In case you missed it...news highlights from yesterday and this morning on banks, union heroes, health insurance reform, voter turnout and fighting budget cuts [and the swine flu].

Wall Street Bonuses Rise Up, Up, Up and Away: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, the three biggest banks to receive bailouts, are set to pay record bonuses this year. They'll hand out $29.7 billion in bonuses--an increase of 60 percent from last year.

It's Time to Write Some Thank You Notes: Let's not forget to thank the members of Congress who worked with us along the way to get the "The Affordable Health Care for America Act" passed--Celebrate the passage of the House bill by thanking (or admonishing) your Representative for their vote on health insurance reform.

What exactly did we win? Take a look at some of the highlights in the historic health insurance reform legislation, which include coverage expansion, more choices, encouraging small businesses to cover employees and ending abuse by insurers.

Send your best wishes to Fort Hood Hero: Sgt. Kimberly Munley risked her life to stop the alleged gunman who killed 13 people and injured 30 at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5. Munley fired four shots at the alleged assailant, Maj. Nidal Hasan, despite being shot herself. She's currently in stable condition. As Officer Munley recovers from her injuries, her union AFGE has set up a site where you can send her your best wishes.

"Protect our patients, NY healthcare from draconian cuts!" New York's frontline caregivers from 1199SEIU are mobilizing by the thousands to go to Albany on Thursday, November 12, to tell the Legislature and Governor that enough is enough: the state's healthcare industry has already been hit by six rounds of budget cuts, totaling $2.2 billion in the past two years. Now Gov. David Paterson is calling for another $746 million in cuts for the current fiscal year, ending next April.

A Win for Maine, Washington, and Lovers of Good Government: Read Monday's Washington Post column by E.J. Dionne about how Maine and Washington voters stood up against cuts to services like home health care for seniors by rejecting the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). "Why aren't we hearing more of this?" asks Dionne.

Latino Voter Turnout remains high in 2009: While Election 2009 had its ups and downs, initial results show the dire predictions about a drop off in Latino voter turnout proved to be false - and that candidates from all parties rejected campaigning with an anti-immigrant wedge based strategy. Key highlights compiled by America's Voice here.

Puerto Rican unemployment tops 16 percent: About one in six people are now out of work on the U.S. island territory of 4 million people, and another 2,000+ public employees lost their jobs on Friday. More on SEIU.org.

Hand-washing and sneeze-covering precautions can only take you so far: In the mad scramble for flu shots across the country (which are in short supply), the U.S. House is considering a proposal: Mandate that employers pay five sick days if they send a worker home or advise him to stay home.

Pennsylvania SEIU Members win three-year contract: The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and the SEIU Local 668 have reached agreement on a three-year contract that calls for a wage increase retroactive to September 1, 2006. The local represents about 350 secretarial, library, accounting, clerical, housekeeping and maintenance personnel at the college.

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. Oh, and the company is self-insured but they promise they won't use your private health information to decide whether to keep your coverage, hire you, fire you, or make your spouse go on a diet.

Unbelievable, but that's what my employer wants to force us to do! That's one of the reasons why more than 700 of us are on strike.

Tell our employer, Bemis Manufacturing company, that workers aren't lab rats.

My coworkers and I work in Terre Haute, Indiana. We make the flexible food packaging you see on your grocery store's shelves. Our company has been union for 52 years and is successful, with profits up more than 16 percent.

We did not make the decision to strike lightly. In an effort to avoid a strike we made an alternative offer to work without a contract while the bargaining continued but Bemis refused and actually lowered its offer. They even cut off insurance benefits which we had already paid for and demanded we accept low wage temp workers turning good jobs into McJobs.

Will you take a stand with us?

Tell Bemis to negotiate in good faith and respect its workers.

By a 74 percent margin, SEIU Local 1000 state workers in California voted to step up pressure on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to ensure that the contract signed with the governor's representatives this past February is ratified. "We are not going to stand by and let him [Schwarzenegger] hurt California, our families and ruin the quality public services we provide," said SEIU President Yvonne Walker, making clear that the workers would strike if necessary. "We wouldn't be in this situation if the governor had lived up to his word and supported the contract that he agreed to, which would save the state $340 million," Walker added.

Local 1000 represents 95,000 state workers in numerous government agencies including clerks at the DMV, healthcare professionals in public hospitals, librarians at the State Library and auditors at the state tax board. More at SEIU Local 1000's website and the LA Times.

Last week, 5,000 Kids First Maryland/SEIU Local 500 child care providers voted by a margin of more than 30-to-1 to ratify their first contract. After 14 months of negotiations, providers won an increase in subsidy rates without an increase in parent co-pays; accountability for late payments from the state; and access to important decision-making bodies in the child care system.

"It's a historic moment. Providers who help raise and educate Maryland's most vulnerable children now have a seat at the table," explains Merle Cuttitta, President of SEIU Local 500, of the new contract that will cover providers who participate in the state subsidy program. Local 500 child care providers first voted to form a union with SEIU in September 2007 after they gained collective bargaining rights through an executive order signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

« Read a letter from the bargaining team & contract highlights.
« Learn more about SEIU Kids First

Great news for New York City security officers!

From the New York Times:

A labor union representing security guards stationed at dozens of municipal facilities, including the Staten Island Ferry Terminals and the Municipal Building, has reached a deal with the guards' private employers that calls for as much as a 26 percent pay raise over three years and for the first time provides the guards with health insurance.

That "labor union" representing security guards is none other than SEIU Local 32BJ and after months of negotiations with national security contractors Allied Barton and FJC Security Services of Long Island, security officers have won new union contracts that provide significant wage increases, employer-paid family health care and benefits for some 3,000 city-contracted security officers over three years.

This victory is a testament to the security officers that came together to form a union and bargain collectively for not only better wages and benefits, but the promise of raising standards for security officers in NYC.

For six months, the SEIU 32BJ negotiated on behalf of security officers protecting city buildings and facilities in all five boroughs.  The two new agreements raise officers' wages to private-sector wages of over $13 an hour. Officers also gain employer- paid family health coverage, paid days off, 401K and advanced security training.

Allied Barton employs 1,100 security officers who work at more than 100 City facilities throughout the City, including the Municipal Building in Manhattan, Staten Island Ferry Terminals and Brooklyn Boroug Hall. FJC Security Services employs 1,820 security officers who protect sites in the City's Human Resources Administration agency and Department of Homeless Services.

These city-contracted workers now join thousands of other 32BJ members who have won contracts improving security standards in the private sector. 

Please join me in the comments (below) by offering a well deserved congratulations to the security officers of SEIU 32BJ.

Sign up for updates about security officers around the country.

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.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed today, and in a Politico op-ed from Newt Gingrich last month, anti-worker groups have attacked the "first contract arbitration" portion of the Employee Free Choice Act. That provision seeks to stop employers from using endless foot-dragging against workers who have voted for a union, but have yet to secure a contract. The legislation says that if employers and workers can't reach an agreement in a reasonable amount of time - 120 days - either side can bring in a neutral, private-sector arbitrator to settle the dispute.

Besides the foot-dragging, this assault on first contract arbitration is particularly disturbing for another reason: Corporations use arbitration all the time, because they say it's a fast, inexpensive way to settle disputes.

Here are just some of the quotes that opponents of Employee Free Choice have said about arbitration in the past:

"For more than 80 years, arbitration has helped Americans settle disputes fairly, quickly and inexpensively, without having to file a lawsuit or navigate the court system." - Lisa Rickard, president of the US Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform (4/2/08)

"Arbitration is mutually beneficial, which is what we have always thought." - Arne Wagner, assistant general counsel for Bank of America [ABA Journal, December 1994]

"[F]ederal policy... favors the use of arbitration as an efficient, effective, and less expensive means of resolving disputes...Arbitration, has served as an essential valve for the nation's overburdened civil justice system." - Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee signed by US Chamber of Commerce, Retail Industry Leaders Association, National Retail Federation, National Association of Manufacturers, Jackson Lewis, et al (2/7/08)

Just a little bit of a double standard, no? Arbitration is the best thing ever when it comes to protecting their wallets, but when it comes to adding the safety net of first contract arbitration during collective bargaining, it's the devil incarnate that must be stopped at all costs.

There's one position that CEOs have been fairly consistent on, however: if it allows them to hold on to their corporate power against working families, then they're all for it. Even if it means being a little "flexible" in their public stances.

Public schools bus drivers working without a contract since May protest employer's delays; demand higher wages and affordable health insurance

CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 members who work as bus drivers for West Hartford Public Schools' transportation contractor braved the icy cold last week in an appeal to raise community awareness and support in their ongoing struggle to get their employer, First Student Inc. of Cincinnati, to invest in its workforce and negotiate a first contract.

The bus drivers are frustrated with apparent lack of interest the transportation contractor has shown thus far in recruiting and retaining quality school bus drivers whose top priority has been the safety and security of the children in their care. "For years, the contractors for West Hartford's schools have had a tough time keeping qualified drivers because they offered wages that were far below a livable wage," said Marcus Evans, a veteran school bus driver working in the district. "When we voted for our union earlier this year, we voted to get a contract in place that could slow down turn-over and begin driving up standards."

The morning protest in front of Town Hall generated plenty of media buzz, assuring the press coverage needed to deliver the local union's core message to parents, residents, and local elected officials. Nearly eight months after joining the union, the bus drivers who deliver the district's children to and from school are still dedicated to "driving up standards" in West Hartford. And wouldn't you know, First Student showed up for contract talks the very same evening of the protest (and the following morning), after postponing the last two sessions scheduled in November.

Watch video coverage of the picket.

Visit www.seiu2001.org for more information about the union's "Driving Up Standards" efforts.

In an incredible piece of news that's been a long time coming....workers at Smithfield Tar Heel in North Carolina, the world's largest meatpacking plant, voted for union representation on Thursday with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Take a look:

While Smithfield has repeatedly engaged in typical unionbusting activities during the organizing effort, one startling event stands out: Violence erupted immediately after the 1997 union election. At the Tar Heel plant, Smithfield operates its own armed police force with the authority to arrest and detain workers on its property. Although federal labor law says workers have the right to participate in a union election free from fear, coercion, and intimidation, this company police force--heavily armed and dressed in riot gear--surrounded the plant on the day of the election. After the vote count, union supporters were physically assaulted and falsely arrested by the Bladen County Sheriff's Deputies, who were called in by the company to supplement its own private police force.

Even as Smithfield workers won this election, it's taken 15 years to get to this point after unprecedented intimidation - and they still have to negotiate a contract. With the Employee Free Choice Act, the workers' choice would've been recognized as early as 1994, and they'd have a contract for better wages and benefits.

Congratulations to Smithfield workers who persisted in seeking a voice at work in the face of unbelievable opposition from management. With the Employee Free Choice Act, more workers like them can enjoy better wages benefits and job securities.

Read AP's coverage of the victory here. Local NC paper The News & Observer's news coverage here.

After more than a year of on and off negotiations, the 1199SEIU members at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY finally have a second contract.

Many 1199 veteran members remember the historic decades-long struggle for union recognition and a contract at Lawrence - one that brought leaders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the late civil rights activist Ossie Davis to the forefront of that fight. The workers won their first contract in 2002. That contract expired in December 2007. The members overwhelmingly ratified the new second contract on November 11.

Union negotiating committee member Glen Gary said, "We are all very proud of the sacrifices and efforts that were collectively made to achieve this contract. We tirelessly fought to move us in the right direction toward economic security. Now, we have more wage and benefit parity with the other hospital workers in our region."

The 370 members achieved what they considered their biggest hurdle: Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday is now recognized as a legal holiday for 1199 SEIU Lawrence Hospital workers.

The contract includes annual wage increases of three percent, which will take effect as of July 1, 2008 through July 1, 2011, as well as new minimum hourly rates for all job classifications. Members' health benefits will continue to be covered by the 1199 National Benefit Fund (NBF), which means no premiums or co-pays and important NBF benefits like the 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund and the 1199 Child Care Fund.

Other contract provisions:

• Job security
• Anniversary benefits
• Part-time employees who have worked full-time hours in a 26 period will become a full-time employee and eligible for the same benefits as full-time 1199 SEIU members.

Gary said, "There's still more work to do in order to have the best contract possible. By continuing to work together, we hope to be able to accomplish even more in the next round of contract negotiations."

Posted at http://www.seiu4.org/Members_to_vote_on_new_Help_At_Home_contract.aspx

Nearly 5,000 members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana employed by Help At Home (HAH) will vote on a historic new contract that that will pave the way for thousands more Help At Home workers across the country to join the union. The groundbreaking agreement marks the second home care contract in our union's history that provides workers the right to organize nationally. The first such agreement was reached by SEIU with Addus HealthCare, Inc., in 2005.  Members will be voting by mail ballot to ratify the contract over the next few weeks. 

Help At Home agreed to remain neutral in any organizing campaigns at their offices across the country--giving home care workers the freedom to join the union without interference. Uniting with thousands of Help At Home workers across the country will mean an even stronger voice to continue to improve working conditions, as well as the quality of care for homecare consumers.

The agreement also includes:
         •    health insurance for thousands of workers;
         •    a $1.05 per hour raise for home care aides and $1 per hour raise for CNAs ,   retroactive to July 1;
         •    an increase in mileage reimbursement pay
         •    pay for travel time and public transportation reimbursement;
         •    improvements in vacation and holiday language. 

"We won this agreement because home care workers stood together and wouldn't accept anything less than  a contract guaranteeing wage increases, health care and a stronger voice for home care workers across the country. This agreement shows the power of workers who are united to win a fair and just contract for the quality service we deliver to our consumers," said bargaining committee member Alberta Walker.

Walker said hundreds of members marched on Help At Home offices across the state, communicated with members at paycheck pickups and in-service meetings, filed a lawsuit against the company for not obeying the state's new minimum wage law, and filed unfair labor policy charges.

"This contract represents progress for hard working home care providers who are the backbone in the delivery of service to some of the most vulnerable citizens of our country - seniors and people with disabilities. I take my hat off to our members," said SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana president Keith Kelleher.

Earlier this year, SEIU Healthcare Illinois members fought for--and won--new funding for home care agencies to raise workers' wages and provide first-ever healthcare with HB 4144.