Last week, we learned that the swift action by the President and Congress to pass an economic recovery package earlier this year helped stave off a global economic recession, put our economy back on the path of growth, and helped save hundreds of thousands of jobs.

SEIU was a major proponent of the economic recovery package and we believe we need to continue to make progress on a number of other economic initiatives to build long-term sustainable economic growth--these include passing meaningful financial reform, investing in green jobs, using public pension funds to build a 21st century infrastructure, and creating a new retirement system to protect our future.

Passing Meaningful Financial Reform
Anna Burger writes on New Deal 2.0 about the need to fundamentally change the way we value wealth and work in our country and act now on meaningful reforms to protect our families from future economic crises.

To build long-term economic progress we must:

• Create a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency to serve as a watchdog against predatory and reckless banking products;
• Crackdown on out of control executive pay that rewards short term risks over long term results;
• End too big to fail once and for all by separating commercial banking from investment banking and raising capital requirements back to levels that promote safe and sound banks;
• Empower shareholders to act on executive pay and break the excessive power of executive-controlled boards;
• Force banks to expand lending to small businesses and state and local governments to create jobs and save critical services;
• Demand banks stop foreclosures and help families keep their homes;
• Reregulate the shadow financial markets--including derivatives, hedge funds and private equity; and
• Investigate, and if necessary prosecute, the big banks and Wall Street for crashing our economy.

In case you missed it--more than 5,000 Americans from 20 states--converged on the American Bankers Association convention in Chicago to demand banks stop fighting reforms that would help protect our families from future crises. It was the beginning of a national movement to hold banks and Wall Street accountable for their reckless behavior.

Investing in Green Jobs
During the first meeting of the President's Economic Recovery Board, Anna Burger shared her perspective on how business, labor and government can work together towards creating a low-carbon, green economy and a movement into sustainable good, green jobs--citing the work SEIU and other Change to Win unions are already doing on the community and national level to lead the way on green initiatives.

SEIU members, community leaders and supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act rallied in San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento and Santa Rosa yesterday, arguing that a real economic stimulus package for California should make it easier for workers who want a union at work to have one. The events unveiled a new report from the Center for American Progress detailing how allowing workers more freedom to form unions would benefit California workers - and the state's economy. In California, wages for unionized workers were 12.7 percent higher--$2.74 dollars more per hour--than non-union workers with similar jobs during a four-year period between 2004 and 2007.

If unionization rates increased by just 5 percentage points from current levels, California workers would earn an estimated $3.7 billion more in wages per year. "Talk about a stimulus package?" commented Chris Benner, professor of regional economic development at UC Davis and SEIU ally, "This is close to $4 billion of added spending power in California!" States with low levels of unionization experienced almost twice as much job growth between 2001 and 2006 as those states with higher levels of unionization, according to a white paper published last year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to community leaders and experts, workers who belong to unions and or would like to join one shared their experiences about the benefits of unionization and the current obstacles in the way of workers. Members from SEIU Local 521 and Local 1021 also took part in yesterday's events advocating for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Joining a union is not only good for individual workers but it is good for the economy as a whole. As the national focus begins to shift from passage of the Economic Recovery Act to securing long-term solutions for rebuilding the middle class, it's not hard to see why workers want to join unions--wages go up, benefits go up, and working conditions improve.

As President Barack Obama neared the end of his FL town hall appearance today on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, news broke that the economic stimulus bill had successfully cleared the Senate by a vote of 61 to 37.

Now comes the hard part: reaching a deal with the House on the stimulus in time to meet Obama's goal of completing negotiations to get the legislation to his desk for his signature before the Presidents' Day recess on February 16. To help speed up the process, the leadership has opted for a very limited number of senators to be represented in the talks: Majority Leader Harry Reid; Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye. Conferencing for the GOP will be Sens. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance panel, and Thad Cochran, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee.

''I know Fort Myers had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last year,'' Obama said to his town hall audience Tuesday. ``I know entire neighborhoods are studded with foreclosure signs, and families across this city feel like they're losing their foothold in the American Dream...So we are going to do everything we can to help responsible homeowners here in Fort Myers and other hard-hit communities stay in their homes.''

SEIU to Conferees on Recovery Bill: Don't Shortchange Working People

Last week SEIU Local 1984 member Jess Paul was invited to share her story about how she was about to be laid off by the State of New Hampshire.

It happened to her and in today's economy, it could happen to you too if we don't stand together. SEIU members were with President Obama when he was a candidate for President and we're with him now that he is President. That's why our members are in Washington DC, lobbying their congressional representatives on the importance of passing the economic stimulus bill. Thousands of SEIU members this week are making calls, sending emails, and making visits to Capitol Hill to urge House-Senate conferees to complete work on a comprehensive economic plan for working people in America as quickly as they did to bail out Wall Street.

"Now is not the time to allow further job losses or cuts in vital public services, and now is not the time to draw arbitrary limits on the overall size of this legislation," SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger said, referring to differences between the House and Senate versions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that could mean an estimated 600,000 in additional job losses. Burger and SEIU President Andy Stern are calling on Congress and the administration to include in the economic recovery plan:

• significant relief to state and local governments to preserve and rebuild crucial services and good jobs, including the FMAP increase, state stabilization and education funding contained in the House bill;
  
• major spending on infrastructure projects that are ready to go and others that with help create jobs and bolster local communities in the long-term; and
  
• spending on innovations in training for health care and energy workers, sectors of our economy that are growing and sustainable and will lead to high-paying careers for workers competing in a global economy.

SEIU is also urging conferees to scale back tax provisions that add to the overall cost of the package but do not provide sufficient stimulus and do not provide targeted relief to working and middle-class families.

Find out more
* Details on the differences between the two stimulus packages
*Check out live blogging from the town hall at WhiteHouse.gov.
* Remarks of President Obama in Fort Myers.

Just one year ago, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent. Now it is 7.6 percent.

The job loss numbers released today by the Labor Department show employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January--the deepest cut in payrolls in a single month since December 1974. In the last 13 months alone, our economy has lost a total of 3.6 million jobs.

With more Americans having lost jobs in January than in any month in the past 34 years, there can be no sugar coating the grim numbers in this report.

My name is Jess Paul and I am a member of the State Employees' Association of New Hampshire, SEIU Local 1984. I work for the Division of Parks and Recreation where I help keep nearly 80 state parks running smoothly, serving as a liaison between field staff and the Department of Resources.

I love my job and I looked forward to going to work everyday but last month I was informed by the State of New Hampshire that due to insufficient funds, I would be laid off on February 12, 2009.

You never think that it could happen to you, but in today's economy it's getting harder and harder to know who's got your back.

That's why today I'm in Washington D.C. lobbying my U.S. Senators and urging them to vote for the Economic Recovery Act, which will provide the emergency financial help our states need so they won't have to balance the budget on the backs of workers.

But I can't do this by myself - after all, we're stronger together.

Please contact your U.S. Senator and ask them to support President Obama's Economic Recovery Act.  Click here to make a free call.

SEIU believes in rewarding work and in tune with motto, we're rolling out a new television ad campaign today in support of Senator Harry Reid's work on behalf of Nevada's working families.

The statewide cable ad, titled "Hard Work," highlights a few of the many issues Senator Reid has been spearheading on behalf of Nevada's families, including healthcare reform, investments in alternative energy, rebuilding our infrastructure and an economic recovery package that works for every American.

Sen. Reid has worked to bring Republicans and Democrats together to fix the economic mess that President Bush and his Wall Street cronies left working families as they rode into the sunset with billions in taxpayer-financed bonuses. "Our nation's economy is in a state of emergency. The costs of inaction are too steep. It is time to put the needs of the American people ahead of partisan politics," said Reid earlier this month.

Watch the tv ad (the first of the 2010 campaign) here:

Ad Buy Is First Of 2010 Campaign

Las Vegas - SEIU announced today that it has begun a new, aggressive television ad campaign in support of Senator Harry Reid's work on behalf of Nevada's working families. He has worked to bring Republicans and Democrats together to fix the economic mess that President Bush and his Wall Street cronies left working families as they rode into the sunset with billions in taxpayer-financed bonuses. Earlier this week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee went up with its first attack ad for Senator Reid's work to build a bipartisan recovery package that not only addresses the crisis and relieves the pain, but also lays the groundwork for a stronger and fairer future.

"The extreme right wing of the Republican leadership seem so stuck in the divisive politics of the past that they didn't get the memo of change American voters delivered in 2008," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. "They talk a big game about working together to fix our economy but they cannot hide their true obstructionist ways. Their first ad of the season is an attack ad on an economic recovery bill that every working family wants, every economist agrees we need and many of their own Republican Senators support."

The statewide cable ad, titled "Hard Work," highlights a few of the many issues Senator Reid has been spearheading on behalf of Nevada's families, including tax cuts, investments in alternative energy, an economic recovery package that works for every American and rebuilding our infrastructure.

"If Republicans keep this up, working families will vote in even more Democratic Senators in 2010 to ensure lobbyists and corporate insiders cannot stand in the way of rebuilding the American Dream," said Burger.

"Hard Work," produced by The New Media Firm, can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CiruWYUcjM.

The transcript follows:

VO: The economy is in trouble.

But our Senator, Harry Reid has been working with President Obama to put together an economic recovery package that will create jobs by investing in energy and transportation projects.

And Harry Reid is taking the lead to cut taxes for struggling middle class families.

Call Senator Reid and thank him for working to make sure Nevada gets our fair share - to get the economy moving again.

SEIU is responsible for the content of this advertising.

A Sign of Hope in Tough Economic Times, More Than 88,000 Workers United in SEIU in 2008 to Improve Their Lives and the Services They Deliver

WASHINGTON, DC--SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement regarding today's announcement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the percentage of American workers belonging to a union increased for a second consecutive year in 2008:

"More and more American workers are joining together in unions to claim a share in the prosperity they help to create, while working to improve the services they provide.

"Let this be a sign to those who would tell us that 'now is not the time' for workers have a voice at work: you're not fooling anyone. America's working families know that unions are still the best path to economic prosperity for workers in the U.S.

"In 2008, the American people said 'no' to enriching the few at the expense of the many; they expressed outrage at a Republican administration willing to bail out Wall Street with hard-earned tax dollars from Main Street. They elected a new President and Congress who have pledged to restore the America where prosperity is shared and hard work is rewarded.

"Looking ahead in 2009, working people are organizing and fighting for an economic recovery package that keeps people working, creates new jobs, and maintains vital services for our communities; affordable healthcare for all; and protections to ensure workers' right to choose freely whether and how to come together for a voice at work."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) annual union membership report, released today, shows that the share of workers belonging to a union rose in 2008. This is the largest growth rate on record since the data was first collected in 1983. Growth in SEIU--88,926 members--accounted for nearly 21 percent of the national growth.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement following President-elect Obama's speech on the economy at George Mason University:

"People keep trying to draw comparisons, but the truth is that this moment is like no other in history.

"For many, times have never been so tough. A failing economy and a broken healthcare system have put the squeeze on millions of families. Yet, people remain hopeful - excited about what could be.

"Yesterday, SEIU announced a huge 35-state effort to help Main Street by ensuring Change that Works through passage of an economic recovery package, passing comprehensive health care reform and ensuring workers have freedom to choose a voice at work. Our two million members agree with the urgency reinforced this morning by President-elect Obama that Congress must act now to address this crisis and relieve the pain for working families before a bad situation becomes dramatically worse.

"This is about saving jobs in cash-strapped states where the crucial services our families are counting on are being cut, such as Massachusetts, where one-quarter of caseworkers who help the mentally ill are being laid off. This is about getting people back to work by creating millions of new jobs where workers' voices are respected and where they earn wages and benefits that support a family. This is about investing in a stronger future by fixing our health care system so that keeping our families healthy poses no threat to our economic security and prosperity.

"If Congress needed just three weeks to pass a Wall Street bailout, then we should be able to count on our leaders to pass Main Street relief with as much urgency. Now is the time to make that change that works by getting our economy back on track and building a country where the dreams we have for our families and our children can come true."