In union news this week...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1199SEIU's magazine and website www.1199seiu.org won numerous awards in this year's journalism contest sponsored by the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA), the professional organization for labor journalists. The contest was open to all labor media produced in North America in 2007 including labor print publications, websites and radio, television, and film productions.

1199SEIU--which represents 300,000 members and retirees in NY, MD, Wash., DC and MA--took home prizes in a total of eight categories, winning high honors for top-ranking U.S. local union website and local union publication with a circulation over 20,000, Our Life and Times magazine. The local's magazine also won the Saul Miller Award for Best Collective Bargaining Story for an article featured in the magazine's September issue about the importance of keeping unions strong, written by social worker Jim Gilbert. "Lessons Learned" narrates Gilbert's first-hand experience being forced out of his management position due to company downsizing after 28 years as an 1199er.

--> Read the entire listing of awards 1199SEIU took home this year.