A scuffle erupted between protesters and the police on Thursday, after several hundred union members and activists finished a rally against Governor Luis Fortuño outside El Conquistador hotel, where the Governor held a conference with business companies on public-private partnerships. The hotel resort is in Fajardo, a town east of San Juan to which the Governor arrived by helicopter to avoid the protest.

Check out photos from the protest:

Coalition Todo Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico picketed on Oct. 22, 2009 outside a meeting Gov. Fortuño had with business companies to discuss the privatization of public projects and agencies.

Rally participants from coalition Todo Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico and journalists were pushed by the police riot squad in Fajardo, with police officers claiming the protest was already finished and some "troublemakers" did not want to leave the premises. The protest was called to condemn the nearly 20,000 layoffs of public employees--which includes over 7,000 members of SEIU Local 1996SPT--by Gov. Fortuño's administration, and his initiatives for the private sector to take services and state project.

President of SPT-SEIU Robert Pagan said his union is in talks with the Obama administration to discuss federal economic stimulus funds given to Puerto Rico being used to lay-off public employees.

Next week, the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) are congregating at the Sheraton in downtown Chicago for their annual conference, with appearances by conservative Republican commentators Newt Gingrich and George Will. During the three-day conference, SEIU, Action Now, National People's Action, and dozens of other activist organizations will hold a series of events highlighting the growing discontent with big banks and their over-reliance on greed and profits at taxpayers' expense.

On the Huffington Post, SEIU's Anna Burger discusses why progressives won't be letting the banksters party in peace this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Chicago:

The financial section of the newspaper is starting to read like the script for a far-fetched crime movie. A group of villains hatch a plot to steal trillions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans. They drive the country into economic chaos, funnel money from families and small businesses into their own pockets, then leave all of us to clean up their mess. And not only do they get away with it, they pay themselves billion dollar bonuses and throw lavish parties to celebrate their conquest.

But this isn't a movie, it's really happening. Wall Street bankers have taken $17.8 trillion of our tax dollars through bailouts and turned them into massive pay and bonuses for themselves. Goldman Sachs alone is expected to pay more than $23 billion just in bonuses this year; that's more than $43,000 a minute, every minute.

So, my question to you is: if you could get all the architects of this scam together in one place, what would you say to them?

Hurry up and decide, because they're all getting together in Chicago this weekend -- and we're headed there to meet them.

The big bank execs are gathering in the Windy City for the American Bankers Association conference. It's a four day celebration of wealth and opulence; some of the items on the agenda include a roaring 1920s swing dancing party, a luxurious riverboat cruise, and celebrity appearances from Newt Gingrich and George Will. And it's all funded with our tax dollars.

Read the rest of Anna's piece on Huffington Post here.

Full report on ABA's actions to lobby against financial reform here. Check out the schedule of the three days of actions in Chicago here, as well as after the break.

Imagine, if you would for a minute, living in a world where the average worker's salary was higher than the average financial industry employee's annual bonus.

Now you may scoff at such an absurd-sounding statement in today's economic climate, but it's no joke. In 1985, the average annual salary for all workers across the country was, if you can believe this, actually several thousand dollars higher than the average bonus: $19,000 to $13,970. [Disclaimer: I am not making this fact up, it just seems that way].

Over twenty-five years later, the average Wall Street bonus has soared almost 14 times higher. The ratio between average CEO pay and average U.S. worker pay is 319 to 14--meaning that the average worker's salary has essentially been stagnant since the mid-1980s.

It's gotten so bad that bonuses at many bailed out banks greatly outpace the amount of profit generated by the banks. For example, while Goldman Sachs earned $2.3 billion last year and received $10 billion in TARP funds, they paid out $4.8 billion in bonuses--an amount that is more than double their net income. Goldman Sachs has set aside more than $16 billion for bonuses, and big banks that were bailed out by taxpayers have set aside a record $140 million for 2009 salary and bonuses.

The reality is that skyrocketing CEO pay and bonuses have not slowed since our economic crisis hit.

Other facts and figures on wage inequality for Main Street vs. Wall Street that may make your eyes bug out like the crazy but lovable red-headed germ-a-phobic teacher Emma on hit TV show Glee:

• As of 2007, the top ten percent of American earners brought in 49.7 percent of total wages. This is the highest share of total U.S. income made up by the top 10 percent of earners in almost a hundred years, including during the Great Depression.
• During the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two-thirds of income growth.
• Today, the average CEO today makes in one day what the average worker is paid in a year.
• The amount the top five executives at each of the 20 banks that accepted the most federal bailout money received in personal compensation from 2006 to 2008: $32 billion.
• A quarter-billion dollars: The total amount of compensation the 20 CEOs at these bailed-out companies made. When you break it down, the payout "rewarded" to each exec averages $13.8 million.

And last, but certainly not least, there are banksters who claim that big banks using taxpayer funds to pay out massive bonuses and create massive inequality is actually a good thing for the economy.

Don't believe me? Watch this, starting at around 2:50:

Goldman Sachs's Griffiths Says Pay 'Inequality' Helps Everyone

Yesterday the Federal Reserve announced a plan to cut executive pay by as much as 90 percent for CEOs at the seven biggest TARP recipients--companies like Bank of America, Citibank and AIG who have received hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts since their risky deals brought the economy to its knees last year. It's a good start, but it still leaves dozens of other banks that are still taking billions in tax dollars and paying out huge bonuses to their top execs.The sweeping move by the Fed comes right before the bankers' association meeting in Chicago from the 25th through the 27th, where thousands are going to gather in the largest demonstration against bank greed since the financial meltdown began.

This past week, while much of D.C. has been focused on the healthcare mark-up (us included), we've also been tracking a few other stories that we wanted to bring to your attention. First--the encouraging news that Massachusetts will return to full representation and the Democrats in Congress to a cloture-proof majority. Also, don't miss two stories on SEIU's calls for financial reform and a questionable award choice from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Keep reading for all of this week's stories...

60 Senators. SEIU and our allies welcome the newly appointed Senator Paul Kirk to represent Massachusetts in the interim before the January special election. In a statement released today, Andy Stern applauded the choice of Senator Kirk and the leadership of Governor Patrick: "The Governor and the Legislature showed real leadership to move swiftly and ensure that one of Senator Kennedy's last requests is fulfilled and the Bay State has a full say in helping move America forward. Paul Kirk will be a strong voice for the hard working families and communities of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts needed more than a placeholder in the U.S. Senate and the Governor has given his citizens a leader who will get to work fighting for the change working families need on healthcare reform, rebuilding our economy, and providing new financial protections for consumers." More here.

Banks Leave Taxpayers on the Hook for $17.8 Trillion. On Wednesday during a call with reporters, SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger and Assistant to the President Stephen Lerner released a new report that details the impact that the economic crisis has had on working families. According to the report, once all crisis-related programs are factored in, taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $17.8 trillion to rescue the big banks. You can view the report here. The rest of the rest of the blog post on the report here.

New Round of Protests Target Banks. SEIU and a growing chorus of voices once again spoke out against banks for trying to block financial reforms after receiving billions of taxpayer dollars. As Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger put it, "They're back to their old tricks and the same practices that caused this crisis in the first place...They're getting bailed out and normal people are losing."

Dozens of SEIU members and activists rallied outside a secret meeting of the Financial Services Roundtable, a group of 90 companies in the finance and insurance industry who received hundreds of billions in taxpayer bailouts and then used that money to lobby against needed corporate reforms. "We need to demand that banks use their resources and power to fix the economy and not make it worse," said Stephen Lerner, Special Assistant to SEIU President Andy Stern.

A series of protests around the county will lead up to the largest demonstration in Chicago between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27 at a meeting of the American Bankers Association. Read the full story from The Hill here. Click here to learn about upcoming actions to hold corporate barons and banks accountable.

The U.S. Chamber's Puzzling Definition of "Corporate Citizenship." Each fall, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce honors member organizations with its "Corporate Citizenship Award" as a way of recognizing contributions to communities. Unfortunately for the U.S. Chamber, the award is blind to a multitude of misdeeds committed by honorees. Indeed, for two years running, the U.S. Chamber has selected companies rife with problems. This year, the US Chamber chose to give this award to Aramark, a firm notorious for refusing to recognize its employees' voices. Read more about Aramark's bad record on employee relations and more on their relationship with the US Chamber here.

There are a plethora of problems with the lack of transparency in lobbying, with one of the most prominent being that lobbyist disclosure laws only require that lobbyists report back on which branch of government or department they've met with. They don't have to list who they met with, what bill or issue they discussed, or even what position they are taking towards the aforementioned bill or issue.

Timothy Geithner's first act as Treasury Secretary was to restrict contact between lobbyists and Treasury officials "in connection with applications for, or disbursements of," TARP funds. However, these rules do not address the larger problem that firms receiving millions of TARP assistance continue to lobby against the interests of hard working taxpayers. TARP recipients spent $114 million on lobbying last year as the financial crisis emerged. In total, bailout recipients that continued to spend money on lobbying spent over $14 million dollars over the three month period of October to December 2008---all this right as the TARP funds were being distributed.

Dave Johnson, a fellow at the Commonwealth Institute, gives some detail about the political activities of these corporations:

"TARP recipients are currently lobbying against compensation caps at companies receiving TARP, against increasing bank regulation - and even against increased oversight of the use of TARP funds in the TARP Reform and Accountability Act! They are also lobbying against the Arbitration Fairness Act, the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act and the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights and the Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act!"

Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, these bailout corporation are instead using their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors--us.

When the CEOs of eight bailed out banks went in front of Congress to answer questions about how they used hundreds of billions in taxpayers' money in early February of this year, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis admitted he thinks it's in "the best interest" of Bank of America to spend money lobbying against economic recovery legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation allows a majority of workers to decide if they want a union, which results in increased income and benefits for working people---thereby enabling them to make their credit card and mortgage payments.

Since that time, a number of other TARP recipients including AIG, Citigroup and Burger King have followed Bank of America's path to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. This really should be a no-brainer: if you're receiving massive taxpayer subsidies, you shouldn't be able to turn around with that money and actively lobby against measures that would improve the lives of very same people that work within the company and other hardworking Americans struggling to keep afloat.

Dave Johnson spells out how this kind of lobbying may have contributed to our country's economic downfall:

"Use of corporate funds to influence our government is a larger problem than just this current misuse of TARP. In fact, this BofA and other companies' use of TARP funds to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act supports an argument that the current economic crisis is a result of corporate lobbying. A corporate-funded assault on government has resulted in de-legislation and deregulation, enriching a few at the expense of the rest of us, while eroding the foundations of our economy and our democracy. Now the public has been harvested in one scheme after another, plundered for every dollar as incomes stagnated, debt skyrocketed and savings fell. Consumption fell off the cliff as the work- and debt-load tapped out people's ability to participate in the economy. The resulting crisis has led to taxpayer dollars propping them all up."

In his address to state legislators today, President Obama renewed his administration's commitment to enforce much tighter lobbying disclosure for recovery funds, saying "these are unprecedented restrictions that will help ensure that lobbyists don't stand in the way of our recovery." This is a step in the right direction, although implementation of these restrictions will be the key to real change here. Americans need an enforceable guarantee that companies receiving billions from taxpayers will not lobby or otherwise influence legislation.

"You knew what the banks were doing, and yet were touting it for months and months. The entire network was." -- Jon Stewart

In an interview last week with CNBC's Jim Cramer, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart cut through the bull and did what few others in the traditional media were willing to do: expose CNBC's strategy of climbing in bed with the CEOs who created this financial crisis, instead of asking tough questions and reporting the truth.



Cramer is not the broadcast news station's only offender by far: reporter Erin Burnett is a repeat offender of relentlessly spouting Wall Street talking points on Meet the Press. Adam Green describes NBC's "Erin Burnett Problem" at the Huffington Post, giving this recent example of her 'reporting' from last week:

This morning, on Morning Joe, for no apparent reason, [Erin] blurted out, "I'm going to throw this out there, it's just a question..." and then went on a long rant about "the whole question about unemployment benefits themselves." As in, should they even exist?

After all, she pointed out, they don't have them in China (the epitome of a pro-worker country). She asked, "Does that encourage people in places like China to go get jobs more quickly rather than waiting to exhaust their unemployment benefits?"

You can't even make this kind of stuff up.

Responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable has been sorely lacking from this once-credible broadcast news giant, who in recent months has seemed to be doing PR for Wall Street--instead of investigating and debunking lies to report the behind-the-scenes facts the public needs to know.

From the "Fix CNBC" website:

You've been so obsessed with getting "access" to failed CEOs that you willfully passed on misinformation to the public for years, helping to get us into the economic crisis we face today. You screwed up badly.

Don't apologize - fix it!

CNBC should publicly declare that its new overriding mission will be responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable. As a down payment, we ask you to hire some new economic voices - people who have a track record of being right about the economic crisis and holding Wall Street executives' feet to the fire.

The momentum to pressure CNBC to hold Wall Street accountable has been building at a rapid rate. Since launching yesterday at 12:15 p.m., the open letter at www.FixCNBC.com has gathered over 17,000 signatures from leading progressives and economists demanding that the network publicly change its mission to focus more on Wall Street accountability.

Americans need CNBC to do strong, watchdog journalism--don't you agree? Click here to sign the "Fix CNBC" open letter.

It looks like even beloved Muppet characters Bert and Ernie aren't safe in this economic chaos, as Sesame Workshop, the non-profit producer of Sesame Street, announced Wednesday it is laying off one-fifth of its 355-member workforce.

Declaring it is "not immune to the unprecedented challenges of today's economic environment," the company pronounced a need "to operate with fewer resources in order to achieve our strategic priorities." The statement reiterated the organization's mission "of helping children reach their highest potential here and around the globe."

According to the Financial Times, Sesame Street was pummeled just as hard as Main Street by the collapse of Wall Street. Why? Because some of the non-profit's biggest program funding came from fallen giants Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. The Workshop's investment portfolio suffered a $9.27-million loss in 2008, while net assets tumbled by $6.7 million.

Although there has been no shortage of heart-wrenching reports of joblessness that have resulted from the economic crisis, this is truly humbling news when you consider what a difference Sesame Street--and all its colorful characters--has made in the lives of the 120 million children it has reached throughout its 40-year history. Let's hope this literacy-building organization will be able to weather this storm and keep on teaching children their ABCs for a long to come.

Flickr photo courtesy of space.Boy, under Creative Commons license.

We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured.

Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive.

The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in Tennessee than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen more than 5 times faster than wages. With 7.9% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: Tennessee's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in Tennessee increased by 61.9% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 12.1%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for Tennessee was only $25,639, but the average health care premium for a family was $10,606. This means that premiums grew 5.1 times faster than wages.


• In Tennessee, approximately 1,301,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 87% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 1,133,000 Tennessee residents with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 333,000 spend more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that Tennessee families will have to pay close to $19,400 for health care or over 44 percent of median household income. This would represent a 70 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more Tennessee residents have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive individual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 241,183 Tennessee residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of almost 90,000 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by over 2.9 percentage points.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 384,425 people in Tennessee will be unemployed by 2010. 48.35% of insured Tennessee residents depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 69,259 Tennessee workers will lose their current health coverage, meaning that 28,684 more people will likely enroll in COBRA. That leaves 40,611 people who will have to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• This year Tennessee faces a $1.4 billion budget shortfall. As of 2007, 29% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $7.5 billion went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 126,186 uninsured children in Tennessee, and more than 714,361 uninsured adults. 276,378 of uninsured adults in Tennessee also live below the Federal Poverty Line. Tennessee's economy lost as much as $3.57 billion because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates to $4,000 per uninsured Tennessee resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of Tennessee, 3 of them are Healthcare Providers. According to the US Census, 209,949 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $3,886 per month, which accounts for $1.0 billion in wages per month.

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild Tennessee's economy.

We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured. Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive. The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in North Dakota than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen more than twice as fast as wages. With 3.5% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: North Dakota's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in North Dakota increased by 74.3% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 26.4%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for North Dakota was only $24,255, but the average health care premium for a family was $10,674. This means that premiums grew 2.8 times faster than wages.


• In North Dakota, approximately 155,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 89% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 138,000 North Dakotans with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 48,000 spent more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that North Dakota families will have to pay around $20,000 for health care or over 41 percent of median household income. This would represent an 76 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more North Dakotans have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive individual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 12,848 North Dakota residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of over 1,078 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by over .3 percentage points.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 14,025 people in North Dakota will be unemployed by 2010. 66% of insured North Dakotans depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 630 North Dakota workers will lose their current health coverage, meaning that 235 more people will likely enroll in COBRA. That leaves 395 people who will have to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• As of 2007, 14% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $513 million of North Dakota's budget went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 14,305 uninsured children in North Dakota, and more than 53,677 uninsured adults. 16,927 of uninsured adults in North Dakota also live below the Federal Poverty Line. North Dakota's economy lost as much as $269 million because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates $4,400 per uninsured North Dakota resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of North Dakota, 8 of them are Healthcare Providers. According to the US Census, almost 42,000 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $3,264 per month, which accounts for $137 million in wages per month.

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild North Dakota's economy.

We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured.

Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive.

The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in Iowa than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen almost 4 times faster than wages. With 4.6% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: Iowa's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in Iowa increased by 72.6% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 18.5%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for Iowa was only $26,247, but the average health care premium for a family was $11,194. This means that premiums grew 3.9 times faster than wages.


• In Iowa, approximately 701,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre- tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 91% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 638,000 Iowans with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 172,000 spend more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that Iowa families will have to pay over $21,000 for health care or over 39 percent of median household income. This would represent a 76 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more Iowans have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive ndividual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 77,080 Iowa residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of over 13,100 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by 0.8 percentage points.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 92,989 people in Iowa will be unemployed by 2010. 59% of Iowans depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 9,126 Iowa workers will lose their current health coverage, meaning that 3,182 more people will likely enroll in COBRA. That leaves 5,944 people who will have to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• This year Iowa faces a $134 million budget shortfall, and has already depleted its budget stabilization rainy day fund. As a result, the state has instituted a hiring freeze on public employees. As of 2007, 17% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $2.6 billion went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 41,361 uninsured children in Iowa, and 248,817 uninsured adults. 89,178 of uninsured adults in Iowa also live below the Federal Poverty Line. Iowa's economy lost as much as $1.2 billion because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates $4,335 per uninsured Iowa resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of Iowa, 4 are Healthcare Providers. According to the US Census, 142,870 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $3,256 per month, which accounts for $466 million in wages per month.

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild Iowa's economy.

We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured.

Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive.

The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in Florida than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen more than three times faster than wages. With 8.1% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: Florida's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in Florida increased by 72.0% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 20.2%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for Florida was only $27,353, but the average health care premium for a family was $11,720. This means that premiums grew 3.6 times faster than wages.


• In Florida, approximately 3,873,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 79.7% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 3,087,000 Florida residents with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 883,000 spend more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that Florida families will have to pay close to $22,400 for health care or over 43 percent of median household income. This would represent a 76 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more Florida residents have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive individual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 751.753 Florida residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of over 336,000 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by over 1 percentage point.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 1,360,143 people in Florida will be unemployed by 2010. 46.38% of insured Florida residents depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 282,168 Florida workers will lose their current health coverage, meaning that 121,678 more people will likely enroll in COBRA. That leaves 160,490 people who will have to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• This year Florida faces a $5.7 billion budget shortfall, and as a result, the state government has implemented a hiring freeze on state employees. As of 2007, 20% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $14.6 billion went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 843,006 uninsured children in Florida, and more than 2,840,918 uninsured adults. 1,190,935 of uninsured adults in Florida also live below the Federal Poverty Line. Florida's economy lost as much as $14.55 billion because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates $4,000 per uninsured Florida resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of Florida, 4 of them are Healthcare Providers. According to the US Census, 814,904 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $3,876 per month, which accounts for about $3.2 billion in wages per month.

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild Florida's economy.

We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured.

Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive.

The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in California than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen 5 times faster than wages. 9.3% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: California's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in California increased by 95.8% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 19.3%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for California was only $30,702, but the average health care premium for a family was $12,194. This means that premiums grew 5.0 times faster than wages.


• In California, approximately 6,555,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 77.25% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 5,064,000 Californians with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 1,321,000 spend more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that California families will have to pay close to $25,500 for health care or over 41 percent of median household income. This would represent a 90.3 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more Californians have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive individual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 1,731,800 California residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of over 652,000 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by over 3 percentage points.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 2,778,504 people in California will be unemployed by 2010. 48.35% of insured Californians depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 506,110 California workers will lose their current health coverage.


• While 209,349 people will likely enroll in COBRA, which lets workers who lose their jobs continue their health benefits at their own expense, the high cost of COBRA will force an estimated 296,761 people to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• This year California faces a $35.9 billion budget shortfall. As a result, the state has already proposed cuts that will cause more than 429,000 adults to lose health coverage. As of 2007, 19% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $35.4 billion went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 1,232,218 uninsured children in California, and more than 5,360,938 uninsured adults. 1,780,823 of uninsured adults in California also live below the Federal Poverty Line. California's economy lost as much as $32 billion because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates $4,900 per uninsured California resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of California, 1 of them is a Healthcare Provider. According to the US Census, 1,172,614 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $4,320.26 per month, which accounts for $5.06 billion in wages per month.

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild California's economy.

Update, 6:15 pm: President Obama asked Andy Stern to share his thoughts on the importance of fixing health care during the closing session of the summit. Video of their exchange is below.

The first-ever Fiscal Responsibility Summit is wrapping up right now at the White House. Advisors at the highest levels of the Obama administration hosted members of Congress as well as leaders from a wide range of organizations to discuss solutions to long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation.

President Obama and Vice President Biden opened the event with remarks that made one thing clear: solving the economic crisis means fixing our broken health care system.

The vice president said the recent struggles Americans have faced only serve to remind us of the urgency of our long-term goals:

We will not lose sight of the need to tackle unmet needs for health care reform, to deal with the energy policy that we need, and so many other challenges that are going to determine what the 21st century looks like.

The president echoed those sentiments, going so far as to identify "the rising cost of health care [as the] single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far."

That theme will be repeated again and again during the breakout discussions; the White House has even devoted an entire session to the importance of health care reform for fixing our economy.

SEIU President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger are among the attendees at the event, representing the millions of SEIU members and activists leading the grassroots movement for health care across the country.

Andy Stern has posted updates from the summit on Twitter, and his latest tweet sums it all up nicely:

@SEIU_AndyStern: health care is a go!

This holiday season alone, hundreds of members and activists recruited through SEIU hosted house meetings on health care. In this same spirit, thousands of SEIU members will make calls, send emails, and set up lobby visits this week to urge Congress to act as swiftly on real economic recovery for working people in America as they did to bail out Wall Street.

Independent policy experts warn that due to the widening economic crisis, billions in crucial public services may be cut at a time when people affected by the recession rely on them more than ever. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states are facing severe budget shortfalls this year and next that represent up to 25 percent of their general fund budgets.

SEIU members provide crucial public services--healthcare, senior services, and public safety--to a growing number of people most affected by the economic crisis and looming state budget cuts. These cuts would come at a time when local communities already feel the ripple effect of reduced spending by the people who work in these jobs providing care for our parents, our children, and ourselves.

Meanwhile, surging healthcare costs are already threatening millions of families with bankruptcy and putting others at risk of losing their homes. According to a recent Harvard University study, medical crises contribute to half of all home foreclosures and could put as many as 1.5 million Americans at risk of losing their homes each year.

"People are excited about Obama's inauguration, but they are worried about losing their own jobs, their healthcare, their ability to retire, their homes, losing their way of life for their kids. These fears are real and they are urgent, because leading economists say that without significant aid to states our economy is going to plunge deeper into recession," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

Burger and SEIU President Andy Stern recently sent letters to Congress and the Obama transition team describing the elements of an economic recovery plan that would work for working people, including:

• significant relief to state and local governments to preserve and rebuild crucial services and good jobs
• major spending on infrastructure projects that are shovel-ready and others that with help create jobs and bolster local communities in the long-term; and
• spending on innovations in the health care and energy sectors to restore our economic competitiveness and put us on a sustainable path.

SEIU members are pressing for the economic recovery package as the first part of a wider campaign, Change That Works, designed to bring economic solutions to Main Street, including efforts to fix the nation's healthcare system and ensure workers have a voice on the job. This groundbreaking campaign will be unveiled on a telephone press conference today at 1:30 p.m. EST (more details here).

SEIU will also be holding a live chat with bloggers and activists about Change That Works tomorrow Thursday, January 8 at 4:15 p.m., which can be viewed live on www.SEIU.org/livechat -- don't forget to tune in!

SEIU Leader Shares First-hand Experiences Trying to Organize Detroit Fast Food Workers in the 1980s

In 1980, the United Labor Unions set out to organize employees at Detroit fast food chains in the hopes of sparking a nationwide movement to unionize the workforce in this fast-growing industry. As a rookie organizer working on the campaign, I learned firsthand what is at stake when workers stand up for better wages, healthcare, and a voice on the job.

We started with a Burger King franchise in Detroit's Greyhound station. While the drive was a challenge, the spark spread between employees as they encouraged each other to join the union and stand up to their managers. Greyhound Food Management ran a tough campaign to keep workers from organizing -- threatening some, making promises to others -- but didn't succeed. By a margin of just one vote, the Burger King employees opted to create a union.

Encouraged by our victory, we shifted our focus to three McDonald's franchises on Detroit's North Side. The employees were struggling with all kinds of issues -- minimum wage violations, sexual harassment, unfair scheduling, and health and safety issues ranging from grill burns to meat slicer injuries. Fed up and fired up, they decided to organize a union and won overwhelming support from their co-workers. Nothing could stop them.

Or so they thought.

This morning, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial focusing on the uninsured and the incoming Obama Administration:

"So far, Obama is making all the right moves. Most important, he appears to be sticking to his first-year timetable - economic crisis or not."

The editorial lauds the nomination of former Senator Tom Daschle, stating that it's an indication that "the new administration plans to move boldly." Daschle, the piece states, is "well-versed in the ways of Congress, where Obama's reform will rise or fall," and that Daschle's plan to expand coverage while pulling the reins on health costs is a "workable strategy."

The piece also commends Obama on the health care meet-ups that have been taking place. Calling them a "smart move," the paper says that by "sampling public input on health care reform," the incoming administration will be able to "incorporate ideas from the grassroots" and learn from the "top-down" model that "helped sidetrack Clinton-era reform efforts."

The editorial board's conclusion?

"A can-do spirit and sense of urgency from a president-elect who wants 'change' are the best things America's uninsured have going for them."

You can read the full editorial at the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

SEIU President Andy Stern will be on the Ed Schultz show today, at 12:30 ET today. You can click here to listen to him live and discuss the nation's current economic crisis.

UPDATE: It's over, we'll try to have the audio for you when they've posted it.

*Media Advisory for Wed., Nov. 19*

Head of nation's largest union of health care workers, leading advocate for reform to address powerful Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Max Baucus

WASHINGTON, DC - With pressure building to address the nation's ailing health care system, SEIU International President Andy Stern will offer testimony on the combined impact of the health care and economic crisis on working families and call for comprehensive health care reform at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance at 10AM Wednesday, November 19. With two million members, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is the largest labor union for health care workers in the country and has been a leading voice in the effort to win quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

WHAT: SEIU Testimony at "Health Care Reform: An Economic Perspective"

WHO: Andy Stern, SEIU International President

WHEN: 10AM Wednesday, November 19, 2008

WHERE: 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Capitol Hill

Wednesday's hearing is the latest in a series of hearings on health care reform held by the Senate Committee on Finance. The hearing comes on the heels of a revealing analysis by the New America Foundation entitled "The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why the Cost of Failing to Fix Our Health System is Greater than the Cost of Reform," showing average rising health care premiums outpacing wage increases and a trend that will result in "Americans continu[ing] to pay more for less-generous health coverage; and fewer employers offer[ing] health insurance to their workers."