The House won't pass a bill without a public option, and the Senate won't pass one with it. That statement, which has almost become a truism on Capitol Hill, was splashed with a healthy dose of reality by 30 Senators today, including Sen. Specter, who laid out their strong support for a public option.

Their letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid stating:

"We have spent the better part of this year fighting for health reform that would provide insurance access and continuity to every American in a fiscally responsible manner. We are concerned that -- absent a competitive and continuous public insurance option -- health reform legislation will not produce nationwide access and ongoing cost containment. For that reason, we are asking for your leadership on ensuring that the merged health reform bill contains a public insurance option."

The letter was signed by: Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Paul Kirk (D-Mass.).

Last week, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger wrote an op-ed in the Huffington Post demanding the Democrats cease hiding behind Republicans and stand up for a strong public option. Looks like at least 30 Senators took her advice.

Everyone's jumping on the train. Today 155 Pennsylvania college & university professors signed a letter asking Sen. Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

The letter notes that Pennsylvania's middle class needs the act because it'll empower them to bargain for fair wages and benefits, and in turn, will help the economy recover.

In their letter, the academics state:

Studies show that most workers would join a union if they had the opportunity. Workers in unions earn better pay and benefits than their non-union counterparts but only if they get a contract. We need the Employee Free Choice Act in order to ensure that workers get the unions they want and the first contracts they deserve, free from today's corporate-dominated process that subjects them to threats, illegal firings, coercion and delay.

The full text of the letter to Senator Specter is below.

Yesterday, over 50 religious leaders from a diverse range of faiths and denominations came to Washington, DC to lobby members of Congress on support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The 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.

The lobbying day begin with an early a.m. prayer breakfast at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, where clergy, union members and political figures gathered to hear uplifting music sung by a multicultural choir, and pray for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. "Unions are indispensable for a just social order," said Dr. Joseph Fahey, a Manhattan College religious studies professor and founder of Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice. "They are not something that just gains better wages and working conditions for workers---on a far wider level, we won't have a just social order unless we have unions to bring justice to workers and their families." The event featured speakers that included SEIU's Anna Burger, Rev. Sue Gaeta of the Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus and SEIU Virginia home care worker Athena Jones. Longtime labor supporter Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-Md.), also appeared at the breakfast to give a speech, telling the crowd that "the faith community has always been on the side of workers."

At the (tpress conference afterwards held with Sen. Tom Harkin he original sponsor of the legislation in the Senate), the senator called the Employee Free Choice Act "one of the real social justice issues of our time," expressing his determination to get legislation passed in 2009 that will restore balance and fairness to the organizing process. "For too long, our constitutional right to organize a union has been systematically undermined," said Harkin.

Watch faith leaders discuss why, more than ever, we need the Employee Free Choice Act to restore balance to economy and our society:

After the press conference, union members, workers and religious leaders dispersed to lobby their individual Members of Congress. During the lobby visits, religious leaders were able to have a face-to-face discussion about the legislation with newly-Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter--an exchange sponsoring organization Catholics for Working Families caught on tape. Watch a video clip of the exchange between Fr. Jack O'Malley and Sen. Specter.

Select photos from yesterday's event here. To join the campaign for workplace fairness, visit http://faithforworkplacefairness.org/

If you thought that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter's change from a Republican to a Democrat meant an automatic endorsement from labor unions for his 2010 election...think again.

In the memo SEIU President Andy Stern sent to Pennsylvania members late last week, he affirmed that we will maintain our ramped-up efforts to reach out to the Senator and let our concerns be known on the need for reform to our nation's labor laws: allowing workers, not employers, to choose how and when to form a union; enforcing real penalties for employers who break the law; and ensuring that those who've chosen a union can actually secure a contract.

From Stern:

SEIU has always been an organization that supports candidates and elected officials based on their commitment to working families, not their party labels.

The issues that face working people in Pennsylvania have not changed, and the support we need from our representatives in Congress hasn't changed, either.

We know there have been contradictory and confusing reports about what Senator Specter's decision means for the priorities of working families in our state. In a word: our fight for Employee Free Choice and quality, affordable healthcare continues, as strong as ever. (Read Stern's memo here)

After Specter's party-switch announcement last week, we asked you to write him a note telling him what you think, and what you expect of him as your senator now that he's a Democrat. SEIU's Raf Noboa has a great round-up of some of your letters to him. Here are just a few:

B.C.:

R. S.:

P. L., Allegheny County:

T.F., Allegheny County:

J. R., Erie:

As Senator Specter knows, putting Pennsylvania's families ahead of partisanship is a priority--but just in case he needed a reminder, SEIU members delivered these letters (plus hundreds more) to Specter's office this weekend, to reiterate to him why Pennsylvania's working families need his support on the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform.

Please take a moment and write to Senator Specter today--he needs to hear from you.

On Tuesday, Senator Arlen Specter decided to cross the aisle and become a Democrat. We asked you to write him a note telling him what you think, and what you expect of him as your senator now that he's a Democrat.

Here are some of your letters to him:

B. C.:

"Just like you signed a form switching parties, you need to give workers the right to sign a card saying they want to belong to a union. There is a time and place for a secret ballot and a time and place to simply sign a card. This is the time for you to change your position. Think of your legacy."

R. S.:

"Last week, I met a woman who campaigned to bring a voice at work to her workplace. After 17 years at her job, she makes $10.00 an hour. Nearing retirement, this woman wanted to make her workplace fairer for herself and her coworkers. Two years after electing union representation, they still do not have a contract. In the Jewish tradition, social justice is a driving force. Employee Free Choice is sound and needed social policy. It will bring equality and balance to the one-up/one-down power dynamic in the workplace. Please support EFCA."

T. M.:

"First off, I think it's great you are now a Democrat! When I heard this I started to cry, because now I believe change is really going to happening and I'm so proud that you are my senator! If only I could get you to support the EFCA, it would be even better! I going through to much at work, I am on the verge of losing my job because I am fighting for a union. Without a union, we hard working people have no representation and there's too much favoritism! I need your help, and I am asking you from the bottom of my heart: PLEASE Support the Employee Free Choice Act. I have faith in you, and so do a lot of others!"

P. L., Allegheny County:

"Welcome to my party, Senator Specter. I write today with a plea to you. Living today in the U.S. as a working class citizen is not financially easy. The only hope we have is that unions can help lift everyone up from wages which have been truly stagnant since the eighties and have not matched the increases in cost-of-living. Food, transportation, and housing have all shown to have had very large increases since the early eighties; however, wages have had minor increases and do not allow workers to afford even minimum essentials. Before President Reagan fired the Air Traffic Controllers, we had hopes, dreams and good jobs. I lived in NYC and Pittsburgh with positive hopes for the future back then. Crime was minimal because people had decent jobs.

A horrible transition has taken place in our country since the eighties because some of our leaders have been unduly basing their votes on bills to assist big business--and we all are now aware of the damage that the fealty to the rich and the powerful has caused. Please reconsider your present stance on unions and help us to build a better future for all. Thank you, Senator Specter, for your work and independence."

T.F., Allegheny County:

"Dear Senator Specter: I'm glad to have you as a fellow PA Democrat -- be assured your hallmark of independent thinking will always be appreciated among us. Please review the Free Choice Act and see if there are ways in which you can support this legislation from a conservative democratic point of view. As a Democrat, I have voted for you since the 80s and believe you are one of the best independent minds in the Senate and as a state leader of thoughtful compromise. Best Wishes to you and your family during this repositioning period."

S. H., Philadelphia

"Oh Mr. Specter, it is a blessing to have you join the Democratic party! I wish that you would support working families such as myself, who work hard to survive. I maintain my home and support my son who is autistic. I pray that your judgment be for good cause in supporting the issues that are right, supporting people such as myself that aren't looking for government to do everything--just to keep an open mind with assistance and do what's right by us, the working middle class."

J. R., Erie:

"The U.S. needs more better-paying jobs for workers and unions are a good way to obtain them. Unfortunately, many businesses in the last decade have been very aggressive in their efforts to defeat unionization efforts and break unions. They have even violated national labor relations laws to do this with very modest, if any, penalties being imposed. The Employee Free Choice Act counter-balances business efforts and restores a more level playing field in business-labor relations. Please support it."

These are just a few of the hundreds of letters that we've gotten; there are many, many more. We're delivering many of these to Sen. Specter's office today, and we'll continue to do so as the days go on.

Please, take a moment and write Senator Specter today -- he needs to hear from you. As Senator Specter knows, putting Pennsylvania's families ahead of partisanship is a priority. Thanks for taking the time to write to him. We'll let you know how our delivery goes next week.

You probably saw the big news earlier this week. In case you didn't, here it is.

Senator Arlen Specter joined hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have left the Republican Party and announced that he would become a Democrat. In the past, he's risen above above partisanship to support working people - and we've worked with him on many important issues.

Arlen Specter needs to hear from you now. Pennsylvania's working families need his support on the Employee Free Choice Act and Health Care Reform. I'm going to one of his offices tomorrow with some of our SEIU members and we'll make sure he hears from you.

Click here to write a note to Senator Specter about why we need him to support the Employee Free Choice Act and healthcare reform. We'll make sure he gets it tomorrow.

Even though Senator Specter is now a Democrat, we expect him to support Pennsylvania's working families in the same way he has throughout his career as a Republican. The issues that face working people in Pennsylvania have not changed, and the support we need from our representatives in Congress hasn't changed, either.

Senator Specter will now be able to vote his conscience on the important issues. He did so in voting for President Obama's economic stimulus program, and we hope he'll do so on other critical issues facing our country: reforming our broken healthcare system and giving employees the free choice to join unions.

Senator Specter needs to hear from you by tomorrow. Tell him that Pennsylvanians need him to support the Employee Free Choice Act and healthcare reform.

As Senator Specter knows, putting Pennsylvania's families ahead of partisanship is a priority. Thanks for taking the time to write to him. We'll let you know how our delivery goes next week.

Statement from SEIU President Andy Stern on Senator Specter's announcement that he is switching political parties to become a Democrat:

"It's clear to us that the right-wing conservatives in control of the leadership of the Republican party in Pennsylvania left Senator Specter long ago and we are pleased that he has decided to do the same. Just as he did with his leadership on the economic stimulus bill, Senator Specter has once again demonstrated the political courage it takes to put the interests of the working families of Pennsylvania ahead of partisanship. We have always had tremendous common ground with Senator Specter on issues important to working families including the need for reform to our nation's labor laws. We look forward to continuing our long history of working with Senator Specter to create positive change for the working families of Pennsylvania."

Last week, hundreds of workers gathered together on a blustery day to tell us why we need the Employee Free Choice Act now. They then marched together to Sen. Arlen Specter's office to deliver that same message.

Watch the video above to see what happened next--then go here to tell Sen. Specter what you think.

This morning Senator Arlen Specter appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and spoke about his new position on the Employee Free Choice Act -- which he formerly co-sponsored and now announced he will not even allow for debate on the bill.

Watch this video of him in 2007 when he voted for a full debate on the bill, and now in 2009 when he refuses to vote for the same exact thing.

Let Senator Specter know what you think about his refusal to debate - send him an email and then make a free phone call to his office.

Yesterday, your U.S. Senator, Arlen Specter, announced that he would vote against even allowing a debate about the leveling the playing field with the Employee Free Choice Act.

Honestly, I was shocked. It doesn't make sense. How can someone who is such a strong supporter of the democratic process refuse to allow even a meaningful debate about such an important issue?

Senator Specter and his staff need to hear from you. Please take 5 minutes to call his office and tell him that you're not happy with his decision.

Click here to make a free phone call to Senator Specter.

Senator Specter said he doesn't think we should give employees free choice at work until the economy improves. That's backwards. If we're going to get out of our current economic mess, Pennsylvania will need those secure jobs now, more than ever.

If the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law, it can help almost 1 million Pennsylvanians and pump more than $2 billion into the state's economy every year.

Can you believe that? That's what Senator Specter is denying your state by not supporting a debate on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Click here to make a quick, free call to Senator Specter and urge him to allow a debate. Just 5 minutes of your time will go a long way.

For Senator Specter's whole career, he's stood up for working people. He knows the struggle of working people who want to join a union.

We need Congress to act as swiftly on real economic recovery for working people in America as they did to bail out Wall Street. Senator Specter can bring this change - but he needs to hear from you now.

Please make this call.

A day after congressional leaders have settled on the details of a nearly $790 billion economic stimulus package, House Republican leaders are still against this compromise.

SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger is sending an email to members and activists today, asking recipients to take action by calling three key Republican senators--Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania--to urge them to vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on final passage as part of an economic solution for America's families.

Read Anna's email, below:

Dear friend,

If you're like me, you've been following the news very closely, trying to make heads or tails of Congress' progress on President Obama's economic stimulus bill.

Ask these key senators to support the economic stimulus. On Tuesday, the bill successfully cleared the Senate and it was just announced that the conference committee agreed to a final version that saves jobs and helps our state governments continue to provide vital services.

But the bill is under attack from the right wing. They're robo-calling calling Senate offices and attacking moderates on right wing radio because they want President Obama to fail in bringing the change we need.

Under no circumstances will we allow this to take place.

That's why we need your help right now. Please call the three key Republican senators -- Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania - and urge them to stop further job losses and cuts in vital public services.

We need Congress to act as swiftly on real economic recovery for working people in America as they did to bail out Wall Street. We have seen first-hand what it means when crucial public services - health care, senior services, and public safety - are cut back at the very time people need them most.

These three Senators deserve our thanks for voting the right way yesterday. They did what was right based on what's good for the country, not partisan politics.

Call them now and ask them to continue their support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

http://call.seiu.org/9/economic

President Obama says creating 4 million jobs is the most important part of his economic plan.

The Senate last night moved forward on the Stimulus Package, voting 61 to 36 to end debate and bring the measure on a vote today.

This procedural victory over the threat of a GOP filibuster -- called "invoking cloture" -- was possible when three Republicans crossed party lines to join the Democrats: Sens. Olympia Snowe (R., ME), Arlen Specter (R., PA) and Susan Collins (R., ME).

Next steps: Now the Senate Stimulus Package will return to the House, which will try to reconcile the new legislation with the measure they passed last week. Here's a look at the differences between the two packages:

* STATE AID: The Senate sliced $40 billion out of the House bill that would stabilize states, money that would "reduce pressure on states for layoffs and service cuts that economists say would undercut the efforts by the stimulus bill to create jobs and spur consumer spending and business investments."

* TAXES: The Senate bill includes $70 billion to prevent middle class families from having to pay the "alternative minimum tax," a tax designed to ensure wealthy Americans paid at least a minimum tax payment. However, "because Congress has made such an adjustment for years now, economists say the provision offers no new help to the economy."

* PROGRAMS: "The Senate bill does not include $19 billion for school construction included in the House bill, reduces health insurance subsidies for the unemployed, and scales back Mr. Obama's proposed middle class tax cut."

* HOUSES: "The Senate provides $35.5 billion for a $15,000 tax credit for purchasers of homes bought in the year after the bill takes effect. The House includes $2.6 billion and limits its smaller $7,500 credit to first-time homebuyers for homes purchased from Jan. 1, 2009 to July 1, 2009 and phases out the credit for couples making more than $150,000."

"So, you know, we can differ on some of the particulars, but again, the question I think that the American people are asking is: Do you just want government to do nothing, or do you want it to do something? If you want it to do something, then we can have a conversation," President Obama said in his first prime-time news conference last night, reiterating the urgency with which he wants Congress to act to begin the task of saving and creating more jobs. "But doing nothing -- that's not an option, from my perspective." (Read the transcript of the news conference including the reporter Q&A with the President here.)

As President Barack Obama travels to Florida today to talk up the passage of the stimulus, he's joined by a surprising ally: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who will introduce the president. Crist is one of four Republican governors openly supporting Obama's stimulus, including Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Jodi Rell of Connecticut, and Jim Douglas of Vermont.

Watch live video coverage of Obama's townhall meeting in Fort Myers, FL today.