I enjoy the work we do and being a part of it. Anybody in our community can come here and get help finding services.

We provide free services to families that no one else in our community does. We do vision and hearing testing - just here at this center we have seven kids with glasses. We help parents with nutrition issues. We look at kids with rashes and lacerations and we monitor infections. Diabetic children rely on us to help with their insulin.

I have a lot of kids here all day when their parents are at work. They don't always have someone at home to help. I honestly don't know what our families will do during the time we'll be closed. It's a scary situation.

We have the opportunity to let Congress know how deeps these cuts will hurt the children and families who depend on these services and the Head Start workers who help provide them.

We have the opportunity to let Congress know how deeps these cuts will hurt the children and families who depend on these services and the Head Start workers who help provide them. Click here to sign an online petition started by Head Start workers and families, then share it with your friends.

The furloughs are going to be really hard for folks like us living paycheck to paycheck. But for me it's more about the families here who are in more need than me - they're why I'm even here in the first place.

The author, Matt Jones, is a member of SEIU 200United.

BOSTON, MA - A new advocacy campaign by the state's largest healthcare union is targeting what caregivers say is a major threat to the quality healthcare services that the public has come to depend on from local community and safety net hospitals.

In a new campaign, caregivers from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East claim the inequalities and the threat they pose to consumers and community hospitals have become the 'elephant in the room' in the local healthcare industry. Now, caregivers are calling on the state senate to take action as a first step towards addressing the disparities, before it's too late.

"In medicine, every life should be worth the same. That's why it makes no sense that a few wealthy, high-cost Boston hospitals are charging up to 500% more for the same services that more affordable local providers deliver with the same quality."

That's part of what caregivers are saying this week through advertisements in eight daily Massachusetts newspapers and a social media campaign geared towards residents in the cities and towns where they say community hospitals are being shortchanged.

The existing payment inequalities that favor a few high-cost wealthy Boston hospitals - and the underpayments by private insurers and Medicaid to community hospitals - are a topic that has come under recent scrutiny in reports by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and local media outlets.

The campaign by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East calling on the state senate to amend hospital funding policies represents the first time an advocacy group with major resources has attempted to tackle the issue and publicly called for change.

"What caregivers are proposing through the state senate budget debate would be a good short-term fix to start addressing some of these extreme disparities as they relate to public Medicaid funding," said 1199SEIU Executive Vice President Veronica Turner. "There is still of course much more to be said and done about the disparities in payments by private insurers that are threatening the availability of convenient, affordable, quality care for the majority of Massachusetts consumers. The healthcare workers of 1199SEIU are going to ensure that conversation happens soon in a very public way as part of our mission to stand up for our patients and protect quality care in the Bay State. This week's campaign is an important first step towards shedding some light on these severe inequalities that have persisted for far too long without adequate public debate."

Under a budget amendment (#598) proposed by 1199SEIU and supported by a growing number of state senators, hospitals that see a higher percentage of Medicaid and Medicare patients would be slated to receive a larger portion of new Medicaid funds. A vote on the amendment is expected this week as the senate concludes its budget deliberations.

The Elephant in the Room - Your Community Hospital in Danger Ad

WASHINGTON, DC - As the bipartisan immigration bill heads to the Senate floor, the momentum continues to escalate with communities across the country raising their voices for commonsense immigration reform. National immigration reform leaders and immigrant families will echo this call tomorrow, announcing the next steps ahead to ensure passage of a smart and fair bill in the Senate.

Advocates of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Casa de Maryland, Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), and Bend the Arc Jewish Action will speak near the Senate offices and immediately afterward will deliver a book of testimonies to members of Congress who will have a crucial vote on the immigration bill after the congressional recess. The personal entries in the book are authored by diverse aspiring citizens and Americans from across the country who support immigration legislation that paves a pathway to citizenship.

WHAT: Immigration leaders and families to speak on next steps to pass a strong immigration bill with roadmap to citizenship, and deliver book of testimonies to key members of the Senate and House.

WHEN: Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. (ET)

WHERE: Between the Dirksen and Russell Senate Buildings, corner of First St NE and C St NE

WHO: National Faith, Labor and Community Leaders and Immigrant Families, including:

• Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of Casa de Maryland
• Eliseo Medina, Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Hadar Susskind, Director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action

For more information, please contact Beatriz Lopez at beatriz.lopez@seiu.org.

However, our excitement about the bill's progress is only tempered by the powerful call for immigration equality that was not answered. We stand in solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters, moved tremendously by the statements of Senators, particularly Senator Patrick Leahy, who rightly said that the time for marriage equality and recognition of same-sex binational couples under immigration law has come.

We will continue to work to improve the legislation as we fight for passage, because this bill is a historic step forward for all immigrants.

"It's good news for workers that these vital nominations to the NLRB have passed out of committee and are headed to the full Senate. The importance of the NLRB to American workers cannot be overstated. The NLRB is charged with enforcing our nation's labor laws and serves as a means of recourse for workers who have been illegally fired, had their wages stolen or faced other unfair labor practices on the job. We've heard story after story of workers who are still waiting for justice because their cases are facing legal delays related to the legitimacy of the current NLRB members. Confirming all five nominees to the NLRB would enable it to get back to work on behalf of both workers and employers and eliminate the uncertainty surrounding its operation.

"Senate Republicans must not block these important nominations and should allow a fair up or down vote."

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee reached the finish line with a bipartisan immigration bill that maintains roadmap to citizenship at the center of reform legislation.

"We can now turn the hourglass around and begin a new stage in America's fight for commonsense immigration reform. Despite a few attempts to poison the consensus issue of the bill, Senators in bipartisan fashion upheld a clear and direct pathway to citizenship for the millions of aspiring citizens in America," stated Eliseo Medina, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Secretary-Treasurer.

"The fight is far from over. Although we celebrate this step forward, the consensus of Americans who want nothing more but to fix our current immigration system cannot and will not rest until the President signs a smart and fair immigration bill this year.

"Our responsibility as a community of diverse people and the duty of the House and Senate is to deliver a strong immigration solution that will lead aspiring Americans to citizenship, strengthen the unity of families and protect all working families."

Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee reached the finish line by passing a bipartisan immigration bill that maintains a roadmap to citizenship at its core. The bill includes several critical amendments that ensure the immigration system remains as broad and accessible as possible to enable as many people as possible to reach the American Dream.

But the fight is far from over.

SEIU members are calling and meeting with members of Congress every day, demanding that the final bill reflects our values of fairness and inclusiveness. 

To get in touch with your Senator, call 1-888-979-7604.

One such member is Davidson Dessois, a SEIU 32BJ member from Miami, Florida, who has been in Washington, DC for the past two weeks lobbying members of Congress.

Davidson finally received his U-Visa work permit in 2010, but he still counts himself as part of the 11 million aspiring Americans who immigration reform is designed to help. "I'm still not integrated and don't have full rights," he said about his current status. "It's time to pass reform. For me, it was nearly ten years living in the shadows. For others, it's been 30 or 40 years. They are skilled, smart workers. They want to contribute in a meaningful way."

If we want to resolve the status of the undocumented population and fix our broken system, we must allow all 11 million immigrants who qualify to apply for citizenship, without disincentives or barriers. This pathway to citizenship is the heart of commonsense immigration reform and its inclusion will ultimately determine the success or failure of this bill.

"We applaud the Committee's passage of a strong bipartisan immigration bill. Such legislation will provide millions of hardworking aspiring citizens an opportunity to earn citizenship. As we continue to lift our voices, we are now another step closer toward achieving commonsense immigration reform.

"Our excitement about the bill's progress is only tempered by the powerful call for immigration equality in the Committee that was not answered today. We stand in solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters, moved tremendously by the statements of Senators, particularly the words of Senator Patrick Leahy, who rightly said that the time for marriage equality and recognition of same-sex binational couples under immigration law has come.

"Although we are deeply disappointed that Senators who are committed to equality were forced to make a choice between protecting the rights of same-sex binational couples and keeping a tenuous coalition together, we will continue to advocate to create the most accessible pathway to citizenship for ALL families."

According to NIRS research, 90% of Millennials agree that the retirement system is under stress and needs repair.

They want to find good jobs, buy homes, raise families and later enjoy a decent retirement.

It will be decades before these young adults reach retirement age, but recent research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) finds Millennials are already concerned about their ability to retire.

"I think it's in the back of everyone's mind. It's the elephant in the back of room no one's talking about," says 29-year- old Oakland, Calif., resident Ebony Young.

Although it's been several years since Young graduated from Oregon State University, she is still underemployed making it hard to prepare for her future.

"I worry about my retirement because I don't have a plan. Right now, I don't qualify for my employer's plan," says the temporary warehouse worker.

Millennials are also less likely to have access to the three-legged stool of retirement⎯ traditional pensions, Social Security and personal savings⎯ that provided retirement security to previous generations, according to NIRS researchers.

The NIRS study also finds Millennials--want lawmakers to repair America's broken retirement system by strengthening Social Security and creating a new pension system that would be portable and provide a reliable, monthly check to all those who contribute.

"The only thing I ever asked for in life is options. I would like to have a plan that I could pay into," says Young.

Luckily, this Millennial, however, has an option. Last year, due in part to efforts of SEIU members, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill to create the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Plan. The new hybrid savings plan would act as a supplement to Social Security and build on positive attributes of traditional pensions and defined contribution plans.

Young describes Secure Choice as a "breath of fresh air." Wouldn't it be great if more Millennials were able to breathe easier knowing they could still pursue that part of the American Dream that allows you to retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work and playing by the rules?

St. Paul, MN - More than 50 hours after first arriving at the Capitol Saturday afternoon, Sumer Spika joined a tired, but elated group of home care workers and recipients in celebration.

"This is incredible," said Spika, a home care worker from St. Paul. "Home care workers deserve the same right as other workers to form a union and now, because of this bill, we will soon have that right to choose for ourselves if we want a union."

After months of hard work, Minnesota working families scored a huge victory today as the state is poised to enact a budget that makes the rich pay their fair share in taxes and invests in education and other services for working families. This comes at a time when too many other states are stuck on a dead-end path of austerity.

The Minnesota House this weekend passed (Senate is expected to pass and Gov. Dayton is expected to sign today) a biennial budget that raises $2 billion in new revenue to close a $674 million budget shortfall and reverse years of disinvestment in schools and other critical services. The measure would increase income tax rates by 2 percent on the richest 2 percent, close corporate tax loopholes, and provide significant property tax relief to homeowners.

Gov. Dayton had campaigned in 2010 on a platform of closing the budget deficit by increasing income taxes on the state's highest earners, but the Legislature was resistant. Last year, working families worked hard to elect legislators who would be committed to investing in Minnesota's future, and flipped the leadership of both the state House and Senate in the November 2012 elections.

With a continued campaign-style effort that included door knocking, phone banking, town hall meetings, and student lobby days, advocates kept up the pressure for investment in Minnesota's priorities and to make sure big corporations and the rich pay their fair share. Their hard work paid off. The budget deal reverses a decade of "all-cuts" budgets and gets rid of special interest tax breaks.

Stronger Together

SEIU Local 284 and the SEIU Minnesota State Council were actively involved in pushing for this budget. Members, some of whom are public school employees, saw firsthand the challenges students, teachers and parents were facing after years of disinvestment in public education. They worried about the threat to the economic stability of their community when schools were not able to adequately prepare children for the future. Hundreds of school employees made phone calls to their legislators, testified at hearings, organized meetings with allies in the community, asked their coworkers and neighbors to sign petitions, and took part in other grassroots action. When the governor signs the bill today, it will demonstrate that strong union and community voices are a force for change for all working people.

WASHINGTON, DC - After day four of the Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of the bipartisan immigration bill, Eliseo Medina, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

"Another day of markup proves that the bipartisanship spirit is still alive and well and moving forward a strong bill through the Committee. Although there is still much crucial debate left over the heart of the bill, the Senators kept the roadmap to citizenship unscathed, and passed amendments that also aim to protect vulnerable populations by ensuring civil rights and due process protections.

"From enhancing the safeguards of unaccompanied immigrant children to making sure future workers have rights against recruitment violations, the Committee strengthened the integrity of this bill with commonsense amendments that live up to America's belief in justice. We must continue in this trajectory and continue to push for legislation that creates a humane immigration system, upholding the rights of all immigrants and a pathway to citizenship without unreasonable barriers.

"This is the progress and the bipartisanship that the growing consensus of Americans welcomes as we continue to lift our voices in unity for commonsense immigration reform."

Watch Senator Franken tell Susie's story:

More on Susie's story:

Susie Stetler is waiting on $40,000 in back pay that was withheld by her employer when she was illegally fired.

Susie was a bus driver for special needs students for Visions of Elk River, a company that transports children to the Elk River School in Minnesota. The company employs bus drivers, van drivers, and aides that accompany special needs children in the buses and vans. In August of 2009, the company fired five employees (two drivers and three aides) who were active, vocal supporters of SEIU and had previously participated in campaigns to organize the bus and van drivers. Susie was one of those workers fired.

The firings were motivated by the workers' involvement in past union activity and the employer's express desire to "get rid of" union people. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found in September 2012 that the employer had violated the law by terminating the employees and ordered full back pay and reinstatement to their former positions.

The employer appealed the case to the D.C. Circuit. However, on February 7, 2013, the D.C. Circuit placed the case in abeyance following the decision in Noel Canning, further and indefinitely delaying enforcement of the NLRB decision as the drivers and aides approach their four year anniversary of being terminated.

After she was fired, it was hard or Susie to find another job. She decided to go back to school and has since moved to Wisconsin to care for her mother. Susie and her fellow co-workers who were fired are left in limbo, wondering if they will ever receive the back pay that is due to them.

The only way that Susie and her co-workers can find justice is for the Senate to confirm all five nominees to the NLRB.

We are so honored that Senator Franken shared Susie's story at the NLRB confirmation hearing. Because of him, the public was able to hear Susie's story as an example for why the NLRB nominees must be confirmed. We are extremely grateful to Senator Franken for agreeing to share Susie's story.

"As momentum to enact commonsense immigration reform continues to grow, the news of an agreement in principle among the bipartisan group in the House is a welcome development and unprecedented. These members deserve credit for overcoming their differences and finding common ground that will help set the framework for immigration reform in the House.

"Despite this tentative agreement, it is the responsibility of the House leadership to make sure this bipartisanship continues and that a truly bipartisan and smart bill with a roadmap to citizenship emerges from committee and goes to the floor."

The protesters' ask is simple: Stop persecuting these families until Congress gets it's job done in fixing our broken immigration system that will put these hardworking immigrants on the road to citizenship.

In the midst of the nation's debate on immigration reform, and strong bipartisan leadership to pass an immigration reform bill, the targeting and persecution of these workers is in absolute antithesis to the direction our country is headed.

"The Department of Homeland Security should immediately halt the enforcement of the I-9 audit impacting San Diego janitors until Congress passes an immigration reform bill. We are calling on the Department to stop persecuting these workers as Congress considers immigration reform legislation."