Tell the U.S. Chamber: Let people with H1N1 use paid sick time

Nov 19, 2009 - We already knew the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's extremism on issues such as financial reform, labor law, climate change and health care reform have left them out of touch with the mainstream. However, their recent opposition to a bill proposing paid sick leave for workers who contract flu-like symptoms in light of this year's H1N1 epidemic is simply unconscionable. Read more...

Reform: What's in the Senate Health Care Bill

Nov 19, 2009 - There's a lot of talk today about what the Senate health care bill will do in the immediate future--and you may be wondering how this bill effect your healthcare. Check out a list of reforms that go into affect immediately after the bill becomes law. Read more...

The Last (But Very Long) Leg of the Journey

Nov 19, 2009 - Sen. Harry Reid publicly unveils the Senate health care bill today. Reid's announcement is preceded by promising news for Democrats and health care reform supporters. The first breakthrough came on Wednesday, when news leaked that the CBO had scored the Senate--and it kept costs down & covered 94% of Americans. Read more...

Getting By on $16,438 a Day

Nov 17, 2009 -

Bank of America has a new excuse for why they haven't found someone to replace ousted CEO Ken Lewis. Nobody will take the job because it doesn't pay enough! They're claiming that they can't find talented candidates because of the pay restrictions put into place by Kenneth Feinberg. Read more...

Visual Recap: DC Goldman Sachs Protest

Nov 16, 2009 - One of our favorite images from today's protest was a fabulous visual representation of Goldman Sachs, depicted as writer Matt Taibbi so accurately described the financial giant in Rolling Stone: "The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." More photos here. Read more...

No More Ken Lewises

Nov 16, 2009 - The papers are reporting that the scene inside BofA right now is chaotic. Lewis' sudden ousting caught them off guard - and the man responsible for finding a new CEO cannot be reached because he's "on vacation on a ship" until the end of the month. Since it's our tax dollars being pumped into BofA, we decided to help with the hiring process. Read more...

What, Exactly, is Going On at 85 Broad Street?

Nov 13, 2009 - Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in an interview that he and the team at Goldman are "doing God's work." It isn't God's work to kick families out of their homes when they're struggling most. It isn't God's work to use other people's money to pay themselves obscene bonuses. And it isn't God's work to oppose health insurance reform because it's bad for the bottom line. Read more...

Here's What We Won

Nov 09, 2009 - Last November, our members helped elect President Barack Obama on a pledge that health care reform would be a top priority for his administration. After ten years of focused work on this issue, the November 6th passage of the House health care bill is a moment we should celebrate. Take a look at some of the highlights in this historic legislation. Read more...

Republican Congressmen Repeatedly Interrupt Women Colleagues

Nov 07, 2009 - You might be wondering if it's normal for members of Congress to show such disrespect to one another by repeatedly shouting "I OBJECT" over their colleagues. You might also be wondering why Republican Congressmen are so adamantly opposed to allowing women in Congress to speak about gender discrimination in health care. Read more...

Update: Whipping Votes for Health Care

Nov 06, 2009 - Thousands of activists have been whipping votes in Congress today in preparation for tomorrow's scheduled vote on health insurance reform. You've contacted 272 members of the U.S. House, but many still haven't gone on the record, and163 members still need to be called. Read more...

Victory! Vitter-Bennett amendment defeated

Nov 06, 2009 - David Vitter apparently likes to wreck things..and that's where we came in. After weeks of organizing against the Vitter-Bennett amendment with the Don't Wreck the Census campaign, today the Senate voted for cloture, 60-39, on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill--putting to rest a divisive amendment proposed by Senators David Vitter (LA-R) and Bob Bennett (UT-R). Read more...

Lowe's employee breakroom signs (and other Employee Free Choice goodies)

Nov 05, 2009 - After Lowe's Home Improvement settled a class action suit last month for requiring workers to work "off the clock," workers were greeted with this sign in their workplace breakroom--a not-so-subtle reminder of the company's position on giving workers a voice on the job. Read more...

White House List Demonstrates Desire to Hear From Working People

Oct 31, 2009 - Coming off an eight-year period when the voice of workers fell on deaf ears, the list demonstrates the White House desire to hear from working people. Andy Stern has tweeted about some of his White House visits, and you can follow him here. Read more...

The Affordable Health Care for America Act: What's in it for women

Oct 30, 2009 - The historic House health insurance reform bill was released yesterday, moving us ever closer to passing legislation guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The Affordable Health Care for America Act, which you can download and peruse at your leisure, lays out a lot of changes benefiting Americans across the board. But, one group that stands to gain the most from this reform is American women. Read more...

Speaker Pelosi Announces House Health Care Bill

Oct 29, 2009 - "Today, we are about to deliver on the promise of making affordable, quality health care available for all americans," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her statement, announcing the House health care bill. The bill is based on the ideas of opportunity, choice and innovation. Read more...

More than 5,000 Taxpayers March on the ABA

Oct 27, 2009 - It was an intense and often emotional conclusion to three days of action against the ABA in Chicago; and a powerful beginning to a taxpayer-led campaign to bring an end to Wall Street greed. More than 5,000 taxpayers marched over the Chicago River and to the front door of the American Bankers Association this morning. Read more...

VIDEO: The First Steps Toward Change

Oct 27, 2009 - The marchers just took the first steps towards the ABA conference to protest what Andy Stern just called "the people who put company before country." They're being led by people from across America that have been directly impacted by the greedy actions of the Wall Street bankers gathered at the ABA conference. People who have worked all their lives, but were kicked out of their homes, watched their life savings dry up, and seen their interest rates skyrocket. Read more...

VIDEO: Meet Mary from Cincinnati

Oct 26, 2009 - Outside the ABA conference today are more than 1,000 people with more than 1,000 stories of bank greed hurting families and small businesses. I wanted to share one in particular that grabbed me. Meet Mary from Cincinnati. Read more...

VIDEO: Two for Two

Oct 26, 2009 - More than 1,000 taxpayers decided to take a walk down Wacker Drive to see how their money is being used by America's bailed out banks - and to ask for a few changes to prevent another financial meltdown. Having tried to deliver our letter to the ABA last night and being kicked out, we went directly to the banks today - Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. The demand, as always, is a simple one: stop using our tax dollars for toxic loans, big bonuses, and anti-consumer lobbying campaigns. Read more...

VIDEO: "An End to the Too Big to Fail Doctrine"

Oct 26, 2009 - Sheila Bair is an exceptional speaker - I know because she just spoke at the Showdown in Chicago. She talked about the importance of stopping the greedy Wall Street practices like predatory lending, sub-prime mortgages, and lack of regulation that led us into financial crisis. She also took something from us to give to the ABA. It's the letter that we tried to give them ourselves yesterday, but they kicked us out. Will the kick Chairwoman Bair out, too? Read more...

VIDEO: You Weren't on the Guest List

Oct 25, 2009 - Today was an amazing beginning for us. Not just the beginning of the three day protest against the American Bankers Association (ABA) conference, but the beginning of the end for business as usual on Wall Street. The big banks heard loud and clear tonight that taxpayers are fed up with them taking our money and using it to pay themselves outrageous profits and lobby against financial reform. Read more...

Crash the Bankers' Party in Chicago

Oct 23, 2009 - If you could get all the architects of the banks/bailout scam together in one place, what would you say to them? Hurry up and decide, because they're all getting together in Chicago this weekend-- and we're headed there to meet them. The big bank execs are gathering in the Windy City for the American Bankers Association conference, for a 4 day celebration of wealth and opulence paid for by our tax dollars. Read more...

Warning: This story is going to make you angry

Oct 21, 2009 - From not covering maternity care to calling domestic violence a pre-existing condition, insurance companies seem to have written the book on how to turn a buck at the expense of millions of women in America. Now add "rape victim" to the long list of ways in which insurance companies discriminate against women. Read more...

Crash the Big Banks' Party

Oct 21, 2009 - Did you know you're throwing a party this weekend? Well, you're paying for it but you're not invited. It's the American Bankers Association (ABA) conference in Chicago. The ABA is the lobbying group that gets millions of our tax dollars from America's bailed out banks. Read more...

You've taken a ticket. Now what?

Oct 20, 2009 -

Thousands of people have taken a ticket for gender equity in health care. (We're currently at 2,689 people in line.)

Want to play a bigger role in fighting insurance co. discrimination against women? We rigged our toll-free phone line to direct calls to male members of Congress. Read more...

It's time to deliver

Oct 20, 2009 - Right now, everyone is paying for the cost of our broken health care system. People with "pre-existing conditions" are being denied coverage by insurers. Women are being charged 30-51% more than men for the same health insurance policies. Read more...

Pay Czar: Ken Lewis to Receive No Salary, Bonus for 2009

Oct 15, 2009 - More than 11,000 of you signed a letter to Obama administration's pay czar, demanding a halt to CEO bonuses until banks stopped using our tax dollars to lobby against financial reform. On Thursday, the pay czar announced that he is taking action on Ken Lewis' outrageous compensation, asking for a stop to any salary or bonuses for 2009. Read more...

Peggy Robertson's son: Too small to insure

Oct 15, 2009 - Today, at Sen. Mikulski's HELP Committee hearing "What Women Want: Equal Benefits for Equal Premiums," we met Peggy Robertson. Peggy is a mother of two young boys, living in Colorado with her husband. Over the past few years, Peggy and her family have faced not one but two shocking cases of insurance company abuse. Read more...

Attention male members of Congress

Oct 15, 2009 - In preparation for Sen. Mikulski's hearings today, we decided to pay a little visit to various male members of Congress yesterday. Armed with information about women's health care, we distributed the flyer to male, Republican Representatives in the Cannon office building. Check out our video... Read more...

More Than 10,000 Taxpayers Sign Letter to Stop the Ken Lewis Bailout

Oct 09, 2009 - It's been a little over a day since we invited people to sign on to Anna Burger's letter to the Obama pay czar, asking him to stop payment on Ken Lewis' bailout until Bank of America agrees to clean up its act. Already, more than 10,000 taxpayers have signed the letter, demanding accountability from America's bailed out banks. Read more...

New video: Break up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Oct 08, 2009 - Five major companies have recently joined the growing list of groups ditching the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over their out-of-touch policies on climate change. Companies like Nike and Apple are serious about their break-ups with the Chamber -- but if it's any consolation, they still totally want to be friends. Watch our new video to find out why the Chamber keeps getting dumped. Read more...

Speaker Pelosi speaks out against "domestic violence as a pre-existing condition"

Oct 06, 2009 - Earlier today, Speaker Pelosi spoke forcefully against the fact that in some states, insurance companies can actually deny coverage to victims of domestic violence on the grounds that they have a pre-existing condition. Will you join Speaker Pelosi in calling for an end of all "pre-existing conditions," including domestic violence, once and for all? Read more...

GOP Obstructionism vs. Saving Lives

Oct 02, 2009 - This week, Rep. Alan Grayson stepped onto the U.S. House floor and distilled the Republican strategy on health care reform into three simple parts:

1. Don't get sick
2. If you do get sick...
3. Die quickly.

What the Republican Party continues to ignore is that their refusal to work toward reform amounts in people getting sicker, and people dying. Period. Read more...

Insurance CEOs: "We're moving in!"

Oct 01, 2009 - Let's bring the campaign against insurance company abuse to Craigslist - one of the most popular sites on the internet. The idea is simple: post a free ad on Craigslist looking for a room in a CEO mansion and help expose the rampant greed that's forcing families like Stacie's into medical bankruptcy. Read more...

Rachel Maddow Takes on the Extremists

Sep 30, 2009 - Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow took on the radical right-wingers seeking to silence working families by attacking progressive community organizations. As part of that segment, she discussed with Peter Dreier, professor of politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, why they're trying to target the SEIU next. Watch the segment here. Read more...

Women vs. insurance companies

Sep 28, 2009 - Earlier this month, we covered the fact that in eight states it is actually legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence because they have a "pre-existing condition." But, the outrage doesn't stop there: research has clearly shown that insurance companies are systematically discriminating against women. And this is just the tip of the iceberg... Read more...

Republicans defend seniors insurance company profits

Sep 25, 2009 - On Thursday, as the Republicans continued to wage war on reform by attempting to defend the status quo, they decided to turn their attention to Americans over 65. In an attempt to scare seniors (and pander to their buddies in the insurance industry), the Republicans rose to the "defense" of Medicare, claiming that 10 million senior citizens who have Medicare Advantage would see a loss in their extra benefits under the new bill. The other side's solution? The option of 'doing nothing'...which will lead to a projected bankruptcy of Medicare by 2019. Read more...

Last Days to Stop the Deportation of Jorge-Alonso Chehade

Sep 21, 2009 - Jorge-Alonso Chehade came to the U.S. from Peru as a child and is now facing deportation on Friday, Sept. 25. Alonso is the embodiment of the American Dream, but our broken immigration system has prevented him from continuing down his career path after graduation. Alonso has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home--and ICE needs to hear from us that he should be allowed to stay. Sign the petition here. Read more...

Insurance Companies Consider C-section Birth "Pre-Existing Condition"

Sep 17, 2009 - Did you know that most insurance companies on the individual market consider pregnancy "optional"? The fetus is viewed as an uncovered "pre-existing condition," and therefore not something that's necessary for insurance companies to insure. Many insurers also consider a Cesarean section pregnancy a "pre-existing condition"--and refuse to provide health coverage for women who have had the procedure. Read more...

Panel witnesses speak out against denial of coverage for victims of domestic violence

Sep 16, 2009 - We just got back from day one of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee hearings on how insurance company bureaucracy is getting in the way of quality care for all Americans. The witnesses testifying presented their powerful stories: some heartbreaking, some infuriating. Check out these videos of committee witnesses Wendell Potter and Karen Pollitz talking about the insurance companies' practice of denying coverage to victims of domestic violence. Read more...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Reinvigorates Ad Campaign to Stomp out Consumer Protections

Sep 08, 2009 - As Congress returns from recess and gets back to work to pass legislation to bring access to quality, affordable healthcare to everyone, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is wasting no time working hard to hang onto the same reckless business practices that got us in this hot financial mess in the first place. The Chamber is launching a new $2 million ad campaign attacking the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. 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...

Vote Now: Greatest Hits of the August Recess

Sep 03, 2009 - Last month, members of Congress returned to their home districts to discuss health care reform with their constituents. Unfortunately, many of them were met by individuals intent of finding out why they supported socialized medicine, wanted to "pull the plug on grandma," and believed that we should ration care. Several members of Congress rose to the occasion, debunked the lies and ran their town hall meetings in a calm and collected manner. Check out some of our greatest healthcare town hall hits and then vote for your favorite. Read more...

Making Kennedy's Vision for America a Reality

Aug 26, 2009 - For five decades, Senator Kennedy stood with working families to fight for our shared vision of America where every family has access to affordable healthcare, every worker has a paycheck that supports a family, and every child is guaranteed a brighter future. Let's continue to make Kennedy's vision for America a reality by taking action this year to pass healthcare reform. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern Named in Top Ten Most Powerful People in Healthcare

Aug 24, 2009 - SEIU President Andy Stern has been named in the top ten of Modern Healthcare's ranking of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare, released today. It's an honor to make Modern Healthcare's listing of the 'Top 100' most influential "movers and shakers in healthcare"--and this year marks the fifth year in a row Stern has been named in the annual rankings. Read more...

Reminder: No coercion in majority sign-up

Aug 20, 2009 - EPI posted a recent study that shows literally no coercion in majority sign-up. You can read the survey here, but the graph says it all. So when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tries its scare tactics, remember: it's corporations that coerce and intimidate workers who want to join unions. Anything else is just simply not true. Read more...

Striking Bemis Workers Want Respect

Aug 18, 2009 - What if your employer told you that in order to keep your health coverage you and your spouse must submit to invasive health screenings from your insurer? If you refused you'd lose the health coverage you've always counted on. That's the situation we're dealing with--will you take a stand with us? Tell our employer, Bemis, that workers aren't lab rats. Read more...

New Coalition Campaign, Ads to Debunk Anti-Reform Myths

Aug 13, 2009 - To help debunk the misinformation being spread about what health care reform actually means for Americans, a new coalition called Americans for Stable Quality Care--which includes the SEIU, American Medical Association (AMA), PhRMA, the Federation of American Hospitals and FamiliesUSA--will launch their first ad today as part of an August recess campaign for health care reform. Read more...

A Lesson in Free Speech and the Law for Corporations

Aug 12, 2009 - This week we criticized a NAM adviser who defended corporate lawlessness on the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The adviser found virtually no fault with intimidating threats, and complained that corporations wouldn't be able to stop employees from joining unions without punishment. NAM responded to our criticism, raising the false specter of corporations "who express their opinions [being] punished for that expression." Read more...

Keeping town halls focused on healthcare reform details

Aug 11, 2009 - CIR/SEIU Healthcare President Dr. L Toni Lewis is live on the Ed Show on MSNBC to discuss the ongoing healthcare town halls--and why SEIU members are pledging to keep the focus on the need for reform. Read more...

Shock: Corporate Advocates Who Break the Law Don't Want to Be Punished

Aug 10, 2009 - Corporate groups are expanding their attack on working people and the Employee Free Choice Act. The latest volley? Defending the status quo of ineffective penalties for when corporations break the law. Yeah, they went there. In a WSJ editorial, NAM adviser John Irving advocates for the current toothless system that allows corporations to get off scot-free when they break the law. Read more...

Bank of America's One Percent Solution

Aug 05, 2009 - On Monday, the SEC slapped Bank of America with a $33 million fine for misleading investors on plans to award multi-billion dollar bonuses to Merrill Lynch executives during BofA's purchase of the failed bank. Read more...

The Penthouse View vs. Main Street Reality

Jul 31, 2009 - Congress took a step towards cracking down on corporate and big bank CEO pay today, as the House passed the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009 by a 237-to-185 vote. The House passage of the bill is an important step to correct the enormous disparity between those at the top and regular working Americans, but much more needs to be done to help Main Street recover. Read more...

Do you think they're getting the message?

Jul 29, 2009 - Attacking Reform with Insurance Company-Owned Research? So far hundreds of you have watched this video and used Twitter to call out the people trying to pass off the Lewin Group as "independent." I just took a screen shot of all the @replies to Senator Grassley's Twitter feed - take a look... Read more...

Calling on Congress to Fix Health Care - Have You Sent Your Message?

Jul 28, 2009 - If you're one of the 98% of Americans who make less than $250,000 every year, you stand to save a lot of money through the health care reform bill in Congress. Click here to tell Congress it's time everyone - even millionaires - did their part to fix health care. Read more...

Vacation or health care?

Jul 24, 2009 - What would you choose - taking a vacation or fixing health care? Some Members of Congress want three weeks of vacation before they tackle health care reform. But there is a real human cost for going on vacation...and we don't think fixing health care can wait. Do you? Read more...

Do corporate front groups think the Employee Free Choice Act is similar to Nazis?

Jul 23, 2009 - With the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act still going and going, it was bound to break Godwin's Law: yesterday the Arkansas Democrat Gazette editorial board "unequivocally" equated the Employee Free Choice Act to.... Nazis. Read more...

Bank of America Takes Billions of Bailout Money, Only to Cut Lending for Struggling Small Businesses

Jul 22, 2009 - A new report released by SEIU today shows that Bank of America has cut small business loans - despite taking billions in taxpayer-funded bailouts meant to stimulate the economy. Instead of lending money to small businesses through SBA loans, BofA appears to be moving its small business clients to higher-interest credit card loans. Read more...

TODAY: Dr. Dean's Emergency Call with Nurses and Doctors

Jul 21, 2009 - Health care legislation passed huge hurdles in the House and Senate last week, but threats to this legislation appear to be growing with each day. Because of this, Dr. Howard Dean has issued an emergency conference call on Wednesday, July 22 with nurses and doctors to discuss elements of the House and Senate bills, and how they will impact health care professionals. Read more...

Statement by SEIU President Andy Stern on the Employee Free Choice Act

Jul 17, 2009 - In response to today's New York Times piece on the Employee Free Choice Act, SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement: "As we have said from day one, majority sign-up is the best way for workers to have the right to choose a voice at their workplace..." Read more...

School Food Workers to Members of Congress: We're Hungry for Change

Jul 15, 2009 - For the first time in the 63-year history of our nation's School Lunch Program, front-line food service workers are on Capitol Hill today to petition their government to strengthen the program that serves food to more than 30 million children every day. Read more...

House Releases Health Care Reform Bill

Jul 14, 2009 - Leaders in the House of Representatives have released their comprehensive plan for reforming health care today. It's a complete, thorough bill that will take some time to comb through and examine all the details. But, the preliminary analyses conclude that it's a huge step toward fixing health care and a major victory for all of us who have been working for quality, affordable health care. Read more...

Call Congress: Support a Strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency

Jul 13, 2009 - In the same way that we keep stores from selling exploding toasters, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will have the power to keep lenders from offering "exploding" loans. Congress has already held a first hearing on the new agency, and it is on the agenda now. It is also already on Wall Street's agenda to stop it. Read more...

AIG bonus requests: Is this some kind of joke?

Jul 10, 2009 - Upon hearing the news that bailed-out insurer AIG plans to reward top executives $2.4 million in bonuses next week, SEIU's first reaction was...sheer and utter disbelief. As in, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING US. How is it possible that the same company that received the largest of all taxpayer bailouts, at a total cost of $173 billion to the American people, would decide it's a good idea to reward themselves for doing such a fantastic job of losing more money? Read more...

New Report: Nation's Buildings at Risk

Jul 09, 2009 - A new government report released yesterday has dropped a bombshell on the state of private security and its ability to protect our nation's most important buildings. In a routine check on the state of private security for our nation's federal buildings, investigators were able to sneak explosive materials inside - get this - a total of 10 out of 10 times. Read more...

Video: Hip-Hop Takes on the Health Care Crisis

Jul 09, 2009 - Members of the healthcare, hip-hop and progressive community sat together on a "HealthCare Remix" panel on Wednesday, June 8 to discuss the state of healthcare reform and how to raise awareness of the urgency of the problem. Watch a video from the discussion--featuring Phife from Tribe Called Quest--here. Read more...

Sarah Jones: A Right to Care

Jul 08, 2009 - The Associated Press calls her "astounding." People Magazine calls her "amazing." We call her one of the most important and engaging messengers ever to tackle the issue of health care disparities in America. And she's performing in Washington, DC on Thursday, July 9th and St. Paul, MN on July 11th. Read more...

Health Care and Hip-Hop in DC this Wednesday

Jul 06, 2009 - J Dilla was a hip-hop producer whose promising life was cut short in 2005 by complications stemming from his battle with Lupus. This Wednesday, SEIU is hosting a discussion at our HQ on how health care reform can prevent the kind of financial stress and hardship J Dilla's family has endured due to the high cost of medical treatment. Read more...

Nebraskans Greet Sen. Johanns...And His Staff Calls the Cops

Jul 03, 2009 - One day before celebrating the birth of our great nation, Nebraskans gathered at a scheduled healthcare roundtable to call on Senator Johanns to support an American solution to our healthcare crisis--only to have the police called on them. Read more...

HAARM: Takin' It To The Streets

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

Rep. Keith Ellison, Consumer groups to join bank workers speaking out against predatory sales practices, failed banking model

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

Top Five Worst U.S. Chamber Policies for Small Businesses

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

SEIU Member Killed in DC Metro Tragedy

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

Liveblogging: Health Care Events on Capitol Hill

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

SEIU Home Care Aide to discuss healthcare with President Obama on ABC's "Prescription for America"

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

Join us in D.C. for Lighting the Night Healthcare Vigil

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

NBC/WSJ Poll: 76% of Americans Support Public Health Insurance Option

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

State Legislators to the Hill: We Need Health Care Reform

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

President Obama addresses the AMA; Doctors say public health insurance option must be part of health care reform solution

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

BofA & Merrill: "Who was holding the shotgun?"

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

Officer Johns: A True Hero

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

10 Questions to Ask Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis at House Testimony on Disastrous Merrill Lynch Purchase

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

New online campaign for Employee Free Choice: Stand with working people, not greedy CEOs

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

What would you ask BofA CEO Ken Lewis?

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

Gov. Dean Gets Fired Up in Delaware

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

The Chamber of Commerce and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lobbying Day

Jun 04, 2009 - From the moment they flew people to Washington, DC to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, things were just not going the Chamber of Commerce's way...From bringing a major labor law violator to lobby on behalf of (wait for it...) labor law reform, to getting caught in a lie by Sen. Feinstein, this can't be how the Chamber wanted their lobbying week to go. Read more...

How about now? Reform Immigration FOR America

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

On June 6th, thousands of people are organizing for health care reform

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

Blinding Greed

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

Rick Scott's 30-Minute Lie

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

Ruling of California Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 will not deter fight for marriage equality

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

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...

Big Interest Groups Throw a Hail Mary on Employee Free Choice

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

People of Faith, Sen. Harkin Deliver Strong Message to Congress for Employee Free Choice

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

Newt takes page out of Kanye playbook; enraged over Twitterjacking

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

Call the Senate: Support the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights

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

Corporate Lobbyists: We Were for Arbitration Before We Were Against It

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

Fixing Health Care: Put Your Hand In

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

Andy Stern's Testimony to Congress: The Face of the Health Care Crisis

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

What a week for immigration reform!

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

Huge News at Bank of America: Watch the Video

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

Grand Total: Over 90,000 "Taxpayer Proxy Cards" Signed and Delivered

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

SURVEY: Over One-Third of Healthcare Facilities Not Prepared in Event of Pandemic Flu Outbreak

Apr 27, 2009 - Only 4 percent of surveyed union leaders representing heatlh care workers reported their workplaces as "very ready" to respond sufficiently to an influenza pandemic like swine flu, according to a new report compiled by the SEIU and six other unions. Read more...

Baucus Gets Things Moving on Health Care

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

The Sprint Toward the Finish Line?

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

Fire CEO Ken Lewis: Sign Your Taxpayer Proxy

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

Chamber of Commerce's New Anti-worker TV Ads: More of the Same

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

Any Time, Any Reason?

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

'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...

SEIU RN Linda Bock speaks at Obama's online town hall

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

Healthcare Equality Project Launches

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

We Want Justice, Not Blood

Mar 19, 2009 - Yesterday, I sat for several hours in a House subcommittee meeting, waiting for a satisfying moment that never came. Scores of cameras, dozens of spectators, and the "Ladies in Pink" (who nearly got thrown out of the hearing for waving signs that said "Jail AIG") joined me as we waited for hours to hear from the CEO of AIG, Edward Liddy. Read more...

Congress Needs to Hear From Us

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

Gallup Poll: Majority of Americans Support the Employee Free Choice Act

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

Had enough of corporate irresponsibility?

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

Five Things to Know about the Employee Free Choice Act

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

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced

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

Hundreds Demonstrate at Chamber of Commerce, Industry Trade Groups To Expose Massive Anti-Worker Lobbying

Mar 09, 2009 - We've just returned from Lafayette Park - right across the street from both The White House and the Chamber of Commerce - where hundreds of workers from across the country joined with labor, religious and community leaders to stage one amazing rally. Read more...

SEIU's National Worker Mobilization for Employee Free Choice

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

White House Health Summit

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

Standing Up for Homecare Workers in Washington (Video)

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

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...

Obama's Speech: A Health Care Milestone (Video)

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

VIDEO: Health Care Dominates White House Fiscal Responsibility Summit

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

Burger King Backs off Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act

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

VIDEO: My First Week in Washington DC with SEIU

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

New Report: Employee Free Choice Act Could Create A $49 Billion Stimulus Package for the American Worker

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

Hard-fought wins in new contract for for 95,000 California state workers

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

SEIU Members Deliver Petition Signed by 22,500 in Support of Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor

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

How to get the change we need

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

Limbaugh Doesn't Get IT

Feb 10, 2009 - Health care professionals nationwide are writing to their newspapers today to refute claims by Rush Limbaugh on two provisions in the stimulus package: comparative effectiveness research and health IT. Both are designed to provide health care professionals with objective, up-to-date information on treatments, tests and procedures available to them. Read more...

SEIU's Andy Stern: Confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor

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

Thousands Rally on Capitol Hill to Turn Up the Heat on Employee Free Choice Act

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

Our Early Victory: By The Numbers

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

Our Job Is Just Beginning

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

SEIU's Andy Stern: "Less social dialogue and more social change"

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

For Aliquippa Caregivers, Relief is On the Way

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

Nurses, Caregivers Left Out in the Cold

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

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...

Why Smart Investments Include Health IT

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

Martin Luther King Jr. Day...A Day On, Not a Day Off

Jan 18, 2009 - As a tribute to Dr. King's legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. Read more...

Video & Campaign Launch: "Tell Bank of America: Help Your Workers or Give Back the Bailout"

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

Online Activist Report: Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization

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

Andy Stern: "Let's Stay Focused on the Right Kind of Economic Recovery"

Jan 14, 2009 - Even after the collapse of the myth of the market, conservatives are still waging class warfare on the rest of us. Read more...

Obama Transition Team Member David Bonior: "Get a Hold of Inequality" with the Employee Free Choice Act

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

SEIU's Unwavering Support of Workers' Rights Advocate Rep. Hilda Solis as U.S. Secretary of Labor

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

New York Times: Employee Free Choice Act Is "Vital"

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

SEIU's Roundtable Health Care Discussion

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

Victory at McDonald's

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

Rep. Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary A Win For America's Workers and Employee Free Choice

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

Corporate Front Group Americans for Job Security Airs Misleading Ad on Employee Free Choice

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

More than 400 March to Support Workers Struggling for a Voice on the Job

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

Don't Overlook Dr. Lambrew, Today's "Other" Big Appointment

Dec 11, 2008 - There was much excitement today over Obama's nomination of Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Director of the White House Office on Health Reform (as there should have been), but it overshadowed another very encouraging appointment -- Dr. Jeanne Lambrew as Deputy Director of the White House Office on Health Reform. Read more...

VIDEO: Former Senator Tom Daschle Gives Major Healthcare Speech

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

SEIU Members to Hold March, Rally Supporting the Freedom to Join Unions and Emphasizing the Need to Fix the Broken Health Care System

Dec 10, 2008 - This Thursday, more than 500 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will hold a rally at the Denver Convention Center to highlight the urgent need for health care reform and legislation that will protect workers' rights to have a voice on the job. Read more...

"Let's 'Share the Wealth'" - Wall Street Journal weekend interview with Andy Stern

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

Statement by SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera Pledging Support for Former Senator Daschle, Obama Transition Team Efforts to Fix Health Care

Dec 05, 2008 - We look forward to doing our part to promote this vital effort across the country. Read the entire statement from SEIU's Dennis Rivera now. Read more...

For Women, Joining a Union is like Going to College

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

Take Our Movement Public

Nov 25, 2008 - Right now, there are 47 million Americans without health care. They have no idea that people in Washington are playing politics with their lives and they deserve to know. Use our online toolkit to write a short letter to your local newspaper right now. We've even included some basic talking points you can use to let people know what's happening in Washington. 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...

Home Depot Founder to CEOs: You "Should Be Shot"

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

Andy Stern Testifying Today on Economics Of Health Care Reform

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

TONIGHT: Watch Andy Stern's Interview on NBC Nightly News

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

A Blueprint And A Call To Action For The Nation's Ailing Healthcare System

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

Why Employees Need Free Choice to Join Unions: Let's Cut to the Chase

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

Anna Burger to Appear on Meet the Bloggers

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

SEIU Supports New Blueprint to Solve Health Care Crisis by Senator Max Baucus

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

SEIU Made the Difference

Nov 10, 2008 - SEIU played a critical role in the success of the newly elected president Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden, as well as candidates at all levels of government who are committed to improving the lives of working families. Read more...

Pledge to Keep Health Care on the Map

Nov 06, 2008 - Work with President-Elect Barack Obama for real health care Reform. Add your voice to the map. Read more...

SEIU Members Launch New Ohio Ad

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

Obama Puts Healthcare, Economic Relief for Middle Class First in Prime-Time Special

Oct 29, 2008 - There's a lot at stake this election--the American Dream hangs in the balance. That's why nurses, janitors, child care providers, and other SEIU members continue to mobilize their co-workers and communities to elect a president who will finally win healthcare for all and rebuild the middle class. Read more...

One Million for Employee Free Choice

Oct 21, 2008 - Both Barack Obama and a pro-middle class majority in Congress support the Employee Free Choice Act, which will restore the freedom of choice to join unions and strengthen the middle class. With your help, we can make the American Dream a reality for working people. Please join our campaign for One Million People to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Read more...

High-Profile TV, Film & Recording Stars Join Members of the Nation's Fastest Growing Labor Union for Door-Knocking, Campaign Calls, and other GOTV Activities in Battleground States

Oct 16, 2008 - This week, more than a dozen celebrities have volunteered to participate in GOTV efforts to help give voice to working families' concerns with the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest growing union in the country. Read more...

SEIU Leaders Andy Stern and Anna Burger to Attend Tonight's Final Presidential Debate

Oct 15, 2008 - Tonight, SEIU President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger will attend the final presidential debate and will be available to speak to the media about the issues at stake this election for working people and SEIU's efforts to elect Barack Obama and a pro-working family majority in Congress. Read more...

Pennsylvania RNs win mandatory overtime ban

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

SEIU DVD Exposes How McCain "Care" Leaves Seniors Behind

Oct 08, 2008 - More than 250,000 copies of the DVD "The Facts about John McCain's Health Care Plan" have been put in the hands of the nation's seniors in recent weeks, courtesy of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Read more...

SEIU Nursing Assistant Will Be In Town Hall Audience, Ready To Ask John McCain Why He Won't Provide Affordable Healthcare For All

Oct 07, 2008 - As the presidential candidates come on stage tonight for the second presidential debate, Jean Berg, a nursing assistant and member of SEIU Healthcare Florida, will be in the audience, waiting to ask John McCain why he wants to tax healthcare benefits and make it harder for families to afford coverage. Read more...

SEIU Members Pound the Pavement For Votes, Have Registered Over 70,000 New Voters

Oct 02, 2008 - With voter registration deadlines approaching in many states, SEIU members are pounding the pavement, working the phones, and pulling out all the stops to help register tens of thousands of new voters - and make sure they get out to vote on November 4th for Barack Obama and a pro-working family Congress. Read more...

Statement of SEIU President Andy Stern RE: Expected Senate Approval of Wall Street Bailout

Oct 01, 2008 - With the U.S. Senate poised to approve a bailout plan for Wall Street tonight, Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), expressed disappointment that Congress appeared ready to pass up an opportunity to address the economic concerns facing millions of American families Read more...

SEIU Endorses DeFazio Bill to Address Financial Crisis

Sep 30, 2008 - The two million-member SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is backing the plan announced today by Rep. Peter DeFazio and other Members of Congress to restore confidence in the financial markets. Read more...

NEW SEIU TELEVISION AD: Thelma Drake Is "Wrong for Veterans, Wrong For Virginia"

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

Our Economic Recovery Plan

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

$17,000 an Hour for CEO of Biggest Ever Bankruptcy

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

Story on Public Services

Sep 14, 2008 - This text is in the Excerpt field. Pellentesque nibh felis, eleifend id, commodo in, interdum vitae, leo. Praesent eu elit. Ut eu ligula. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos. Maecenas elementum augue nec nisl. Proin auctor lorem at nibh. Read more...