Free and Fair Union Elections mean Quality Jobs
Sep 07, 2011 - In June of this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a pro-worker proposed rule change to the current archaic private sector union election process. About ten seconds after the announcement, the Board (and workers around the country) witnessed the beginning of an all-out assault from the opposition. The corporations, and the politicians carrying out their dirty work on the Hill did all they could to spin myths from reality, twisting truths around like a pretzel. Read more...
SEIU members bring out voters in Wisconsin; slashing higher education equals cuts to middle class services
Aug 11, 2011 - SEIU members helped labor-friendly candidates close the gap in the Wisconsin Senate following Tuesday's recall election. In the latest broadcast of the National Workforce Network News, we'll show you what they did. Read more...
Wisconsin Recall Updates
Aug 09, 2011 - Looking for more information on the Wisconsin recall elections tonight? Basic election information can be found at the state's Government Accountability Board election results page, while live color commentary can be found on Twitter, mainly under the #WIrecall and #WIunion... Read more...
In February we stood together in Madison.
Tuesday we took it to the ballot box.
Aug 08, 2011 - Where did Wisconsin's historic protest crowds go after the huge rallies at the Capitol and across the state? Back to their neighborhoods, of course. Back home, they put down their signs to collect recall petition signatures, then knocked on their neighbors' doors to get out the vote for their successful recall drive. Read more...
Homecare Workers: Your hands and your voices matter!
Jul 25, 2011 - Many home care workers, union and non-union alike, may not be aware that current labor regulations are denying them the same federal minimum wage and overtime protections that other workers enjoy. On Wednesday, July 27th, you have the chance to influence the conversation to help change this. Find out how → Read more...
Want to Boost the Economy? Don't Cut Pensions
Jul 22, 2011 - New reports argue an additional case for how public pensions benefit the country -- by supporting not just retirees, but entire communities as well. According to the National Institute of Retirement Security, pensions are providing economic stimulus for virtually every state and town across America. In California alone, 2010 pension benefits spurred more than $26 billion in economic activity in the state and created more than 93,600 jobs last year. So why are lawmakers trying to cut one of the few economic stabilizers our communities have? Read more...
NLRB hears from 15,000 of us... at once!
Jul 19, 2011 - On June 21st, the National Labor Relations Board announced proposed rules to modernize the union election process. This small step forward for working people, we knew, would be met with fierce opposition, and it has. So we mobilized online to push back on the opposition by getting the Board to hear our voices. Our goal to deliver a letter co-signed by as many workers as possible during the open public comment sessions was accomplished today! Read more...
One Step Closer to Protecting Public Libraries!
Jul 11, 2011 - There is a growing effort in California and elsewhere to allow private, for-profit companies to privatize public libraries. On July 6th, SEIU Local 721 librarians, board members and community allies testified before the California Senate Governance and Finance Committee and asked them to approve Assembly Bill 438. AB 438 . The committee passed the bill to protect the public and taxpayers by requiring public notice and transparency about the true costs of privatizing public libraries by a 6-3 vote. Read more...
Where Is The Sacrifice?
Jul 05, 2011 - Starting now, nearly 655,000 public employees around Florida will be facing a 3% pay cut thanks to pension reform legislation passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Governor Rick Scott. This most recent attack on public workers exposes Governor Scott's lack of leadership and unwillingness to make the tough-to-swallow choices that working families around the state have been making for years. Read more...
"Walkerville" update: More Tractorade! Protestors shut down Capitol Square to traffic
Jun 08, 2011 - On Monday, more than 1,000 firefighters, nurses, farmers and community members marched through the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin and blocked the streets around the Capitol Square to traffic in an act of civil disobedience in protest of Scott Walker's extreme budget plans. Read more...
Providers for People with Developmental Disabilities Join SEIU Local 503
Jun 06, 2011 - The newly organized workers--a majority provide support for adults with developmental disabilities, but some also work with clients who have mental health issues and still others with medically fragile children--represent the largest single influx of union members in Oregon in a decade. Read more...
Viewpoints: Pension 'reformers' distort facts on benefits
Jun 06, 2011 - Martha Penry is a special education teacher's assistant in the Twin Rivers school district of Sacramento, California, whose recent column addressing retirement security was featured in The Sacramento Bee. Read her column after the jump to learn how proposals to overhaul California's public pension system will not fix the state's current budget shortfall, and may actually make fiscal problems worse.
Read more...New Hampshire Adjuncts Win Their Place at the Bargaining Table
Jun 01, 2011 - On February 11th, the ballots were counted and New Hampshire Community College adjuncts won their union and membership in SEA/SEIU Local 1984. Now they have the voice they need to improve their jobs and the quality of higher education in... Read more...
Wisconsin judge rules that collective bargaining vote violated state law
May 27, 2011 - Collective bargaining may not have seen its demise in Wisconsin after all. On Thursday, a Circuit Court Judge ruled that the meeting where Republicans cast the vote to limit collective bargaining for most public employees was in violation of the state's open meeting law. Read more...
5,000 Rally In Oregon For A Fair Budget
May 26, 2011 - A sea of SEIU purple highlighted with patches of AFSCME green filled the steps of the Oregon Capitol and its surrounding streets on Friday, May 20th to send a message to legislators and state officials that they're tired of bearing the burden of the state's troubled finances. Read more...
Public Employees Are the Solution. More Examples.
May 25, 2011 - Full chart after the jump → Enough with blaming public employees for all of America's problems. Last week public employees in Oregon marched on the state Capital with a billion dollars worth of recommendations for government efficiencies and revenue enhancements.... Read more...
California's Working Families To Legislators In New Ads: "Stop Extreme Cuts"
May 18, 2011 - The SEIU California State Council launched an advertising campaign calling upon California legislators to work together and stop extreme cuts in the state's budget. These cuts would negatively impact millions of Californians, including 30,000 children, who are losing their healthcare coverage in July and over a million seniors, who are having their basic income and services they need to live at home cut again should the cuts take effect in July. Read more...
New legislation could save libraries from the privatization beast
May 17, 2011 - As a public librarian, I focus on my bottom line...serving my community. My library provides valuable programs and services for my neighborhood. Sometimes the library is simply a safe place for children to come to after school, away from the gangs and violence outside my doors. This is why I'm asking you to tell your friends about PrivatizationBeast.org, to help save those libraries. Read more...
#WIunion Social Media Highlights
May 03, 2011 - As we're likely to be feeling the ripple of recent events in Wisconsin for a long time to come, it's a good point at which to look back at some of the early social media milestones before they're lost in the flood. The #WIunion struggle was mostly a word-of-mouth popular uprising, driven in large part by citizen media and email activism and inspiring people all over the country. Read more...
Public Sector Workers Leading The Way
May 02, 2011 - For generations, public service workers have played a critical role in the lives of every American. And for more than four decades, public service workers have united through SEIU to keep critical services and good jobs in their communities. From public school bus drivers who drive thousands of children to school safely each morning, to social workers who counsel struggling youth, home care workers who ensure that senior citizens can remain independent, and nurses that care for sick patients - SEIU members are a leading force behind building good, strong, safe communities. Read more...
We know MLK would agree: "Collective bargaining means more to me than just wages"
Apr 04, 2011 - Dr. King knew that unless many of us acted together, unless we treated an injury to one as an injury to all, that workers could be attacked a few at a time until no one had the strength to stand. So on April 4th as we remember Martin Luther King Jr--a great man who stood firm for justice--we're showing a united movement of local and national activists committed to fighting for the causes Dr. King lived and died for. Read more...
Indiana Democrats Victorious In Halting Anti-Worker Legislation
Mar 30, 2011 - Great news for Indiana's working families came late in the day Monday, as Indiana House Democrats finally returned to the state from Illinois after 36 days of successfully halting multiple bills that would have decreased wages, slashed funding for public schools and silenced our voices in the workplace. The ending to the standoff marked it as one of the longest in Indiana's and the nation's legislative history. Read more...
In Case You Missed It: Wisconsin Recall Momentum!
Mar 29, 2011 - Progressive groups launched a new ad today that features ordinary Wisconsinites making the case for the recall of multiple anti-worker state senators and capturing the grassroots energy and drive that is showing Wisconsin--and America--what democracy looks like. The spot, paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America, will run in multiple media markets across the Badger State. Read more...
Wisconsin-inspired attacks on workers + New Hampshire = Newconsin
Mar 25, 2011 - What happens when you mix Wisconsin-style attacks on middle class families with a state like New Hampshire, where anti-worker extremists control the state legislature but not the governor's house? You get Newconsin. This week, the state of NH moved to abolish collective bargaining in a budget bill that is actually WORSE than in Wisconsin because this stripping of workers' rights would apply to everything, including wages. Read more...
PROMO: State Workers' Pensions
Mar 25, 2011 - PROMO Read more...
Honoring Dr. King on April 4: We Are One
Mar 18, 2011 - On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he stood with sanitation workers demanding the right to bargain collectively and pursue their dream of a better life. On April 4, 2011 and the days surrounding it, we will stand together with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states where politicians backed by corporate CEOs are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. Read more...
Emergency rallies in Wisconsin Thursday morning
Mar 09, 2011 - Republican Senators just voted to strip working families in Wisconsin of their rights by gaming the system under the cover of night -- and they did it without a Democrat present. Thursday morning, the State Assembly will gather at 8:00 a.m. CST to vote and we'll be coming together inside and outside the Capitol at that time. Take a look at the list of rallies happening at the Capitol and around the state and let us know if you can attend: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/wirecall2. Read more...
Workers From Wisconsin, Ohio And Indiana Testify on Capitol Hill On Attacks On Middle Class Families
Mar 09, 2011 - Yesterday afternoon, Ohio SEIU District 1199 members Tom Guyer and Lynn Radcliffe joined workers from Wisconsin and Indiana to testify at a hearing of the House Democratic Steering Committee on the attacks facing middle class families. Read more...
Member voices: "What will the national assault on workers' rights mean for public safety?"
Mar 09, 2011 - Anti-collective bargaining legislation like the S.B. 5 bill that passed Ohio's state senate will not only destroy the middle class in our state, it will hurt our communities. It will hinder our teachers, our fire fighters, and our police officers in their line of duty. It will hamper the ability of SEIU member Tom Guyer and his fellow parole officers to effectively supervise violent offenders who are on the streets and in his Ohio community's neighborhoods. Read more...
The Short, Unhappy Governorship of Scott Walker
Mar 07, 2011 - On Monday, January 3rd, 2011, Scott Walker was sworn in as Wisconsin's 45th governor. Three months earlier, he'd been elected with 52 percent of the vote in the governor's race. On the afternoon of Friday, February 11th, 2011, after alarming... Read more...
Party's Over
Mar 02, 2011 - The tea party planned their own rally today to show their support for Governor Kasich's plan to take away collective bargaining rights for public employees. I tried to stand in roughly the same spot I stood yesterday at the rally for the middle class, so you could get a good comparison. I'll let the photos speak for themselves: Read more...
Standing Strong in Ohio [VIDEO]
Mar 02, 2011 - It's the morning after more than 25,000 Ohio workers, students, and families gathered at the Statehouse in Columbus. They came together to stop Ohio Governor John Kasich's attack on the middle class - specifically his proposed bill, SB5, that would strip collective bargaining rights from millions of teachers, firefighters, police, and public employees in Ohio. Read more...
25,000+ Rally on Tuesday for Ohio's Middle Class [PHOTOS]
Mar 01, 2011 - For more than a week, community activists, union members, students and faith leaders have gathered around the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio to protest Governor John Kasich's plan, Senate Bill 5, which would repeal collective bargaining rights for more than 300,000 state workers. On Tuesday, the rally reached its fever pitch, with an estimated 25,000 people turning out to protest against attacks on working families. Read more...
Saturday Solidarity Rallies Across the Country
Feb 28, 2011 - The unity of the labor movement was in evidence everywhere on Saturday, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of every single capital in America to stand with Wisconsin and demand an end to the attacks on workers. The nationwide show of solidarity on Saturday was sponsored by MoveOn.org, SEIU and dozens of other organizations. More photos of SEIU members participating in Saturday's rallies across the country on SEIU's Blog. Read more...
Video from Wisconsin - Ian's Pizza
Feb 27, 2011 - SEIU's video team has been on the ground in Madison capturing footage as events unfold. You can follow all of the clips as we post them on our constantly updated YouTube page. One of the most heartwarming stories is about a local pizzeria called Ian's; you may have heard it. Read more...
VIDEO: Mary Kay Henry: "Why We're Standing Up In Wisconsin"
Feb 23, 2011 - On Monday, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry joined our brothers and sisters in Madison to help preserve basic protections for working families and urged them to continue fighting. Watch video here. Read more...
SEIU member to Wisconsin state senator: "I fear for the state without a strong union movement"
Feb 23, 2011 - Organized workers, veterans, students, faith leaders, academics, celebrities, community activists, elected officials and more have come together to fight a dishonest attempt by Governor Walker to deprive union workers of their right to collective bargaining - a move that has nothing to do with the state budget. Read the letter SEIU Local 521 member Karen Lemes penned to a Wisconsin state senator. Read more...
National opinion leaders: Governor Walker's attack on the middle class is out of line
Feb 23, 2011 - Over the past few days, a whole host of national opinion leaders have weighed in on the attacks on the middle class in Wisconsin. And their opinions have been almost unanimous - Governor Walker's attacks on working people are unfounded and unacceptable. Here's a round up of some of the best opinion pieces this weekend. Read more...
Messages of solidarity for Wisconsin, part 2
Feb 23, 2011 - Americans are standing up to Governor Walker and the politicians who are launching political attacks on fire fighters, teachers, nurses, snowplow drivers, EMTs and other hardworking people who keep our communities safe. Check out more messages of support to those who've been fighting for their rights in Madison all week and send one of your own. Read more...
VIDEO: Wisconsin Nurse Angela Aldous: "I Love My Patients"
Feb 22, 2011 - SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin member Angela Aldous, an RN at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, talks about how having a voice at the workplace keeps her patients safe and helped her keep the job she loves, working for the patients she loves, while recovering from a multiple sclerosis attack. Read more...
Messages of Solidarity: Wisconsin's Fight Is Our Fight
Feb 21, 2011 - Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has declared all-out war on unionized public employees. But it's not just union members at risk; it's the services these members provide-whether that be as teachers, public safety personnel or home health care workers. As tens of thousands of people continue to demonstrate in Wisconsin, we asked folks to send a message to your SEIU brothers and sisters who have been fighting for their rights outside the Capitol all week. Read more...
Governor Scott Walker Manufactures Fiscal Crisis and Blames Public Employees
Feb 19, 2011 - On Thursday night, Rachel Maddow laid out the Republican plan for the future of the country: Bake Sales vs. Billionaires. "Wisconsin is on track to have a budget surplus this year, I am not kidding. I am quoting their own version of the Congressional Budget Office the state's own bipartisan assess the state's finances agency. That agency said the month that the new Republican Governor was sworn in--last month--that the state was on track to have a $120 million dollar surplus this year. So, um, why exactly does WI look like this today?" Read more...
Are you watching what's happening in Wisconsin?
Feb 19, 2011 - As I write, 30,000 people are gathered outside of the Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin speaking out against Republican Governor Scott Walker's attempt to take away collective bargaining rights from public employees. Almost 14,000 of our SEIU brothers and sisters stand to lose their rights if Governor Walker gets his way: 9,000 nurses and nursing home staff, along with about 5,000 home care workers. They've been out there among the demonstrators all week. We've set up a page on our website that allows you to send a message of support to our SEIU family and everyone else fighting for their rights outside the Capitol. Share your well-wishes for the working families in Wisconsin and we'll make sure they receive them this weekend. http://www.seiu.me/wisconsin Read more...
Collective bargaining and a vibrant middle class go hand-in-hand
Feb 18, 2011 - Need proof? Look to Wisconsin, where more than 100,000 teachers, nurses, librarians and other public workers' courageous efforts in a critical battle to safeguard collective bargaining rights have now entered Day 4 of the state-wide protests. American needs a vibrant middle class in America and collective bargaining is the best way to guarantee it. Read more...
PHOTOS: Wisconsin Rallies To Protect Workers' Rights To Organize
Feb 17, 2011 - SEIU members in Wisconsin continue to unite with other union members, faith leaders, veterans, seniors, students, and even the Green Bay Packers to stop Governor Walker's attack on working families. Since Tuesday, thousands of workers and their families have converged on the state capitol grounds, while lawmakers held a public hearing on the Governor's proposal to eliminate 50 years of collective bargaining for Wisconsin nurses, home care workers, teachers and other workers. Read more...
What does taking away public sector unions have to do with fixing the budget? Nothing
Feb 16, 2011 - You may ask, what do Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's recent budget proposals have to do with fixing the budget? Not much. Essentially, Scott Walker's proposals aim to redistribute wealth by taking it from the middle class and giving it to the rich while increasing the state deficit. Walker's bill does not "restore freedom and prosperity to the people of Wisconsin." Instead it takes away both: the freedom to join a union and the security of a job, health care, and retirement. Read more...
Work, Unions and Public Policy: Wisconsin Roundup!
Feb 15, 2011 - At Tuesday's rally, thousands of Wisconsin residents and public service workers showed up at the Capitol in Madison to petition their government for redress of grievances against Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposals. Read more...
Hide Your Libraries! The Privatization Beast is Loose!
Feb 15, 2011 - The public library, through its abundant and free services, played a key role in shaping 20th century America. By investing in public libraries, America was able to educate its citizens, strengthen its workforce, and support its entrepreneurs, researchers and free press. But now that could all come to an end. A beast is on the horizon - a privatization beast - and it's after America's library systems. Read more...
WISCONSIN SAYS "NO" TO GOV. WALKER'S ATTACK ON PUBLIC SERVICES
Feb 15, 2011 - Thousands of Wisconsin residents and public service workers are rallying at the Capitol in Madison to petition their government for redress of grievances against Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposals. Read more...
Work, Unions and Public Policy: The Roundup!
Feb 03, 2011 - For your reading enjoyment, some recent, and recently found, articles about unions, public services and workplace issues in American life:... Read more...
SEIU Local 1021 mourns passing of staff member Berry Bingham
Jan 27, 2011 - The members and staff of SEIU Local 1021 were saddened to learn of the sudden passing of a member of the local's staff: Berresford "Berry" Bingham. Berry's untimely and senseless death is a tragedy, and he will be dearly missed by many -- his children and family, his friends, his church, his co-workers, the union community. We would do him honor by keeping his faith in community alive in our work. Read more...
What have civil rights got to do with public workers' rights?
Jan 18, 2011 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he was showing up to support the right of public employees to organize and strike. What have civil rights got to do with public workers' rights? To use President Obama's language in Tucson, we need to "widen our circle of concern"--as King did--when it comes to civil rights. Read more...
Report: Rescinding Bargaining Rights Doesn't Fix State Budgets
Jan 12, 2011 - Ohio's budget crisis is the result of the Wall-Street-created recession, not the collective bargaining rights of public service workers, says a new report released recently from Policy Matters Ohio. The report analyzed states across the country, their budget gaps, and... Read more...
Unionized public employees being used as scapegoats for financial crisis
Jan 06, 2011 - Public workers are being scapegoated for the recession caused by Wall Street. The most recent shining example of this is in New York, where the press is pointing the finger at sanitation workers for a late December snow-removal mess, even accusing union workers of being responsible for the death of a child whose ambulance ride to the hospital was delayed because of road conditions. Read more...
Gov. Scott Walker's inauguration day sparks call to action for Wisconsin's unemployed
Jan 06, 2011 - More than 700 citizens including unemployed workers, ministers, and community leaders gathered at Wisconsin's State Capitol on January 3rd to bring attention to the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites who are out of work. Read more...
SEIU local leader named 'newsmaker to watch in 2011'
Jan 05, 2011 - The Hartford Business Journal named five newsmakers to watch in 2011 and at the top of their list was Robert Rinker, Executive Director of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001. Rinker told the Journal that state employees can be part of the solution in fixing the state budget deficit, but that the deficit issue cannot be solved on the backs of state workers. Read more...
Campaign spotlight: SEIU Local 521's KernVoice.org
Jan 03, 2011 - A new website from SEIU Local 521 in Bakersfield, CA provides a data-driven perspective to the debate over the demands for pay cuts for Kern County employees. KernVoice.org features the stories of real workers, their real pay, and the real, specific and documented impacts the pay cuts would have on them and their families. Read more...
Holiday solidarity with nursing home workers on strike
Dec 29, 2010 - For eight months nearly 400 nursing home workers in Connecticut have stood strong for a fair contract, safe workplaces, and quality care for the residents they serve. Our Union members have picketed and rallied with their sisters and brothers in District 1199/SEIU because their struggle is fundamentally about the future of Connecticut's middle class. Read more...
Caregivers release white paper linking mental health safety net, public safety
Dec 22, 2010 - It's well known that the vast majority of people living with mental illness are peaceful, functioning members of their community, posing no risk to themselves or others. This is because treatment works, when dedicated mental healthcare professionals are available to provide it. This month, members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW gathered at the State Capitol in Olympia to release a powerful new report that looks at the crisis facing mental healthcare in Washington state. Read more...
Puerto Rico's working families to appeal Governor's massive layoffs
Dec 07, 2010 - In July 2009, Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño invoked Law 7, effectively firing 28,000 working people who provide essential services, without demonstrating any alternative solutions or proving financial necessity. For the first time since its enactment, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston will examine whether or not Act 7 was "reasonable and necessary" to achieve the goal of resolving the state's fiscal crisis. Read more...
Child care changed this family's life for the better
Dec 02, 2010 - Nancy Rios and Ramon Salazar, who both work at a Panda Express restaurant, used to have a hard time coming up with the $250-300 a week that it costs to have a babysitter watch their three children in Oxnard, CA. Read more...
Child care keeps families working in California
Nov 05, 2010 - A family child care provider for 13 years, Susan Austin cares for 8 children whose attendance is supported by the Stage 3 child care threatened by Gov. Schwarzenegger's veto. A single mother who was on public assistance herself 40 years ago, all of Austin's clients are single mothers who are also working their way to independence. Read more...
California child care providers protest veto of funding for 60,000 children
Nov 02, 2010 - Last Tuesday, Southern California family child care providers with Child Care Providers United rallied in front of the Women's Conference, held by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California's first lady, Maria Shriver, to protest the governor's veto of Stage 3 child care funding for over 60,000 children. Read more...
Who can we trust to make healthcare affordable? Not Tom Foley
Oct 29, 2010 - Insurance companies continue to post record profits, but some politicians have the gall to suggest that it's actually public service workers, not big insurance CEOs, who are making the healthcare system SO expensive. Greenwich multimillionaire and candidate for governor Tom Foley even claims that he could lower the cost of healthcare by 15% if elected to lead Connecticut. Sound too good to be true? It is. Read more...
For-profit company to 'improve' libraries with Walmart-style gimmicks
Oct 27, 2010 - The private equity-owned company L.S.S.I. wants to run your library for their own profit. The company lures in city council members with promises of improved library services and streamlined operations, but their "improvements" sound like the recycled customer service gimmicks of America's corporate retail giants. Read more...
DC workers who support individuals with developmental disabilities vote 'YES' for union
Oct 26, 2010 - In a union election covering 150 employees who provide services for people with developmental disabilities at Individual Development, Inc. (IDI), workers today voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU Local 500, a union of 18,000 human service, education and child care workers across Washington, DC and Maryland. Read more...
60,000 CA families could lose their child care
Oct 22, 2010 - California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed $256 million in child care money for low-income families, leaving tens of thousands of families transitioning off of public assistance without good child care options starting in November. Read more...
Union Plus Pet Photo Contest
Oct 21, 2010 - Do you look like your pet? If so, there's a contest for that! Read more...
Receiving Less Pay, Working Longer Hours - The Truth about California State Workers
Oct 19, 2010 - The University of California Berkley's Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics found that California public employees actually receive less pay and work longer hours than their private sector counterparts. And when you factor in those controversial retirement benefits, public employees with a higher education still earn less than they would in the private sector. Read more...
Library Patrons Fight Back
Oct 14, 2010 - Library privatization is spreading like a bad virus in Southern California. Last week, people across the state of California signed onto a petition opposing the Santa Clarita City Council's decision to privatize the public library system. This week, we learned that public libraries in Camarillo, California might soon be outsourced to the private equity-owned company, L.S.S.I. Read more...
The Fire Department That Wouldn't Help
Oct 04, 2010 - Last week, a home in rural Tennessee burned for hours, right to the ground. The fire department watched it burn and did nothing to help, because the family didn't pay into the county's subscription-only fire service. Read more...
Budget crisis collateral: child care and the families who depend on it
Oct 01, 2010 - My parents need the help that the subsidies provide and are extremely grateful that I have not shut my doors...yet. Without child care, my single father who is raising his son as a single parent, will be forced to quit his job. Read more...
Our Libraries Are Not for Sale
Sep 29, 2010 - It's happening in Santa Clarita, but it can happen anywhere. The City Council of Santa Clarita, CA recently voted to privatize the county's library system. Library patrons everywhere need to tell politicians, "Our libraries are not for sale." Read more...
Our Libraries Aren't for Sale
Sep 28, 2010 - Read more...
GOP's 'Pledge' to Favor Special Interests; Target Federal Workers
Sep 23, 2010 - As detailed in "The Pledge To America," one way Republicans envision cutting back "the relentless growth in government that has occurred over the past decade" is by cutting government jobs. The provision would hire only one new worker to replace every two federal retirees and initiate a hiring freeze of non-security federal workers. Read more...
State and Local Public Employees Underpaid, EPI Study Finds
Sep 17, 2010 - State and local public employees are undercompensated, according to a new Economic Policy Institute analysis. The report, "Debunking the Myth of the Overcompensated Public Employee: The Evidence," finds that on average, state and local government workers are compensated 3.75% less than workers in the private sector. Read more...
New Report: Jobs Well Done
Sep 02, 2010 - The American Prospect has released a 22 page report that details the growing crisis facing American workers and what the government could do, right now, to help stop it. Case by case, the report follows the money that used to flow into the pockets of American workers, but now gets pumped into the balance sheets of multi-billion dollar corporations. Maybe most disturbing of all, though, are the many instances of our own tax dollars funding the very companies that are driving Americans out of the middle class and into poverty. Read more...
On Generosity
Aug 31, 2010 - This is the third in a series examining issues raised by a blog post from Chamber of Commerce Senior Communications Director Brad Peck, where he suggested that women's interest in closing the gender pay gap amounted to a "fetish for... Read more...
CA Superior Court Delays Minimum Wage Order for State Workers
Aug 27, 2010 - On August 25th, the Sacramento County Superior Court effectively blocked Governor Schwarzenegger's bid to impose the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour on California state workers--at least for another few months. Read more...
If you weren't having babies, you (mostly) wouldn't get cheated at work
Aug 25, 2010 - Chamber of Commerce Senior Communications Director Brad Peck decided to commemorate the 90th anniversary of suffrage by suggesting last week that women who want equal pay have a "fetish for money," and recommending that women focus our energies on "choosing the right partner at home." Thanks in part to the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce, laws against pay equity have been delayed and are still insufficient. Read more...
SEIU Wisconsin Gives GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Failing Grade for Crumbling Buildings in Milwaukee
Aug 24, 2010 - Last Thursday, SEIU Wisconsin members organized a "People's Inspection Tour" of Milwaukee County buildings where they found disrepair in five buildings managed by County Executive Scott Walker, who is currently a Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin. Read more...
Ad war highlights messaging on public service workers
Aug 23, 2010 - Marshal McLuhan once said the medium is the message, and that was true in California this week as a new Hollywood blockbuster and two new campaign ads focused attention on the governor's race and public employees. Read more...
An 800 percent return on pre-school investment
Aug 19, 2010 - An editor at Wired took another look at the economic study of the benefits of a good preschool program for low income children, particularly the conclusion that "for every dollar invested in preschool for at-risk children, society at large reaps somewhere between eight and nine dollars in return." Read more...
The Terrible Public Pension Threat
Aug 12, 2010 - It's time for a class war over public union pensions. So says Ron Lieber, writing in the New York Times. Okay, let's rumble. What's the score, so far? Read more...
Temporary restraining order blocks furloughs for all CA state workers
Aug 10, 2010 - Good news! Late yesterday, an Alameda Superior Court Judge blocked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed furloughs of three working days a month on 150,000 California state workers. The TRO issued by Judge Steven Brick protects all SEIU Local 1000 employees that were at risk for reinstated furloughs. Read more...
FMAP & Congress: Cutting It Way Too Close
Aug 04, 2010 - At approximately 10:30am ET, the Senate is scheduled to hold another vote on FMAP funding for our states. This funding is critically important, and assists states in creating jobs and maintaining vital services. Our kids and those most vulnerable among us are taking the brunt of these cuts. UPDATE: The cloture vote passed 61-38. Read more...
Having a baby? No house for you!
Aug 02, 2010 - As the New York Times revealed last week, real estate lenders commonly refuse to lend to new parents, or prospective parents with upcoming maternity leaves. It's hard to think of a time in a person's life when they're more likely to need a new home. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has responded by saying they'll be launching an investigation. Good. Read more...
New radio ad reminds Sen. Brown to "keep his promise" on jobs
Jul 30, 2010 - 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East has teamed up with AFSCME to launch a new radio commercial on an important jobs bill creating and protecting jobs in both the private and public sectors. The radio ad, beginning tonight, calls on Brown to "keep his promise" to create and protect jobs by bringing federal FMAP funding back to Massachusetts through this jobs bill. Read more...
Gov. Schwarzenegger orders furloughs for state workers AGAIN
Jul 29, 2010 - State workers in California had only been furlough-free for a month before Governor Schwarzenegger issued a new executive order on Wednesday to implement three furlough days per month. It will affect an estimated 200,000 state workers. SEIU Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker responded to the new furlough order, calling it another example of his failed leadership. Read more...
The Right-Wing Smoke Screen: Dangerous to Everyone's Health
Jul 27, 2010 - When facts fail, the operatives for corporate America simply ramp up their efforts to build resentment against the public and private sector. It's classic divide-and-conquer politics: pitting one group of American workers against another, with the hope that you'll forget or ignore the corporations and Wall Street bankers who caused this mess. Read more...
News From Around the Union
Jul 26, 2010 - In case you missed it....recent news, contract victories and activism from SEIU Local unions in New York, Toronto, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Connecticut, Oregon, San Francisco and Colorado. Read more...
Californians Demand End to Welfare for Big Oil
Jul 26, 2010 - Out of the 22 major oil-producing states in the United States, California is the only one that has a loophole allowing oil companies to extract oil tax-free. Hundreds of Californians--including SEIU child care providers, school employees and social workers--marched in Los Angeles on Thursday to demand elected leaders put an end to tax giveaways to large oil companies. Read more...
CA state employees mobilize as Gov. Schwarzenegger tries to force them to work for minimum wage
Jul 20, 2010 - Beyond sharing their moving stories, thousands of SEIU Local 1000 members have taken action to protest the governor's minimum wage order and urge CA lawmakers to pass to a continuous appropriations bill. More than 20,000 members have engaged in work actions, made phone calls, written letters, sent e-mails and contacted their elected state representatives. Read more...
No Minimum Wage for California State Workers
Jul 19, 2010 - On August 25th, the Sacramento County Superior Court effectively blocked Governor Schwarzenegger's bid to impose the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour on California state workers--at least for another few months. Read more...
DENIED: Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposal to pay CA state workers minimum wage
Jul 16, 2010 - On Friday, a Sacramento County Superior Court Judge temporarily denied Gov. Schwarzenegger's legal request to immediately impose the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour on California state workers. This means that the salaries of approximately 200,000 hourly state employees are safe--for now. Read more...
Misguided members of Congress oppose unemployment benefits despite jobless rates
Jul 16, 2010 - By the end of this week, 2.5 million workers will be cut off jobless benefits since the provisions expired in June, causing states to lose millions per month in stimulus spending. A new analysis lists every U.S. Senator and Representative who voted against extending unemployment benefits last month - and the cost of this opposition on their state's economic recovery and out-of-work residents. Read more...
Meet the 2010 SEIU Honorees of Union Plus Scholarships
Jul 15, 2010 - Union Plus Scholarship awards are presented annually to union members or members of their families who are working hard to begin (or continue) their post-secondary education. This year, Union Plus has awarded $150,000 in scholarships to 121 students representing 42 unions, including three winners from SEIU. Read more...
U.S. Chamber: You've Got to Be Joking, Right?
Jul 12, 2010 - A 1960's Batman comic. That's how the Chamber of Commerce characterizes our current economic crisis. It's not surprising that the U.S. Chamber would liken our national debate on job creation to a Batman comic strip. To a lobbying powerhouse like the Chamber, this is a game, and they're priming the pump with tens of millions of dollars to make sure that in the end, they win. Read more...
Sen. Brown & the Economy: Doin' a Heckuva Job
Jul 08, 2010 - Last month, Congress failed to pass a jobs bill and extend unemployment benefits. While members of Congress enjoy their two-week vacation this July, Americans are experiencing the dramatic consequences of this inaction. In MA, taxpayers lost $338,000,000 in relief funds when Republicans filibustered a vote on FMAP funding. Email your Senator this week and urge them to get back to work on creating jobs. Read more...
CBS News: "The Cuts Are Now Brutal"
Jul 07, 2010 - As predicted, Congressional inaction on jobs creation and extending unemployment insurance has resulted in a full-blown crisis in our states. CBS Evening News visited several states, including California, to survey the aftermath. Read more...
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry Addresses Obama's Fiscal Commission
Jul 02, 2010 - On June 30th, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry addressed the crisis that workers face and the real causes of the national deficit in her testimony before the President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Henry stated that "our first priority as a nation must be putting Americans back to work." Read more...
Child Care In The Public Service
Jul 01, 2010 - When child care can cost $400 per week, parents who can't afford either the tuition or to take time off work to stay home with them can be left in the lurch. The public employees who help bridge that gap provide an invaluable service to families and their communities. Read more...
Why are governors sitting on the sidelines?
Jun 29, 2010 - We just learned that state governors are considering a trip to Washington, DC this week to demand Congress reintroduce the jobs bill. This is great news - and one final opportunity to stop disastrous cuts in your state. Let's make it happen - send your governor to Washington now. Read more...
Abrogating Pension Contracts, Willy Nilly
Jun 29, 2010 - If you're one of the many American workers that can't afford a lawyer, contractual promises made to you don't matter as much as they might seem to. Worse, instead of raising the ire of business editors and politically prominent economists across the country, breaking promises made to ordinary workers of pay, benefits or future pensions will earn only praise from those same people. Breaking financial promises made to the working class, to the middle class, isn't considered offensive, but responsible. Read more...
You've Got Nothing Coming
Jun 23, 2010 - Americans who worked hard and played by the rules have been punished with a bad economy, lost jobs and mountains of debt. Now the finance industry and their apologists want to shift the blame to police officers, teachers, firefighters and bus drivers for the crisis. Read more...
They Write Letters on Jobs
Jun 22, 2010 - Two SEIU local leaders have published letters to the editor in major papers in their communities, calling for the passage of a strong jobs bill and preserving FMAP funding. First, Gary Smith, president of State Employees' Association of New Hampshire,... Read more...
Action: Give the Jobs Bill an Up or Down Vote
Jun 15, 2010 - Tomorrow the Senate will hold a key procedural vote to determine if the jobs bill will get the straight up-or-down vote it deserves. Passing the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act will ensure that jobs will be created and key services won't be cut. Will you call your senators and ask them to support an up-or-down vote? Read more...
San Diego: Regional Center Staff Uniting for Consumers
Jun 11, 2010 - A majority of San Diego Regional Center employees, who provide services for adults and children living with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial Counties, voted June 9, 2010 to join SEIU Local 221. Read more...
Let's Create Jobs
Jun 09, 2010 - American workers are in a crisis. We're grappling with foreclosures, with layoffs and with worrying about what future we'll leave for our children. And now, the state and local services we rely on are being cut as states and cities cope with record budget crises. That's why the Senate must act by passing a strong jobs bill: the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. Read more...
What the FMAP was Congress Thinking?!
Jun 07, 2010 - Last month, Congress broke for recess without addressing jobless benefits and the FMAP extension for states. More than 300,000 jobs are at risk - not to mention countless programs and benefits - if states don't receive these critical funds. The number climbs to a staggering 990,000 jobs when you factor in the loss of other federal assistance measures. Read more...
American Red Cross Workers Strike for Safety
Jun 03, 2010 - American Red Cross workers went on strike across Southern California -- and the nation -- on June 2. The SEIU Local 721 workers are seeking a fair contract that protects our families and donor safety. U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, a former Red Cross board member, joined medical workers at a rally in front of the Red Cross's Pomona district office. Read more...
Crusade Against Public Employees Masks Wall Street's Abuses
Jun 02, 2010 - As a direct result of Wall Street excesses and corporate abuses, pensions took big hits during the recent market crash that put the American dream of retiring with dignity and security at risk for public sector and private sector workers. For a healthy dose of reality, visit our fact check refuting attacks on public sector workers' pensions here. Read more...
Early Learning Professionals Don't Sit
May 21, 2010 - When Mary Kay Henry came to meet child care workers at the first National Early Learning Lobby Day last week, she said, "For anyone who thinks that what you do is babysitting, we have another thing to tell them." Read more...
Questions and Non-Answers from VA Governor on Home Care
May 12, 2010 - If you were a Governor looking to save money, why would you eliminate a program that helps save your state $1.1 billion a year? That's what SEIU members in the Virginia Association of Personal Care Assistants asked Governor Bob McDonnell at a Monday night forum sponsored by the Richmond Times Dispatch. Read more...
Update on 2010 - 2011 SEIU Scholarships
May 10, 2010 - The 2010-2011 SEIU Scholarship season is now closed. Members who completed applications for any of the scholarships will receive a letter in mid-June letting them know if their application was successful or not. Read more...
SEIU Elects Mary Kay Henry to Lead 2.2 Million Member Union
May 08, 2010 - The 73-member International Executive Board (IEB) of SEIU met in Washington DC on Saturday, May 8th to elect Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry the 10th president of the nation's fastest-growing union. Read more...
Reconciling the Bath Tub with the Oil Spill
May 05, 2010 - "You can't have government small enough to drown in a bathtub and big enough to pull your behind out of a flooded river." With or without spending cuts, Americans continue to require public services from their government. It's time to stop proposing senseless cuts to vital public services--and to start finding smarter, more efficient ways of serving our communities. Read more...
Adjunct Faculty in Maine Community College System Vote Overwhelmingly to Form a Union with MSEA-SEIU
May 03, 2010 - In a landslide vote, part-time adjunct faculty members in the Maine Community College System have formed a union with the Maine State Employees Association, Local 1989 of SEIU. Adjuncts said they formed a union because they want to be involved in the discussion of how to best ensure a quality education for all students and continue to attract and retain quality educators. Read more...
Debunking the Myth of the Wealthy State Worker
May 03, 2010 - The Grover Norquists of the world have waged a coordinated, decades-long war on public sector employees. Whether you're a teacher, fire fighter, social worker or engineer-- nobody has escaped the right's smear campaign. The misguided conclusion that lavish pay and benefits have become a way of life for public workers couldn't be farther from the truth. Read more...
Why SEIU Arizona is Against the New Immigration Law
Apr 30, 2010 - Overburdened police departments, swamped justice systems, an unfunded re-deployment of resources at the expense of the residents of cities and counties who will continue to pay for services that fewer public service employees struggle to deliver--these are reasons enough for SEIU Arizona to be against SB 1070. Immigration reform is a complicated issue. It's also a federal issue. The state "solution" signed by Governor Brewer isn't a solution at all for working people and Arizona's local communities, and puts public services at risk. Read more...
Why Politics Matter to State Workers
Apr 30, 2010 - Every election season some members question why SEIU Local 1000 gets involved in politics. "It's up to us to be politically active," said Local 1000 member Robyn Herrera. "Some people don't see the direct link - but if you don't stand up and voice your opinion, it's as if you don't have one. One person really can make a difference." Read more...
10 Days in Rwanda: Training Political Parties to Embrace Technology
Apr 26, 2010 - More and more, political parties in Rwanda are looking to embrace the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to organize, educate and activate voters to build political strength. The hope is that by increasing the sharing of tactics, ideas, and resources among parties, we can ensure that the Rwandan political sphere of the future will never be the breeding ground for ethnic division and genocide that it once was. Read more...
Rallying Against Cuts to Public Services in California & Illinois
Apr 22, 2010 - Dismal, rainy weather didn't deter thousands of people from gathering to protest against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's drastic proposed cuts to public service programs. ULTCW_Sacramentorally_homecarecuts_Apr2010.jpg Culminating a 365-mile, 48-day "March for California's Future," members of SEIU 721 and ULTCW joined a diverse coalition of labor, business, education and faith groups to rally in front of the Sacramento State Capitol Building. On the same day, Illinois held a "Save Our State" rally of 15,000 in Springfield. Read more...
Creative Union Campaign Spotlight: UNISON
Apr 19, 2010 - This "why join a union?" video from UK public services union and SEIU global partner, UNISON shows the importance of labor unions for people who work, thanks in large part to footage of President Obama. It's pretty powerful for a 60-second video. Read more...
Special Tax Day Edition...What Public Services Are YOU Thankful For?
Apr 15, 2010 - Every year, conservatives use April 15 to rally against taxes and government spending. We think it's time to get the public thinking of the services our tax dollars pay for that we often take for granted. "Collect taxes, but don't cut services" is the suggestion from SEIU members in LA, who are protesting service cuts and furloughs proposed by their city's mayor. Read more...
VIDEO: LA City Worker Takes NBC News on a Baywatch Stroll to Show How Cuts Affect Coastline
Apr 13, 2010 - Like other LA City professionals, Stacee Karnya is on a 10% furlough. She spent her furlough day with a TV crew from NBC Nightly News on the beach in Santa Monica, where LA City employees test the water to keep swimmers and surfers safe from toxic runoff. Read more...
Video: Delta Workers Vote to Join SEIU Local 509
Apr 13, 2010 - Last month 160 workers who provide support for people with developmental disabilities at Delta Projects, Inc. voted to join SEIU Local 509 in Boston, MA. Now we're pleased to share with you a powerful and energizing video of these... Read more...
West Virginia Mine Disaster Calls Attention to Need for Increased Worker Safety on the Job
Apr 07, 2010 - Lack of worker safety was a huge problem in this country long before 25 West Virginia mine workers died in a tragic mine explosion on Monday. American workers should not have to face unacceptable hazards at work, and we must make fight toward increasing protections to keep them safe on the job. To that end, SEIU is joining with the Obama Administration and Congressional leaders in calling for the passage of the Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA). Read more...
Labor Links Round-up
Apr 06, 2010 - April 6, 2010: A few interesting things happening around the union in DC, New York, Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, Canada, California and New Mexico.... Read more...
License plates with a pro-labor message
Apr 06, 2010 - We think the 'union difference' is definitely something that's worth celebrating, and we love to see people showcasing their union pride. So....if you spot a pro-union license plate or bumper sticker in your community or even at a stoplight in the near future, snap a photo of it. Then when you get home, submit the photo to us this easy upload sign-up form. Read more...
SEIU Healthcare WI Members Lobbying for Change
Mar 25, 2010 - On March 24th, members of SEIU Healthcare WI gathered for message and logistic training before heading to the State House to lobby their representatives on issues on forced overtime, home care organizing, and immigration reform. Read more...
Furloughs End for 50K+ California State Workers
Mar 25, 2010 - Yesterday morning in superior court, CA Judge Roesch issued a tentative ruling partially lifting the stay that Governor Schwarzenegger's attorneys sought. This means that furloughs will end immediately, which will restore a full work schedule and pay to 50,000+ SEIU Local 1000-represented workers who work for special fund agencies like the DMV and Cal-Trans. Read more...
Innovation in Action
Mar 22, 2010 - Public service employees are often maligned, but in reality few people are as committed to their work or as frustrated by the obstacles that get in the way of their ability to provide quality service. A new video, Innovation in Action, produced by SEIU's Public Service Division, highlights three stories about members who are improving public services and building better communities Read more...
LA City Workers Steal the Spotlight at Mayor's Pre-Oscar Party
Mar 15, 2010 - To spotlight the impact that 4,000 proposed layoffs and drastic service cuts will have on the entertainment industry, LA City workers held a mock red carpet event and an awards ceremony to honor the best in City services. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton understands gets how the proposed cuts will make LA a bad place for the film industry to do business--it's too bad Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council can't get on his level. Read more...
Improving Public Services: Putting Ideas Into Action
Mar 15, 2010 - We all know government employees often get a bad rap. Not only are they a frequent target for those pushing for privatization, but the valuable services they provide everyday are usually completely ignored, even during the best of times. That's why SEIU's Public Division has developed a new video featuring three different projects started by SEIU members that have done exactly that. Read more...
State Superintendent Candidates "Walk a Day in the Shoes" of Public School Employees
Mar 11, 2010 - Recently, candidates Tom Torlakson, Gloria Romero and Larry Aceves learned firsthand the challenges district employees face given the limited resources schools have due to recent budget cuts. This series of "Walk a Day in My Shoes" events is part of a larger program of SEIU. Read more...
Misconceptions: Pushing Back on Retirement Security
Mar 11, 2010 - The recession hit baby boomers who put all all their retirement security eggs in the 401K basket especially hard. Even though millions have seen their risky individual accounts crash, retirement security has increasingly come under attack--and provided an excuse for... Read more...
Court Halts Gov. Schwarzenegger's Drastic Wage and Service Cuts to CA Home Care
Mar 03, 2010 - Could CA Governor Schwarzenegger's lengthy reign of fear over California in-home care givers--and those they care for--finally be coming to an end? In today's 9th Circuit Supreme Court of Appeals decision (Dominguez v. Schwarzenegger), SEIU Locals in California were successful in halting the Governor's budget cuts that would have put seniors and people with disabilities at risk of losing the home care services they rely on. Read more...
Today is the Deadline for SEIU College Scholarships
Mar 01, 2010 - SEIU awards 52 scholarships through five different scholarship programs that enable members and their children to pursue their educational goals at accredited colleges, universities, and technical schools. The deadline for all applications is before midnight on March 1, 2010 (that's today!), so please check out the opportunities available and apply now so you don't miss out. Read more...
Judge Stops Furloughs for 53,000 California State Workers
Feb 26, 2010 - Alameda County, CA Judge Frank Roesch has ordered back pay and an immediate end to furloughs for approximately 53,000 SEIU Local 1000-represented workers. This is a huge victory for state workers who've been fighting against Gov. Schwarzenegger's illegal 14% pay cut (via thrice-monthly furloughs) for close to a year. Read more...
Around the union: In case you missed it
Feb 22, 2010 - As temperatures have plummeted around the country, SEIU Locals have not let their level of engagement fighting for their members freeze--not even a little. Here's a rundown on what's been going on across the country this past week with members in California, Ohio, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan. Read more...
Report: The Impact of the Recovery Act
Unsung Hero of the Year
Feb 18, 2010 - Read more...
Deadline Approaching for College Scholarships for SEIU Members
Feb 17, 2010 - If you're an SEIU member and you read our blog, a) we're glad you're here, and we're thrilled to have you as readers! and b) this reminder may apply to you--so please take a look at the opportunities below, and feel free to forward this info to other members you know who might be interested. More on scholarship opportunities here. Read more...
CA Court Blocks Quick Access to Financial Documents
Feb 12, 2010 - The state Judicial Council recently passed new rules that give the judiciary, like the executive branch of California government, generally ten days to determine if a request for public records will be honored. But this week, folks at the Council's administrative arm told us our request will take 56 days. And that's just to determine if it will be honored. Not when. Read more...
Minimum Wage Threat Looming for State Workers?
Jan 29, 2010 - Governor Schwarzenegger has once again released a state budget that will prove difficult for California state workers. If there is no state budget in place by the June 30, 2010 constitutional deadline, the Governor may try to withhold most state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage--$7.25 an hour. We can't let this happen. Read more...
Victory in Oregon: Voters approve tax measures to hold corporations & rich accountable
Jan 27, 2010 - As eyes are fixed on Washington waiting for the President's first State of the Union address, the pundits should take a look at Oregon. Yesterday, Oregon voters made a clear statement of their priorities: the government's top job must be to preserve vital services and infrastructure and stimulate the economy. Measures 66 & 67 will preserve $733 million in funding for human services, education and community safety. Read more...
MD Part-time Professors Win Job Security & Voice in College Governance
Jan 22, 2010 - Following more than a year of negotiations with Montgomery College for a pay increase, improved benefits and better job security, SEIU Local 500 part-time professors have unanimously ratified their first-ever collective bargaining agreement. The agreement goes into affect immediately, and will run through June 30, 2011. Read more...
Montgomery part-time professors no longer paid poverty-level income
Jan 21, 2010 - In a 213-70 vote, SEIU Local 500 part-time professors at Montgomery College approved their first-ever collective bargaining agreement. The vote followed more than a year of negotiations with the college for a pay increase, improved benefits and better job security. Read more...
2009: Remembering the Year That Was...
Jan 05, 2010 - We started the year on a high note: The Inauguration of President Barack Obama, for whom our union worked day and night to elect. As we usher in 2010, we took a closer look back at the legislation, people, stories and campaigns that made an impact on our members and all working people in 2009. Check out our timeline of the year's highlights for working families and SEIU members here. More on the SEIU campaigns that drew a lot of attention this year in our review of the top 10 SEIU Blog stories of 2009. Read more...
The Faces of Health Reform: How Reform Will Impact SEIU Members
Dec 23, 2009 - At both bargaining tables and kitchen tables across the nation, SEIU members have faced increasingly tough decisions about their health care--often sacrificing wage increases for benefits, or going without health insurance entirely. In recent months, members have shared their personal stories with us about their struggles with accessing affordable, stable, quality health insurance. Read more...
Highlights Reel: SEIU 2009 Organizing Successes
Dec 16, 2009 - Watch highlights from some of SEIU's successful organizing campaigns of 2009. Campaigns highlighted include Missouri in-home caregivers, 1199SEIU Boston healthcare workers, Local 721 LA city engineers and professionals, child care workers in Illinois and Cleveland, OH 1199WV/KY/OH nursing home workers. Read more...
Gov. Rell's "Edward Scissorhands" approach to the budget
Dec 16, 2009 - At a press conference yesterday organized by District 1199/SEIU on the steps of the Capitol, members of the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) joined business, labor & education leaders and activists to decry Republican Governor Jodi M. Rell's proposed budget cuts. Read more...
Childcare for low-income working families on the chopping block
Dec 10, 2009 - Washington state family child care providers Laura Tansy and Dora Herrera (the governor's own former child care provider), members of SEIU Local 925, are speaking out for the need to protect child care services as Gov. Christine Gregoire introduces her constitutionally-required balanced budget. Read more...
Ridgefield "lunch ladies" win a fair deal
Dec 02, 2009 - After five months of negotiations with new employer Chartwells, the hardworking "lunch ladies" of Ridgefield, CT public schools finally have a deal!. The food service workers reached a three-year contract agreement with the food service company that allows them five... Read more...
Ocean's 14: SEIU members take over Mayor Newsom's Office in undercover operation
Nov 16, 2009 - "What does it take to get the mayor's attention in this town?" was the question on their purple lips Thursday night (it was cold) after several dozen SEIU 1021 members and staff occupied Mayor Gavin Newsom's office, while hundreds more cheered them on inside and outside City Hall. It was a two-pronged tactic of escalating the San Francisco campaign through civil disobedience on top of public rallies. Read more...
The Changing Face of Labor: More Women, More Diversity
Nov 12, 2009 - A new study from CEPR analyzes the demographic trends of the union workforce and finds it to be more diverse than just 25 years ago. The report shows that women now make up 45 percent of union workers and that union workers are more educated now, among other findings. Read more...
"Infamy Day:" November 6 Layoffs go into effect in Puerto Rico
Nov 09, 2009 - Protests and tears marked "Infamy Day" in Puerto Rico, as thousands stood up for the nearly 3,000 public employees laid off as of November 6. Despite delaying layoffs until after the holidays, Puerto Rican government officials continue to state that "there is no way back" and that by January, 2010, there will be nearly 30,000 fewer public employees on the books. Read more...
Put a Stop to Blue Cross Blue Shield's Stranglehold on NC's Health Insurance Industry
Nov 06, 2009 - Recently, Blue Cross Blue Shield sent out a mass mailing asking NC recipients to send a pre-paid postcard to Democratic Senator Kay Hagan to pressure her into opposing health care reform, which includes a public option to make insurance companies compete. SEANC is calling on Blue Cross to stop using health care dollars to fund their political machine and protect their bottom line. Read more...
Dallas Members Celebrate 2% Raise, No Layoffs of SEIU Members
Nov 05, 2009 - Eight months of members advocating for a base pay increase has paid off in a big way for SEIU Texas members in Dallas. In the worst economy since the Great Depression and one of the City's worst budget years ever, employees within the following SEIU job classifications received a 2% base pay increase on October 1st: Crew Leaders, Equipment Operators, Laborers, and Truck Drivers. Read more...
BREAKING: Layoffs for unionized Puerto Rican workers postponed until January 8
Nov 03, 2009 - Members of SPT-SEIU Local 1996 in Puerto Rico scored a victory when Superior Judge Carlos Dávila Vélez granted their petition to stop the Department of Education's (DE) plans to lay-off 6,000 workers on Friday, giving them an additional 30 days on the job. SEIU's petition claimed the DE failed to follow proper notification procedures requiring notice to workers 30 days prior to letters of dismissal. Read more...
New clash between Puerto Rican police & protestors
Oct 25, 2009 - A scuffle erupted between protesters and the police on Thursday, after several hundred union members and activists finished a rally against Governor Luis Fortuño outside El Conquistador hotel, where the Governor held a conference with business companies on public-private partnerships. Read more...
No trick to union treats for Halloween
Oct 23, 2009 - When those little ghosts and goblins (or, we're predicting, Michael Jacksons) come collecting on Halloween, make sure you have a full supply of union-made goodies to hand out. No, not our latest flyers on the economic crisis. We mean candies made by union workers. Read more...
Will eggs fly at Governor Fortuño's head tomorrow?
Oct 21, 2009 - Workers to picket Fortuño meeting: Tomorrow, coalition Todo Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico will picket outside the meeting Governor Fortuño is having with business companies to discuss the privatization of public projects and agencies. Read more...
Around the Union: Locals Round-up
Oct 19, 2009 - Quick hits around the union from ULTCW, SEIU Massachusetts, SEIU District 1199, CSEA, Local 5-Virginia, SEANC, Local 721 and 32BJ. Read more...
The greatest public demonstration in Puerto Rican history
Oct 18, 2009 - The one day General Strike that mobilized around 150,000 workers and citizens to protest Governor Fortuño's massive layoffs took place in Puerto Rico on October 15. Chair of SEIU Healthcare Dennis Rivera, Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina and Local 1966 President Roberto Pagan joined the historic protest along with hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican workers, SEIU members, faith leaders, students and citizens in what's being called 'the greatest public demonstration in Puerto Rico's history.' Read more...
Photos from today's massive demonstration in Puerto Rico
Oct 15, 2009 - Enjoy the slideshow from today's strike by workers to protest Gov. Fortuño's layoffs--the largest demonstration in Puerto Rico's history. We'll keep the site and photostream updated as we get more from the ground in Puerto Rico. Updates on all things Puerto Rico on SEIU's Blog here. You can also follow SEIU on Twitter for updates. Read more...
Defeat of fear well underway in Puerto Rican general strike
Oct 15, 2009 - Two successful events that have already taken place today in the strike include the closing of Plaza Las Americas and more significantly, the defeat of fear. Hundreds of thousands of workers are now marching for justice, overcoming the campaign of media terror launched by the Puerto Rican Government during the last days. Protesters are marching from seven different locations of the Banks Zone in San Juan today, heading towards the southern side of Plaza Las Americas--which is expected to largest public gathering in Puerto Rican history. Read more...
On the Eve of the General Strike in Puerto Rico
Oct 14, 2009 - It's a very tense evening in Puerto Rico tonight--you can feel it in the streets and towns around the Island. Tomorrow the workers' movement and its allies will face a showdown with the Government police and paramilitary forces, as the general strike called to protest massive layoffs in the public service will begin in the early hours of the day. Read more...
Stop Puerto Rico's George Bush
Oct 14, 2009 - Tomorrow, over 200,000 people are preparing to take to the streets in a general strike, and Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño is threatening to charge the protesters with terrorism. Not even Karl Rove and George Bush tried that. Violating the civil rights of your own citizens is unacceptable--ask Congress to hold hearings on Fortuño's anti-American behavior. Read more...
Celebs use their star status to support laid-off Puerto Rican workers
Oct 10, 2009 - Puerto Rican Grammy award winning group Calle 13 announced they will speak out against Governor Fortuño's massive layoffs of nearly 17K public service workers live at the Latin MTV Awards on October 15th. The award show is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, CA on the same day the national workers' strike will be taking place in Puerto Rico. Read more...
Potential home care cuts could be a humanitarian disaster
Oct 06, 2009 - SEIU members, disability, senior-citizen rights groups filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court Friday to stop 130,000 people from either being dropped or cut from California's In-Home Supportive Services program as of Nov. 1. Nearly one hundred thousand people would be part of the group only having 'some' of their services cut--which sounds almost positive compared to those that will lose all of their in-home care, right? Except when you consider the actual breakdown of these services to be lost... Read more...
SEIU Local 1000 family among victims of Typhoon in Philippines
Oct 05, 2009 - On Saturday, September 26, Typhoon Ondoy struck the Philippines with the heaviest rainfall recorded, followed by the worst flooding in 40 years. "This has had a significant impact on the families of some of our members, including Ramon Alcantara, whose family has lost many of their possessions, and almost lost Ramon's son," says SEIU Local 1000 president Yvonne Walker in a message on the Local's website. Read more...
Snapshot of recent worker actions protesting Puerto Rican Governor's mass layoffs
Oct 03, 2009 - he temperature is rising fast in the labor climate in Puerto Rico as a result of the 16,970 public employees laid off by Governor Fortuño on one stroke last Friday. Several scenarios accounted for the increased tension yesterday between government and workers, both organized and unorganized, and leaders from SEIU-affiliated locals SPT (Local 1996) and UGT continued their peaceful protests across Puerto Rico. to demand a roll back of the layoffs. Read more...
Puerto Rican Workers Fight Back Against Massive Layoffs; Declare Seat of Labor Secretary "Vacant"
Oct 01, 2009 - The second civil act of disobedience in three days protesting the Fortuño Administration's layoffs of 17,000 public employees ended early this afternoon, when Puerto Rican labor leaders from unions including SEIU Local 1996SPT pronounced the Labor Secretary's position "vacant" and declared incumbent Miguel Romero "persona non grata." More details on how Puerto Rican workers and supporters are fighting back against the government's unjust layoffs here.. Read more...
Puerto Rican Governor sicks SWAT team and police brutality on laid-off workers holding peaceful protest
Sep 30, 2009 - On Tuesday in San Juan, peaceful demonstrators outside of the official estate of Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño were violently removed by SWAT team agents and arrested, despite assurances that they would leave peacefully and not resist arrest. Labor leaders and other demonstrators protesting the massive 16K+ firing of Puerto Rican state employees are shoved and billyclubbed by SWAT team ordered by Governor Fortuño. Read more...
County Employees Rally for Better LA as Contract Clock Runs Out
Sep 30, 2009 - With contracts between LA County and its largest employee union set to expire at midnight on September 30, more than 2,000 LA County employees called on the Board of Supervisors to support an agreement that protects services in the economic downturn. Read more...
Puerto Rican Workers Chain Themselves to Gates of Governor's Mansion
Sep 29, 2009 - Puerto Rican union leaders instituted Camp of Dignity and Shame today in front of La Fortalez, the San Juan home of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño. ""This is Camp Dignity and we will not move from here," said Robert Pagán, president of SEIU Local 1996SPT , who is one of four union leaders who chained themselves to the gates of the Governor's home in an act of civil disobedience to stand up against the announcement from the government dismissing thousands of public sector employees. Read more...
PROMO: Public Division Contracts
Sep 29, 2009 - Public Division Contracts Read more...
Where Does Your Senator Stand?
Sep 29, 2009 - the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on an amendment to include a public option in their health care bill. Guess what - one of your Senators sits on the committee. We can't lose this debate. Will you call your Senator? Dial 1-866-311-3405 and urge your Senator to support a public option. Read more...
SEIU Local 721 Launches AccountableCalifornia.org
Sep 11, 2009 - SEIU Local 721 in southern California has launched a new website dedicated to exposing waste in government spending and improving the delivery of public services. The site is a part of the local's new Center for Public Accountability project, which also promotes protections for whistleblowers. Read more...
Andy Stern: Labor Can Play a Role in "Making Government Cool Again"
Sep 08, 2009 - In honor of Labor Day, a new website from the Ash Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School that highlights the best innovations from across the public sector published a column by SEIU President Andy Stern. In his piece, Stern shares his view on how those working in the public-sector can make a positive difference in promoting transparency and cost effectiveness. Read more...
Share your Labor Day photos and video
Sep 08, 2009 - One hundred and twenty-seven years after the first Labor Day parade, we still take a day to honor America's workers. Did you attend a Labor Day celebration, march or rally with SEIU members or any of our coalition partners? We want to know! Use this form to upload your photos, audio and video capturing your Labor Day experience. Read more...
Change Your Pic for Health Care
Sep 08, 2009 - Late last week, a simple message began spreading like wildfire on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. It read: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick." As a more lasting way to demonstrate your support of health insurance reform online, download our healthcare avatar and change your profile picture in support of health insurance reform. Read more...
Judge tentatively rules that state fund furloughs for 6,000 California workers are illegal
Sep 02, 2009 - Yesterday, a Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling that State Compensation Insurance Fund employees are exempt from Governor Schwarzenegger's furloughs. The lawsuit affects over 6,000 clerical and professional SEIU Local 1000 workers who work for the fund, which provides worker's compensation insurance to employers. Read more...
Massachusetts Mental Health Workers Vote to Join SEIU Local 509
Aug 19, 2009 - Mental health care workers at the Brien Center in western Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly on August 18 to unite together in SEIU Local 509. The local will now represent 350 workers throughout Berkshire County who provide outpatient services to 9,000 people with mental health challenges, including substance abuse and sexual abuse. Read more...
CA State Budget: Kindergarten Cop turns on kids
Aug 05, 2009 - Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the state budget into law last week, but not before chopping another half billion dollars from services for women, children, the sick and the elderly - services that just days before he'd agreed not to cut any further. Read more...
95,000 CA state workers vote to strike if necessary
Aug 04, 2009 - By a 74 percent margin, SEIU Local 1000 state workers in California voted to step up pressure on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to ensure that the contract signed with the governor's representatives this past February is ratified. Read more...
Pet owners forced to choose between feeding their pets or families
Jul 29, 2009 - Pat Bryan, Ventura County Steward and Animal Control Officer knows first-hand the impact of job loss, foreclosures and a weak economy. The animal kennels in his California region are filled to capacity, and shelter officials say they are seeing more and more pets being brought in by their owners because they can't afford to care for their pets, or they have lost their homes and have to move to apartments or mobile homes that don't allow dogs or cats. Read more...
California budget deal missing actual solution
Jul 21, 2009 - In spite of the fact that months of debate between CA lawmakers on how to resolve the state's $26 billion budget deficit may be finally coming to an end, there can be no cause for celebration when the 'solution' does not reflect the priorities of a vast majority of California voters. Read more...
Defense of the status quo is not acceptable
Jul 20, 2009 - SEIU Local 21LA member Eula Williams thinks back on her younger years and remembers when her family was forced to use homemade 'remedies' including "fatback" and "cod oil" because they couldn't afford traditional medicines for ailments such as a sore throat or pneumonia. "I know what it is like to be without healthcare," said Williams, explaining why she didn't hesitate to come to Washington, DC to promote healthcare reform as a Grassroots Lobbyist for SEIU earlier this summer. Read more...
Letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger: Trail of broken campaign promises must end
Jul 14, 2009 - "Governor, we've sacrificed. And we've now reached our limit. We cannot, and will not, allow you to use us as pawns in your political power game," writes SEIU Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker in a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger concerning the California union's contract deal and latest budget proposal. The Governor's proposal seeks to pile on an additional 5 percent pay reduction or fourth furloughed work day for more than 230,000 state workers. 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
California Child Care Providers Rally at State Capitol--Call on Lawmakers for Payment Reform
Jun 05, 2009 - Dozens of provider leaders from Child Care Providers United of California--a joint SEIU/AFSCME local union--rallied at the state Capitol in Sacramento and called on lawmakers to support payment reform measures on behalf of providers and working families. 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...
"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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Stop California Home Care Cuts
May 22, 2009 - Two years ago, President 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. Gov. Schwarzenegger's belief that solving the state's fiscal problems on the backs of those who take care of the most fragile among us is an absolute disgrace--please write him a message telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities. 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...
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...
Community to Board of Supervisors: "Save Our Safety Net!"
May 17, 2009 - Santa Clara County, CA faces staggering $273 million budget deficit and there's no doubt the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will be making some truly hard decisions in the coming weeks. What's at stake: a $140 million reduction in public services and some 340 county workers who will be affected either by losing their jobs, having their job changed, or reduced work hours. 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Washington Child Care Providers Urge Legislators to Support Struggling Families
Apr 27, 2009 - After consulting with members across the state, Washington state family child care providers are urging legislators and the governor to focus the state's $33 million incoming share of federal child care grants to help low-wage families access quality child care in the economic downturn. 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...
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...
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...
'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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Call Key Senators to Support the Economic Stimulus Act
Feb 12, 2009 - 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...
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...
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...
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...
A capitol idea: SEIU stirs things up in Sacramento
Jan 27, 2009 - To stir up the waters, hundreds of SEIU members from 1021 and other California locals converged on the State Capitol on Friday to demand an end to the legislative standoff that has made this year's budget so late it's actually early for next year. 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...
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...
SEANC to Congress: Support NC Economic Recovery
Jan 16, 2009 - Yesterday, Executive Director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEIU Local 2008) Dana Cope sent out an email update to SEANC members and activists, urging them to take action alongside Gov. Perdue in taking measures to reform the critical economic situation in NC. Read more...
Hilda Solis Will Stand for Justice, Open Doors for Millions of Workers in America
Jan 09, 2009 - "At this critical juncture in our great nation, I cannot think of anyone more qualified than Representative Hilda Solis to re-establish the U.S. Labor Department's priorities of justice, fairness, and equal opportunity for all workers," said SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina today, in his statement of support for Representative Hilda Solis's confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Labor: Read more...
Family Child Care Providers Ask Court to Compel Funding for Quality Day Care
Jan 06, 2009 - Family child care providers today filed suit in Washington State Supreme Court to compel funding of their arbitration decision and collective bargaining agreement in the Governor's 2009-2011 budget, SEIU Local 925 President Kim Cook announced. 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...
"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...
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...
State Public Service Workers Want to Revitalize Economy
Dec 02, 2008 - At a November 24 meeting between members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation and representatives of State public service workers, everyone agreed that all levels of government must be part of the solution, not part of the problem, to tackle Connecticut's growing economic crisis. Read more...
Tell Congress: We Need More Funding for Our Communities - Now! (Banner)
Nov 24, 2008 - 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...
"Green Team" Contest Winner: Find an Environmental Replacement for Disposable Lunch Trays
Nov 20, 2008 - "The vision I have for remedying this problem begins with one of our secondary schools, which uses about 180,000 Styrofoam trays per school year, and replaces those trays with something more environmentally friendly." 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...
Main Street, Not Wall Street, Should Fix Crumbling U.S. Infrastructure
Nov 19, 2008 - At its best, America's infrastructure has powered our economic prosperity, created well-paying jobs, and served the public interest. Read more...
Early Learning Teachers and Staff at EPIC Vote Overwhelmingly to Join SEIU Local 925
Nov 03, 2008 - Over 300 early learning teachers and staff at EPIC (Enterprise for Progress in the Community) voted 165 to 54 on Friday, October 24, 2008 to join SEIU Local 925. Read more...
United for Quality Mental Health Services
Sep 25, 2008 - Across the country, SEIU members are working with employees, provider agencies, advocacy groups, clients, and others to turn things around and strengthen mental health services. Read more...
Public Services Members Speak Out
Sep 24, 2008 - [youtube video] Read more...
Story on Public Services
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SEIU Members Get Ready to Mobilize for General Elections
Jun 24, 2008 - Nurses, child care and home care workers, janitors, security officers and other SEIU members across the country are already talking to voters and hitting the streets in key states and races across the country. Read more...
Statement from SEIU Local 1021 President Damita Davis Howard Regarding Governor Schwarzenegger's Budget Cuts
May 15, 2008 - SEIU Local 1021 President Damita Davis Howard released the following statement today in response to Governor Schwarzenegger's devastating budget proposal. SEIU Local 1021 represents 54,000 Bay Area health care and service workers and their families. Read more...
OBAMA: CLEARLY THE PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
May 06, 2008 - "Senator Obama's commanding win in North Carolina and close showing in Indiana means he is clearly the Democratic nominee for President,"said Anna Burger, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer. "We've had a long process and the outcome is now clear. The Democratic Party should come together to focus on winning in November." Read more...
State Employees Association of North Carolina Joins SEIU in Historic Union Vote
May 05, 2008 - On May 3, the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) voted to affiliate with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEANC convention included 671 elected delegates representing SEANC's 55,000 state employee members across the state. Nearly 80 percent, or 524 delegates, voted to affiliate with SEIU. Read more...
20,000 More Pennsylvania Child Care Providers to Form Union
Apr 25, 2008 - Today a majority of 20,000 home-based child care providers casting ballots voted to unite for a stronger say in delivering affordable, quality child care by forming their own union with Child Care Providers UNITED (CCP UNITED). Ballots were counted Friday by the American Arbitration Association. Over 95 percent of child care providers casting ballots voted to join CCP UNITED. Read more...
SEIU Members Endorse Sen. Barack Obama
Feb 15, 2008 - Nurses, childcare workers, janitors and other service workers endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president today, calling him the candidate with the best vision, best plan and best strategy to lead the country to a new American Dream. Read more...
Left in the Dark and Facing Thousands in Rent Increases, Elderly Atria Senior Living Residents Protest, Call for Improvements
Jan 30, 2008 - Elderly residents at Atria Senior Living's Covell Gardens facility continued their protests over exorbitant rent increases on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Residents and family members detailed how skyrocketing rents have affected them, and pointed to recent problems with care and services at the facility. Read more...
Child care providers across Maine vote to form a union
Oct 22, 2007 - Nearly 2,200 home-based child care providers across Maine now have a united voice for their profession, after voting in a statewide election to form their union with the Maine State Employees Association (MSEA)-SEIU Kids First. Read more...
More than 49,000 Illinois Child Care Providers Choose SEIU As Their Union to Improve Services for 200,000 Children
Apr 07, 2005 - More than 49,000 Illinois home child care providers have voted overwhelmingly to join Local 880 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The ballots were counted by the American Arbitration Association Thursday after a three-week vote-by-mail election. Read more...
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