SEIU Local 721 in southern California has launched a new website dedicated to exposing waste in government spending and improving the delivery of public services. The site is a part of the local's new Center for Public Accountability project, which also promotes protections for whistleblowers.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Local 721 calls for California's attorney general to investigate allegations that executives at the Tarzana Treatment Center may have diverted, or allowed the diversion of, up to $22 million in assets that could been used to help thousands of people overcome substance abuse, mental health issues, and HIV/AIDS. Visit www.AccountableCalifornia.org for more information.

Mental health care workers at the Brien Center in western Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly yesterday to unite together in SEIU Local 509. The local will now represent 350 workers throughout Berkshire County who provide outpatient services to 9,000 people with mental health challenges, including substance abuse and sexual abuse.

"Now we can have a stronger voice to guarantee that every client receives the best services possible," said Ginny Coppola, who works as a financial specialist. The 155-90 vote came one week after a group of workers met with MA Governor Deval Patrick to talk about client care, staff turnover, and management intimidation as workers sought to form a union.

"We now have the ability to advocate for necessary changes and collaborate with other community agencies to best serve our consumers and community," said Sarah Huntington, a child and adolescent clinician. Visit www.seiu509.org for more.

When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed early versions of the healthcare bill Tuesday, we weren't surprised. This is, after all, the same group that colorfully told the Associated Press it was "time to unload the powder and fill the musket" in their fight against health care reform. Call us cynical, but we didn't think they were planning on using that $100 million "campaign to defend the free market" on tea parties and Civil War reenactments.

The fact is, America's healthcare system is broken and all the right-wing continues to do is champion the status quo and purposely distort the reality of what fixing healthcare will mean to millions of American families. The Chamber's assault on the current bill is simply the latest in a string of attacks on common-sense healthcare reforms during the course of their existence. Here's our "Top 10."

Top 10 Historical Chamber Quotes Against Healthcare

10. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Denounced Patients' Bill of Rights As Special Interest Giveaway To Trial Lawyers. Bruce Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that 2001 of the Patients' Bill of Rights "should be called the Trial Lawyers' Right to Bill...adding new mandates and expanding liability will only serve to increase insurance costs and undermine employers' ability to offer this valuable benefit." [U.S. Chamber of Commerce Press Release, 6/12/01 ]

9. U.S. Chamber Spokesman Said OSHA Is a "Blatant Denial of Fundamental Fairness." When describing the structure of the Labor Department within the Executive Branch rather than the Judicial Branch of the government, Richard Berman, director of labor law for the United States Chamber of Commerce, said "This has a chilling effect on an employer's exercise of his right to appeal and is thus a blatant denial of fundamental fairness." [U.S. News & World Report, 11/24/75]

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vigorously Opposed Occupational Safety Regulations and "led the fight to defeat the 1968 bill." In an article written between the initial bill supported by President Johnson and the second bill, that passed, supported by President Nixon, the New York Times reported: "The first legislation providing for a comprehensive nationwide system of health and safety standards was proposed last year by President Johnson. Strongly supported by labor, the bill ran into immediate and vigorous opposition from industry, led by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States." [New York Times, 12/10/69; New York Times, 3/19/70]

8. U.S. Chamber President Called OSHA "An Abysmal Failure." In 1980, Richard L. Lesher, President of the U.S. Chamber of Congress, charged, "OSHA at best has been a major disappointment, at worst an abysmal failure." "To date, there has been no solid documentation that OSHA has yielded any gains in safety or health," said Lesher. [AP, 4/1/80]

7. U.S. Chamber Spokesman Compared Employer Mandates to Jumping on a "Runaway Train." In 1989, U.S. Chamber Spokesman Frederick J. Krebs was asked by the Washington Post about employer mandated coverage and said, "Health-care costs are out of control -- so being forced to provide these benefits is like being told to jump on a runaway train." [The Washington Post, 4/13/89]

6. Referring to Mental Health Parity Legislation, Chamber Officials Said Personal Tragedy is a "Poor Way to Make Legislation." Complaining that opposing Republicans on mental health parity legislation put them in an awkward position, Neil Trautwein, manager of health care policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, "It's tremendous to have someone with the stature of Pete Domenici or Alan Simpson get up and describe these personal tragedies, but it's often a poor way to make legislation," says Trautwein. "An emotional argument late in the night is not the way to make policy." [The Washington Post, 6/19/96]

We thought we'd save the best for last, so: be sure to read the "top 5" quotes, after the break.

By overwhelming margins, California voters rejected the false solutions on the special election ballot in the May 19th statewide election, sending Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature back to the drawing board. SEIU members helped defeat several propositions that would have hobbled the state's public services with devastating cuts to community-based mental health services, health care, education and child welfare. Voters rejected a permanent cap on public service spending by a margin of two to one.

"The defeat of Proposition 1E sends a clear message to Sacramento to create a balanced budget that preserves cost-effective mental health services that save taxpayers' money in the long run." Akbar Chatman, substance abuse counselor and SEIU 721 member.

What was on the ballot: Prop. 1A put caps on funding for public services, using low-funded crisis years as the baseline, and also greatly enhanced the Governor's power to make mid-year budget cuts to pretty much any department without having to ask the Legislature. SEIU also opposed Prop. 1D and 1E, which raided children's health and mental health funds. By defeating Proposition 1E in particular, union members helped prevent more than $460 million in cuts to vital mental health services--and protect the successful Mental Health Services Act approved by California voters five years ago.

SEIU members in California joined with clients, families, workers, advocates, and community leaders in the effort to defeat Prop. 1A , 1D and 1E, making phone calls to thousands of SEIU members, participating in the May 13 rallies in downtown Los Angeles and outreach to members at their worksites and online. And their hard work paid off by a wide margin: 65.9 percent of voters said "no" to Prop. 1A, 65.8 percent rejected Proposition 1D and 66.4 percent voted "no" on Proposition 1E. Read more about the election results in the San Francisco Chronicle.

At a rally held at the downtown Los Angeles state building on May 13th, SEIU Local 721 members and community advocates gathered to show support for mental health services and oppose the May 19 ballot measure, Proposition 1E. Prop. 1E would cut nearly $500 million from community-based mental health services and shred innovative programs that provide more than 600,000 Californians with a fresh chance at better lives.

At last Wednesday's rally, Local 721 member Ron Ruiz, a part of LA County's mental health care team, shared his view on how Prop 1E would hurt quality mental health services:

In 2004, the citizens of California voted to pass the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), legislation that was intended to take a new pro-active approach to improve mental health services for the state's most historically marginalized and vulnerable population. Now Gov. Schwarzenegger and state legislators want to shift $460 million in mental health funding over the next two years into the state's general budget fund instead, to help balance the state's budget deficit.

Mental health workers and advocates throughout California oppose Prop. 1E because it will strip funding for vital community-based mental health services on which hundreds of thousands of Californians rely. Watch SEIU Local 721 mental health worker Joel Solis speak out about the impact of Prop 1E on his clients and urge California voters to vote NO on this ballot measure:

When it comes to saving money and cutting costs, mental health is an area on which compromise should not happen. Help build support to save mental health services in California by signing SEIU's online petition.

Get the facts: Learn more about the cost of mental health cuts and see the SEIU California State Council's May 19th Ballot Recommendations.

Workers and community members from Santa Clara County rallied on Tuesday, May 12, to urge the Board to preserve critical county services. What's at stake: a $140 million reduction in public services and some 340 county workers--nurses, mental health counselors, social services workers--who will be affected either by losing their jobs, having their job changed, or reduced work hours.

The crowd of over a hundred people--members from SEIU Local 521, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Momentum for Mental Health, and other non-profit organizations--gathered just before county officials met for a budget workshop. "We are translators and community workers who link the community with county services," said Rosemary Romo, a Public Health Assistant. "How many administrators are going to sit down and talk with clients who have a mental illness? How many administrators can speak the diverse languages of this community? If we need to cut, start cutting from the top."

Check out the photo slideshow from the rally:

One personal story that captures the essence of what county government was created to do comes from Andreine Golden, who was rescued from the brink seven years ago. Read her story here . More from SEIU Local 521.

More than 200 community members joined elected officials, mental health advocacy organizations, and SEIU Local 1021 members at a forum last night to discuss the future of community mental health services in Sonoma County, CA. The forum comes just weeks before California residents will vote on a May 19 ballot measure that, if passed, would strip hundreds of millions in funding from mental health services across the state.

If passed, Prop. 1E will raid Prop. 63 funding guarantees for mental health services to the tune of $460 million over two years. "We're working bare-bones as it is," said Local 1021 member Diane Murphy, who is a client support assistant for Sonoma County Mental Health. "We're not replacing staff who have retired or left. The workload has just doubled. So a unified voice is really, really needed right now to stand up for mental health services and the mentally ill." (More facts on Prop. 1E here)

Help build support for mental health services and preserve funding and hope for people struggling with mental illness by signing the online petition now:

Don't Raid Mental Health! Vote No on Prop 1E