Quick hits around the union from ULTCW, SEIU Massachusetts, SEIU District 1199, CSEA, Local 5-Virginia, SEANC, Local 721 and 32BJ.

Court Hearing to Stop Cuts to In-Home Care Services Results in Big Win for Seniors, People with Disabilities: SEIU homecare providers recently succeeded in preventing the California Department of Social Services from mailing over 130,000 notices informing seniors and people with disabilities statewide that their In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) will be cut or eliminated. Today, as sisters and brothers of ULTCW from Stockton, Marin, San Jose and Oakland gathered in front of the Federal Courthouse for a rally to stand strong against cuts to critical in-home care services, Judge Claudia Wilkens reached the decision to grant a preliminary injunction, putting a stop the Governor's cuts to the IHSS program. Stayed tuned for video and updates on the hearing by following @seiuULTCW on Twitter.

32BJ's Mike Fishman is the man!: But we already knew that...the Oct. 18th issue of New York Magazine's 12 most powerful people in NYC includes SEIU Local 32BJ President Mike Fishman. "If there's one labor figure ready to break out, it's Mike Fishman," reads The Power Dozen. "A trained carpenter, he's not a grandstander but a savvy strategist...After years of steady growth, with expansions in neighboring states and a disciplined training operation, 32BJ has emerged as a potent force."

Congress Boehner's Opposition to a Public Healthcare Option? {Insert your own joke here} On Thursday, members of SEIU District 1199 visited the West Chester, Ohio district office of Rep. John Boehner to let him know loud and clear that they support a public health insurance option. Rep. Boehner claimed recently that he had never met an American who supported the public health insurance option. Um, really Congressman? The public option is supported by not only a majority of the nation, but also by a majority of people in your home state. You may want to get out more and watch this video:

Care for Kids vs. Connecticut's Self-Serving Rell Administration: In the wake of the scandal that has erupted over the misuse of public funds for political purposes by Connecticut's Rell Administration, the New Haven Advocate features a front-page story on the latest victims of state's efforts to shutter the state's only residential treatment center of its kind--High Meadows residential facility in Hamden.

Members of CSEA continued the union's nine-month struggle to preserve services for the youth by joining with District 1199/SEIU's members, parents, advocates, and legislators for a rally and press conference last week to urge Governor Rell to drop her scheme to shut the full-service facility down.

Who Is the Most Sought-After Endorsement at the Dance? "SEIU, I believe, is a modern and progressive union. They look at the future, they have modern organizing methods, and I think they represent workers who look forward with technology, particularly in health care," said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley upon winning the endorsement of the SEIU Massachusetts State Council, which has been called "one of the most sought-after union endorsements in the race for US Senate." It's the first time the council has ever decided as a group to back one candidate.

New Ad Highlights How State Budget Cuts Could Harm Ohio Families: The Save Ohio campaign, a project of SEIU District 1199, began airing a television ad statewide in Ohio last week aimed at stopping additional cuts in safety net services. The move could put more Ohioans at risk if state lawmakers decide to close the budget hole through spending cuts instead of Governor Strickland's tax freeze proposal.

Everybody Wins Contest: Members of SEIU Local 5-Virginia have started a contest that may save the county money while improving public services in Fairfax, Virginia. The Everybody Wins contest runs through Oct. 30th. The winner gets awarded a cash prize, and the county gets $5,000 seed money to jump-start the winning idea. Enter here.

City of LA Engineers and Professionals Join SEIU: Nearly 1,500 City of Los Angeles engineers and professional employees have chosen a stronger voice at work with SEIU 721. "I'm ecstatic," said Lorena Avila, an engineering associate with the City of LA Department of Transportation. "It's time to come together and move forward with our new union." Learn more about their decisive vote.

SEANC Members Get Raleigh-ed Up, Fight Discriminatory Health Plan, Bad Puns: North Carolina is trying to impose a health tax on state employees with a plan full of sticks to penalize workers but with no carrots to help them. SEANC - SEIU Local 2008 members are mobilizing to stop Raleigh's misguided plan, and last week took the story national with a feature on NBC's "TODAY Show" that includes interviews with SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope and member Susan Strickland, a Department of Labor employee. Watch the clip:

In union news this week...

• Disability service workers at the Ulster-Greene ARC in New York State voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU Local 200United over the weekend. These 600 workers provide services to more than 1,000 people with developmental disabilities-- epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, to name just a few.

• On Friday, SEIU hosted a myth-busting conference call with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and thousands of SEIU members across the country. "This is our moment in history and we don't want to look back and say 'if only we had...'" said Sebelius, urging SEIU members to attend local health care town hall meetings and spread the word that those supporting reform need to write letters to their Congressperson or Senator "so our representatives know we need healthcare reform this year."

• Just eight months after U.S. creditors pulled its credit lines and forced the 100 year-old company whose employees make suits for President Obama to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Hartmarx purchase is (finally!) finalized...thanks largely to the efforts of Workers United members, who saved the company--and their jobs.

• SEIU 32BJ's Training Fund has developed the first-ever Green Buildings Initiative to train building superintendents in the latest, state-of-the-art, best practices in energy efficiency to foster the greening of NYC's buildings.

• Andy Stern discusses healthcare reform with Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.

• "Fixing our country's health care system is a pressing issue for every American, but it's of critical importance to communities of color," writes CIR/SEIU Healthcare President Dr. L Toni Lewis and SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera in a guest op-ed on BlackAmericaWeb.com entitled "Why We Need Healthcare Reform Now."

• The NY Times publishes an op-ed by Dr. L Toni Lewis honoring journalist Sidney Zion's work to uncover the connection between hospital staff hours and medical errors.

• The 1021 NewsWire and other SEIU Local 1021 publications win a total of six awards for excellence in writing, design and production from the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA). Congrats!

Buildings in the United States consume more energy than any other sector of the economy, including transportation or industry. In New York City this problem is especially pronounced, where buildings are responsible for 66 percent of total energy use and 77 percent of city greenhouse gas emissions^[1]. New York City residents also spend $13.4 billion on energy for their buildings, energy that is often wasted on inefficient or improperly maintained equipment.

The benefits of green buildings cannot be overstated--and one of the most cost-effective ways to "green" a building is to ensure that it has a knowledgeable and well-trained workforce. SEIU 32BJ's Training Fund has developed the first-ever Green Buildings Initiative to train building superintendents in the latest, state-of-the-art, best practices in energy efficiency.

To help foster a greener New York City, 32BJ's initiative aims to train 1,000 Green Superintendents in the 2009-2010 school year.

There is no other individual who can contribute more to the long-term greenness of a large multi-family building than the superintendent. Green supers manage the day-to-day operations and maintenance (O&M) of their building, an absolutely critical--though often overlooked--component of an efficient building. Take replacing light bulbs, for example. Did you know swapping out a single old fashioned fluorescent lighting fixture with a similar high-efficiency fixtures can save upwards of $130 per year?^[2] Studies have shown that simply performing optimal O&M can reduce a buildings' energy usage by 10 percent.

Unfortunately, over the last couple of decades the job duties of the superintendent have not changed all that much, despite the rising cost of energy and the solidified scientific consensus surrounding climate change. The 32BJ Training Fund's 1,000 Green Supers program is looking to change that and push an entire industry into the 21st century. The 40-hour training program incorporates standards from the Building Performance Institute and the Urban Green Council (USGBC). Students will cover the full range of topics required to operate their buildings in the most efficient way possible, include air sealing, insulation, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, water conservation, lighting, appliances, and quantifying energy usage. At the end of the course, superintendents will take written and field tests that will certify them as Multifamily Building Operators by the Building Performance Institute.

The investment required to green our buildings is minuscule compared to payoff. Green buildings provide us that always-elusive win-win situation where we can address the climate crisis and our devastated economy. By greening our city's buildings, we can save money, create jobs, and help clean our environment.

To find out more about 32BJ's Green Buildings Initiative, visit www.1000supers.com or email the 32BJ Training Fund at 1000supers@32bjfunds.com.

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[1] The City of New York, "PlaNYC: Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions", 2008

[2] Calculation based on replacing a 192 Watt F40-T12 (4 lamps, 2 ballasts) fixture with a 112 Watt F32-T8 (4 lamps, 1 ballast) fixture that is on 24 hours per day and costs $0.19/kWh.

Yesterday, SEIU Local 32BJ endorsed Michael Bloomberg for re-election. Why? Because Bloomberg has proven his commitment to working families, raising security industry standards and taking action to make sure out-of-work New Yorkers have the resources necessary to find employment.

32BJ's announcement followed a unanimous decision by the 32BJ executive board late Tuesday, capping a membership-driven, six month endorsement process. As part of this process, Mayor Bloomberg walked a day in the shoes of NYC security officer and 32BJ member Annie Davis - read the Mayor's take on the experience here. The Mayor is a big supporter of 32BJ's efforts to raise industry standards, increase training and improve the working conditions of NYC's security officers.

Making NYC a more sustainable living environment & creating green jobs: Bloomberg has worked closely with 32BJ on green building projects to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of City government, commercial, and residential buildings. He has introduced four "green" bills that would significantly improve the City's environment through reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--which are much higher in NYC than any other city. The legislation has the potential to create hundreds of jobs for workers trained in green retrofitting, which falls in line with 32BJ's ambitious new Green training program aimed at providing 1,000 building superintendents with the skills needed to save energy, money and protect our environment.

Bloomberg also plans to open new Workforce 1 Centers and expanding their hours so they can place New Yorkers in over 20,000 jobs this year, on top of the 68,000 New Yorkers that have already been placed in jobs since the program was implemented.

Read 32BJ's endorsement statement here.

Fernando Cruz puts in 40 hour weeks at the Con Ed power plant at 14th St. and Avenue C in NYC. For his hard work, the father of two is paid $8.50 an hour, with no real health care and benefits. This results in a weekly take-home pay of around $300--not nearly enough pay his bills and support his family.

Fernando is one of more than 28 million people--about a quarter of the working-age workforce--who work full time yet still earn less than the income that marks the federal poverty line for a family of four: $9.04 per hour, a full-time salary of $18,800 a year. Although the 40-hour week is still considered the benchmark in American work culture, the fact is that working "9-to-5" for millions of low-wage workers doesn't result in financial compensation equaling that of a living wage...and so every day, workers like Fernando fall farther and farther behind.

Right now, the cleaning contractors Con Ed uses at its plants, offices and electrical substations across the city are Nelson Services, Apple Maintenance, T&T Cleaning and Janitorial, Accent Maintenance and Martinez Cleaning. SEIU 32BJ is demanding that Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke hire cleaning contractors that provide workers the wages and benefits they need to support their families. "What Con Ed is doing by not assuming responsibility [for the workers their contractors is promoting hunger wages," says 32BJ secretary-treasurer Héctor Figueroa.

Figueroa said the union has met with a VP of Con Ed to discuss the matter of contractors hired by the energy company not giving employees health benefits, sick leave or pensions, along with paying them only $8.50/hour. Their efforts were met with a "tough luck" response from the VP. "He told us that he was 'very sorry,' but that because these workers were not their employees, he didn't think this was Con Ed's problem," Figueroa reported to NY Daily News.

SEIU 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 janitor at a building downtown when the crash happened.

Please watch this Washington Post tribute to Ana:

Details will follow on a Memorial Fund to support Ana's husband and six children.

Also among the nine those who lost their lives in this tragedy was train operator and ATU Local 689 member Jeanice McMillan and CWA member Mary Doolittle. Our thoughts are with all of the families affected by this terrible crash.

Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new report commissioned by SEIU Local 32BJ. The report found that the average hourly wage for food preparation workers in educational services was only $8.15, and revealed that many of these jobs pay no more than the NJ state minimum wage of $7.15.

The report, prepared by the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work/School of Management, ascertained that 64 percent of NJ K-12 school districts contract their food service to an outside company and that those private sector cafeteria jobs are largely part-time and typical offer with no affordable health benefits. As a result, most workers are uninsured or forced to turn to the state's public health insurance programs-- a result that contributes largely to the school food service industry acting as one of the biggest drains on New Jersey FamilyCare, as over 6,300 employees and their children covered by the taxpayer-funded state health assistance plan.

"For me and for so many of my co-workers, the main issue is our healthcare," said Annie Davis, a 54-year-old New York security officer and SEIU Local 32BJ member during her day-long visit with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We don't have sick days. We don't get paid for holidays. It's not even so much our wages, it's the benefits...We are doing some of the most important jobs in the city. "

Davis, who works in the lobby of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in downtown NYC, makes $11.75 an hour with no days off and no medical coverage. She is one of 1,100 guards at 20 agencies throughout the city who work for private contractor Allied Barton and are considering going on strike by the end of May if things don't improve.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, his day spent with security officer Annie Brown "renewed his appreciation" for what workers go through every day to makes end meet in New York and take care of their families. On his campaign blog, Mayor Bloomberg reflects back on his day spent with Brown as part of Local 32BJ's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign, acknowledging that in spite of the initiatives his administration has invested in to improve the training and compensation of NY's security officers, there's "much more to be done" to ensure the "security guards [that play] a pivotal role in keeping all eight million of us safe" are "well-paid, well-trained, and well-treated." Read the Mayor's blog here.

"Walking a day with a working New Yorker shouldn't just be a prerequisite for our union's endorsement, but a requirement for the job," said 32BJ President Mike Fishman of the local union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign to get every elected official to experience firsthand what life is like for working people. Mayor Bloomberg is the second NYC mayoral candidate to have taken part in the campaign, after City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. walked a day in the shoes of 32BJ member Lateef Rivers last week, spending part of Rivers' shift with him at the Brooklyn Municipal Building.

Read more about about Mayor Bloomberg's and Mr. Thompson's walk-a-days with SEIU 32BJ members in the NY Daily News and the NY Times. Video of Mayor Bloomberg's day with Annie Brown at NY1 here.

New York: Gray skies and rainy conditions didn't deter a diverse crowd of more than 1,000 community activists and workers--including hundreds of SEIU Local 32BJ members--from marching in midtown Manhattan on May 1, to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reform the immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented workers. "We can no longer afford to ignore the valuable contributions of immigrant workers, who are not only part of the rich social and cultural fabric of our country but are also adding $700 billion dollars every year to our economy," said Hector Figueroa, Local 32BJ Secretary Treasurer.

NYC's rally was one of dozens of May Day marches held across the country (Check out our photos and recap of the Washington, DC rally here).

Chicago: The windy city had dreary weather similar to NYC's on May 1st, but around 2,000 rally-goers gathered at Union Park anyways and took to the streets chanting "Yes, we can," as they marched to the Federal Plaza to demand just and humane immigration reform. Many labor and community activists (including SEIU Local 1 members) held signs calling for an end to immigrant raids; others carried "the world" on their shoulders to symbolize the impact working immigrants have around the globe.

Watch SEIU Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff address May Day marchers in Chicago:

Photos from DC, NYC & Chicago rallies on Flickr here.

Until pretty recently, many people had never heard of "green-collar jobs." Yet the phrase is suddenly everywhere--especially on policymakers' tongues. "You can think about a green-collar job as a blue-collar job that's been upgraded, or unskilled, to better respect the environment," says Van Jones, the newly-appointed special adviser to the White House on green jobs, enterprise and innovation.

In the greening of the economy, workers and low-income people are not a liability or a line item--they are a part of the solution. One union leading the way on green initiatives is SEIU Local 721. Local 721 is part of the LA Apollo Alliance, which helped LA make green history on April 8 when its City Council approved a first-in-the-nation plan to create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and create a way out of poverty for disadvantaged workers. The ordinance supports a green retrofit of city buildings that will provide "green training" to low-income workers and create hundreds of good jobs.

SEIU's largest property service local 32BJ has established an energy-efficiency training program for building superintendents and many other locals (including 721) are working to develop similar green custodial programs.

We know SEIU members and their local unions across the country are working to promote energy efficiency and quality green jobs--but we want to hear more. Please share with us what your union is doing, because we'd love to highlight it on SEIU.org.

All day Tuesday, workers from more than 30 states and a number of unions were on the Hill to lobby their own Members of Congress on the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act.. The workers related their personal stories of being fired or harassed when they attempted to form a union, and several workers participated in a hearing from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee on the importance of unions in restoring the middle class.

Among the witnesses called to testify before Congress was SEIU 32BJ member Kelly Badillo, who told the committee the devastating experience of what it was like to be working in the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the planes hit. Badillo related how his union helped him and his family get back on their feet in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy, when while living with the terror of the attack, he also had to worry where his next paycheck was going to come from:

"Two thousand, seven hundred and fifty people lost their lives, including forty-seven SEIU members. Many thousands more lost their jobs. More than twelve hundred 32BJ members - cleaners, security officers, building maintenance, window washers and elevator operators like me were suddenly trying to live on unemployment.

One week later, I got a call from my union. They asked me to come to our union hall and meet with my employer, American Building Maintenance. There were more than 800 other members there when I arrived.

Working together, my union and my employer agreed to:

* $130 per week in supplemental unemployment.
* Continued health insurance for us and our families.
* We kept our pensions.
* The Green Cross was in our union hall everyday to help us deal with our loss and the psychological effects of September 11."

And a little over four months later, ABA called back with a way to get Badillo and others back to work. Additionally, workers close to retiring had five years added to their years of service and age.

"My story exemplifies that businesses and unions can work together for the benefit of hardworking Americans like me. My daughters are grown and have jobs of their own, but I can only hope they can enjoy a strong voice on the workplace like I have had," said Badillo.

The New York Times tells the story of Badillo's experience in a piece written in September 2001 - read it here.

>> Kelly Badillo's entire testimony here.

Change to Win Chair and SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, issued a statement today about the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force today, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The world is facing a historic opportunity to rebuild our global economy through investments in sustainable projects that will create new jobs, reduce our dependence on oil and protect our planet after decades of mismanagement.

Today's meeting underscores this Administrations' commitment to making sure American businesses and American workers are leaders in the industry of the future as our parents and grandparents led in the industries of the past. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this month includes a significant investment for projects both big and small that will rebuild our country and create the high-paying jobs of tomorrow.

These jobs represent a clear path to a stronger middle class and a stronger American economy that will benefit everyone. Change to Win unions across the country welcome this opportunity to continue working with communities and employers to find green ways to do millions of jobs that strengthen the foundation of this country. Today is an important step forward for businesses, communities and workers to come together to create a greener and stronger America.

The emerging green economy has the potential to make the American Dream a reality for America's workers. Change to Win unions have been at the forefront in helping create a green pathway to prosperity for working families.

• SEIU has committed to "bargaining green" across health care, public sector, and property service divisions, and the union's largest property service local has established an energy efficiency training program for building superintendents. The Nation recently highlighted the work SEIU 32BJ's Hector Norat, Superintendent of New York City's 1400 on Fifth for his work on the building's residential geothermal heating and cooling system, the largest in the country.
• Change to Win unions, including the Carpenters, LIUNA, and Teamsters, are partnering with cutting edge developer Gerding Edlen to build sustainable communities and create sustainable jobs.
• The Teamsters partnered with environmentalists to enact a landmark policy developed under Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's leadership to clean up toxic diesel emissions, improve working conditions for thousands of truck drivers, and pave the way for green growth in the nation's largest port complex.
• The Laborers have launched an initiative with the City of Newark and community-based organization GANE to train local residents in energy-efficiency retrofitting, building the workforce that will be needed to implement home weatherization on a large scale as promised by President Obama and funded in the Recovery Act.
• John Sarich, Resident Manager of New York City's William Beaver House and member of SEIU 32BJ, helped the management company and residents save money through significantly reducing their energy bills.

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"Local 1199 represents the authentic conscience of the labor movement."
- From Dr. King's remarks at 1199's Salute to Freedom celebration in 1968.

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One way to celebrate black history this month is by focusing on the history of African Americans in the labor movement. No single person made greater contributions toward the advancement of both the civil rights and labor movements than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was killed while in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers trying to form a union. Dr. King always saw strengthening unions and lifting up workers as critical to achieving long term justice for African Americans. He helped motivate hundreds of thousands of activists--both black and white--through his speeches and the example he set.

"I'm often disenchanted with some segments of the power structure of the labor movement, but in those moments I begin to think of unions like Local 1199," said Dr. King in one of his last speeches at 1199SEIU to union members and supporters before his assassination in 1968. "It gives me renewed courage and vigor to carry on and the feeling that there are some unions left that will always maintain the radiant and vibrant idealism that brought the labor movement into being," said Dr. King.

Listen to Dr. King's full speech about continuing fight for social and economic justice here:

The 1960s saw Dr. King address countless labor gatherings, and he did not confine his support to just speechmaking. He often joined workers on the picket lines; and when the 1199SEIU drive to organize New York City's voluntary hospitals began in 1962, Dr. King called New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and urged him to support collective bargaining legislation.

Coretta Scott King addressing an audience at 1199 headquarters

Just two months after Dr. King's death in 1968, 1199 hospital workers won the historic $100 per week minimum wage. And on the heels of that victory, Dr. King's widow Coretta Scott King, agreed to serve as honorary chairperson of the 1199 National Organizing Committee. She went on to remain a close friend and ally of 1199 for the rest of her life, speaking at 1199 conventions and Black History Month celebrations.

Unionists across the nation have drawn strength from Dr. King. "His dedication to the rights of the workers who are so often exploited by the forces of greed has profoundly touched my life and guided my struggle," said the late Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farmworkers of America and an icon in the labor and rights movements. "During my first fast in 1968, Dr. King reminded me that our struggle was his struggle too. He sent me a telegram, which said, 'Our separate struggles are really one. A struggle for freedom, for dignity, and for humanity."

"As we continue to learn from some of the greatest innovators, activists, intellectuals and community leaders in history, the best way we can honor and remember their legacy is to continue their work for equal and fair treatment, and support the fight for decent wages, benefits and improved training for all workers. Advancing their cause is one way we can truly celebrate Black History Month," said Kyle Bragg, Vice President of 32BJ SEIU.

*Visit www.seiu.org/blackhistorymonth

"Although most workers would like to join a union, very few ever get the chance to vote. In fact, employers have been stifling the efforts of workers to lawfully organize a union through elections," writes Jaime Contreras, Capital Area Director of SEIU Local 32BJ, in a Friday op-ed in Washington Hispanic. "Consequently, less than 100,000 joined a union through secret ballot election last year." "The Employee Free Choice Act would provide workers, once again, with a fair shot at joining a union. What they choose to do is their decision, just as it should be." Read the full op-ed.

(Note: Translated from Spanish by Eugenio Villasante, 32BJ)