Home care providers, seniors, and people with disabilities prevailed in federal court yesterday, securing a preliminary injunction to stop cuts to essential home care for 130,000 Californians. We've been following this fight for several months now, and it's such amazing news for home care workers and those they care for that this ruling will put a stop to these devastating cuts.

Watch SEIU's Deb Roth recap the ruling from Judge Wilkins:

The planned budget cuts of $82.1 million in services were scheduled to take place November 1, and would've resulted in 40,000 people losing IHSS services entirely and an additional 90,000 having their services slashed.

Over the last week and a half, SEIU Locals in California, New York and Oregon have reached new or tentative contract agreements that will benefit nearly 13,000 workers. Contract highlights include lessening the impact of budget cuts on workers' jobs and pocketbooks, and wage and benefit increases.

CALIFORNIA
Largest Vote in SEIU Riverside History leads to Contract Agreement
Roughly 6,000 public service workers of SEIU Local 721 reached a contract agreement with Riverside County on September 1, ending a five-month-long negotiation process. Union members overwhelmingly voted 93 percent to approve a one-year ratified agreement, making this the largest ratification vote in SEIU's history in Riverside County. With the new contract, members gain overtime rights, limited furloughs and a fairness agreement among all county employees. More details here.

Calexico City Employees Win Huge Victory
California City Employees who are members of SEIU Local 221 won a huge victory this week, pushing back on budget cuts proposed by the Calexico City Council that would have made drastic cuts to pay and benefits, along with implementing 18 furlough days. The City Council listened as members found other cost-saving measures the council could use to fill their budget gap instead of making up the difference on the backs of workers. This victory was a real demonstration that when members stand up for themselves, positive change can happen. Read more.

2,600 Workers at Stanford University ratify new contracts w/ wage, benefit increases
Members of SEIU Local 2007 ratified a new five-year contract on September 3 that includes a 12.5 percent wage increase, preserves jobs and increases training by implementing an apprenticeship program with the trades. According to BNA Daily Labor Report, the jointly-developed apprenticeship program--$120,000 of which Stanford will fund--will allow workers to move up the career leader in their fields (such as electricians) as well as provide the kind of training which would give them the opportunity to move to a different career.

1,450 SEIU-UHW hospital workers at the Palo Alto facilities, Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new two-year contract on August 28 that offers 4 percent wage increases and ratification bonuses. Stanford employees had been working for several years without a contract, and bargaining had been stalled by management. More details on the victory at SEIU-UHW's website here.

NEW YORK
Workers at Presbyterian Senior Care Centers Overwhelmingly Ratify New Labor Agreement
Approximately 270 1199SEIU workers employed by Presbyterian Senior Care at its two facilities, Harbour Multicare Center and Hawthorn Multicare Center, overwhelming voted in favor of a new labor agreement on August 31. Highlights of the new contract include pension improvements; annual wage increases, and improved holiday pay for part-time employees. More here.

OREGON
OR University System Members Reach Tentative Agreement on Two-Year Contract
"You stood up, hung tough, held out and adhered to principle," said an special email from the SEIU Local 503 bargaining team after reaching a settlement on a two-year contract late Friday night, giving 4,000 members in the Oregon University System a special reason to celebrate Labor Day. Contract highlights include fully-paid health care premiums for full-time employees and withdrawn proposals for unlimited furloughs and an across-the-board pay cut. The agreement includes essentially matches the deal struck six weeks ago on behalf of state workers and assures that the workers, their clients and the services they provide will not take an excessive hit as lawmakers work to close a multi-billion budget gap.

Another highlight: The 14 part-time recyclers at Portland State University, who became Oregon's first unionized undergrads when they voted unanimously to join SEIU, are covered by the contract. Read more about the agreement here.

Please feel free to offer congratulations to these workers and the bargaining teams that worked so hard on their behalf in the comments section below.

San Francisco home care workers called for a hand-examination of each signed card submitted by Sal Rosselli and other ousted union officials seeking to decertify SEIU-UHW, saying they had been subjected to lies, coercion, and fraud.

Some workers were told that signing a card was the only way they could keep their union, while others were threatened that they could be deported if they did not sign. In some cases, NUHW representatives said they were from a government agency, and in still others they pressured family members and even home care consumers to sign the cards, rendering them invalid if thoroughly checked.

Workers have shared more than 1,000 stories describing how NUHW improperly collected signatures and asking to have their cards returned. NUHW's tactics are part of a pattern that emerged in Fresno earlier this year when more than a third of the cards they collected from home care workers were found to be invalid when hand checked. SEIU- UHW caught examples of these tactics on video, as described by the workers. Watch a clip of one of the home care workers here:

A U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California last night granted SEIU-UHW members a preliminary injunction against the local union's former officers (including former president Sal Rosselli) and agents, finding that they "filched" and "sabotaged" files, records, and union property as part of their plan to form a new union.

"Upon leaving UHW, the individual defendants took and reproduced UHW property for use at NUHW and destroyed other UHW property in an effort to hamstring their soon-to-be competitor," wrote U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

« Read more
« View the injunction

A U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California last night granted SEIU-UHW members a preliminary injunction against the local union's former officers (including former president Sal Rosselli) and agents, finding that they "filched" and "sabotaged" files, records, and union property as part of their plan to form a new union.

"Upon leaving UHW, the individual defendants took and reproduced UHW property for use at NUHW and destroyed other UHW property in an effort to hamstring their soon-to-be competitor," wrote U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

« Read more
« View the injunction

In spite of the fact that months of debate between CA lawmakers on how to resolve the state's $26 billion budget deficit may be finally coming to an end, there can be no cause for celebration when the 'solution' does not reflect the priorities of a vast majority of California voters. Commenting on the staggering cuts agreed upon by lawmakers late Monday night, SEIU Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker said this:

"There may be a budget deal, but there's no budget solution."

Walker continued, saying "The governor's refusal to close corporate tax loopholes, eliminate waste in private vendor contracts and make big tobacco and big oil pay their fair share, is another series of bad decisions."

"Making state employees pay what amounts to a 15 percent furlough tax is just plain wrong ... We'll fight in the courts, in the Legislature and in the workplace to have it cut back," Walker said.

The California State Council of the SEIU also released a statement from State Council President Kristy Sermersheim, who declared "Big oil, big tobacco, and the alcohol lobby" the only real winners in this budget deal.

"Approximately 80,000 seniors and people with disabilities will be put at risk of leaving their homes for institutions. Nearly half a million children will lose healthcare. The deal will eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, making our terrible economy even worse. Local communities, which have relied on a responsible and balanced approach to their budget challenges, will now be hit with deep cuts to basic public safety and other services. And millions of school children will have an education inferior to what they could have."

Since the court has ruled against Governor Schwarzenegger and his cuts, we've made over 200 phone calls to the Governor's office, telling him to end the war on home care.

One caller, J.L., reported back after her phone call to the Gov.:

I would like the Governor to know that what he is doing is wrong and I plan to stand up for the sick and disabled. I am the caregive for 3 recipients of IHSS and without my assistance, these people wouldn't be able to live comfortably at all. Our wages should be more not less--these are peoples' very lives we are helping. My message to Arnold: Where Is your Heart??

Another caller, J.B. spoke to a woman in Schwarzenegger's office, Megan. Here's how his call went:

Megan said "you can't please everyone. Cuts across the board have been made." She implied that everyone suffers equally. I disagreed with her and stated that cuts in this area cause a disproportional amount of suffering. I suggested cuts for the State University travel budget for Professor that visit foreign countries; cuts here would be far less damaging to the citizens. Megan said the Universities are receiving cuts also.

From caller J.E.:

I cannot believe Gov. Schwarzenegger has the audactiy to cut wages of those who lovingly care for our nation's most vulnerable seniors. The seniors have loved, supported and fought for everything for us to have what we have now over all these years and it is time we did the same for them!!!

We applaud your efforts to tell the Governor his misguided policies will send California deeper into fiscal abyss. But it's not enough--we must keep the pressure on, because now the Governor and CA state officials are refusing to abide by the U.S. District Court's preliminary injunction preventing the slashing of salaries for in-home caregivers.

In light of this outrageous defiance, Judge Wilken has amended her original injunction to make it more specific: rescind approval of all IHSS wage reductions by July 14 that were scheduled to take place on July 1. The attorneys requested that the Court hold the State in contempt and issue fines and order the State to comply immediately, since it seems the Governor and state lawmakers haven't yet grasped the seriousness of illegally cutting the wages of IHSS workers who take care of our most most vulnerable citizens.

Now more than ever, we need to flood the Governor's office with calls to help put an end to the war on home care. Even if you or someone close to you is not affected by the CA Legislature's and Gov. Schwarzenegger's cuts, he needs to know how much support there is for the vital services home care workers provide to seniors and people with disabilities.

Will you take part? Please call the Governor now and tell him to put a permanent stop to these short-sighted cuts.

The votes were counted last week in an important union election among 10,000 home care workers in Fresno County, California. Now that the dust is settled, here is more detail about what the Fresno home care election victory signifies--and what it means going forward.

On Friday, after two weeks of vigorous campaigning, 10,000 Fresno County home care workers voted to stand united with SEIU UHW. The ballots were counted by the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. "Their votes speak loudly that SEIU UHW members want a strong, united union so that together they can build a better future for themselves and the consumers they serve," said SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina.

Read more about the election victory.

Friends and allies of SEIU are celebrating Pride month in a special way this year: Joining with home care workers in Fresno to protect their union and to keep their union voice strong in SEIU UHW.

The volunteer effort by SEIU allies for SEIU UHW caregivers follows outspoken support by the union for the rights and freedoms of LGBT people, including marriage equality. SEIU locals throughout California opposed Proposition 8, a statewide measure attacking marriage equality, and denounced a state court ruling last week upholding the measure.

Kevin Xiong, director of SOY, a non-profit GLBT organization in the Twin Cities, knocked on doors in Fresno with volunteer Bao Thao.

Kevin Xiong, executive director of SOY (Shades of Yellow), a nonprofit LGBT organization in Minnesota, also volunteered his time to knock on doors in Fresno and support SEIU UHW members. "By going door to door, we are seeking to correct deliberate efforts to set the union off course and sap its strength to meet the struggles that only a large, experienced union like SEIU UHW can win. Home care workers in Fresno are passionate about their union and understand the need to stick together," he said.

Xiong joined many Californians in criticizing the negative signal he saw in the state ruling on Prop 8. "This is a civil rights issue," he said, "dividing people in two classes, those who can marry with benefits and those who cannot." He described the ruling as undercutting the rights of same-sex couples who hoped to marry in the future by denying their committed unions equal recognition under state law. "SEIU UHW continues to fight this upcoming vote to weaken its union," said Xiong.

The theme of legal recognition for families is at the heart of SEIU's support for legislation crucial to many LGBT couples, the Reuniting Families Act. The House bill, introduced yesterday by California Congressman Mike Honda, includes same-sex partners in its scope.

In this new YouTube video, SEIU UHW member and upcoming leader Frank Valdez canvasses for the first time with mentor May Santiago in Fresno. "It's very important to take care of these folks at home, and that's why I'm here," says Frank, on why he's fighting alongside his fellow union members in support of Fresno home care workers.

Read more about SEIU's fight to block Governor Schwarzenegger's assault on home care and SEIU UHW's efforts to protect Fresno home care workers.

They came from across Fresno County, California, the U.S., and Canada with one mission: to protect Fresno County home care.

More than 900 SEIU members and activists gathered on Sunday, May 31st at the Fresno County Fairgrounds to kick off a massive "Get Out the Vote" effort to help home care workers protect their jobs, pay, and union. Rally participants pledged to help keep hope alive for 10,000 SEIU UHW Fresno County home care members, as they fight proposed wage-and-benefit cuts of $1 per hour beginning July 1 and vote in an election to determine their union representation on June 15.

One particularly remarkable Fresno county home care consumer and union activist appeared at yesterday's kick-off: ninety year-old Jessie Lopez De La Cruz, who was UFW's very first female organizer, hired by the notable Cesar Chavez himself in 1964. It was due to the tenacity of supporters like Lopez de la Cruz that the farm workers' cause and crusade for social justice received national attention and helped influenced labor laws.

Ms. Lopez De La Cruz had a special message when introducing SEIU Executive VP (and SEIU UHW trustee) Eliseo Medina at yesterday's event, as both worked alongside Cesar Chavez with the UFW: "The last time I was in these fairgrounds was 1973, when Cesar Chavez and hundreds and hundreds of farm workers were arrested in protests, and they put us in jail. I know the important work you do, and I support SEIU UHW!" Ms. Lopez De La Cruz urged everyone to stand strong for the SEIU UHW members who provide her care.

Cutting Home Care Workers' Wages: the Many Aftershocks
Of the roughly two million home care workers nationwide, more than 20 percent earn incomes below the poverty level. The 10,000 or so workers who provide in-home care for the elderly and those with disabilities in Fresno County might soon increase this overall number, as they end up below the poverty line in the aftermath of Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed July 1 wage cuts. At any rate, slashing the state's already-low direct care wages at any level will likely force thousands of home care providers to leave their jobs in and cause workers to be more reliant on the state's support services.

"The economy is already devastating California's families, so this isn't a time to be cutting necessary support systems or reducing those already-small wages," said Bernadette Lynch, president of California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and executive director for Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority. "The current pay for home care workers doesn't even amount to a living wage at this point, except in one or two counties. Reducing it will end up causing a dearth of providers, which will hurt consumers. It's devastating." Taking money away from California's program to make up for budgetary shortfalls will also result in more people having to resort to institutional care (nursing homes or other residental institutions)-- which is estimated to be four times more expensive to the State.

SEIU Files a Class-Action Lawsuit
Last week, SEIU filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, seeking a preliminary junction to stop the State of California and Fresno County from slashing the wages of home care workers to near-poverty levels and from to reducing the hours of care seniors and people with disabilities receive from going into effect. The suit, brought on behalf of individual consumers and SEIU, charges that the planned cuts put seniors and people with disabilities at risk and violate the American with Disabilities Act and Federal Medicaid Law.

Between now and July 1st - the date the home care cuts are supposed to take effect - home care workers, their families and supporters have much to fight for. Stop the home care cuts in California.

On April 17, SEIU UHW members at Alameda Hospital in Oakland ratified a new three-year contract, which is retroactive to April 2008 and covers nearly 130 workers. The contract includes across-the-board pay increases of 18 percent over three years--the highest in the hospital's history.

"This drive at Alameda Hospital was a true demonstration of member-driven negotiation. We stayed committed and united against all distractions," said Rex Dizon, a surgical porter, union steward, and bargaining team member at Alameda. Read the complete Victory Bulletin (PDF) for more details.

On Thursday, Feb. 26--the same day the president's budget was presented to Congress--several hundred SEIU members from around the Los Angeles area rallied to support the president's vision to fix healthcare. The workers gathered outside SEIU UHW-W's Commerce office and were joined by congressional candidate Judy Chu.

"We need to be united to protect our contract at Kaiser and win healthcare for all in this country," said UHW member Nancy Stengel, Kaiser-Irvine MOB (pictured on left).

(Pictured here on right) Dory Machica and Dolly Lee, SEIU UHW members and healthcare workers at Kaiser, are embraced by CA state Board of Equalization chair and candidate for Congress for the state's 32nd District Judy Chu.

Chu appeared with SEIU members from across California at the rally at the UHW headquarters in Los Angeles, which is in the 32nd District, where she is running to succeed new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. "It's so wonderful to see us united here today," Chu told the crowd of 350. "Together, alongside President Obama, we are a powerful force to win healthcare for all in America."

SEIU UHW member Saida Ramos, a nurse at the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) long term care facility in Los Angeles, and her daughter joined more than 250 caregivers, members of the entertainment industry and family members of the facility's elderly residents at a Saturday night protest outside an MPTF fund-raiser at The Beverly Hills Hotel. The MPTF, citing money woes, announced in January its sudden intention to close the facility, thus evicting around 120 residents and laying off all workers.

This Fund was started by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks and has been kept going by generations of movie and television workers for some 90 years. Yet despite the fact this closure decision is financially motivated, no effort was made to reach out to the Hollywood community to raise funds to save this critical care facility that more than 100 seriously ill elderly show biz folks depend upon. Last week, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann gave MPTF CEO Dr. David Tillman the title of one of the "World's Worst" people, for closing the retirement home for film-industry employees for financial reasons. Yet, according to investigative journalist Andrew Gumbel, Tillman himself "commands a salary well in excess of half a million dollars a year, including a 20 per cent pay raise he was awarded shortly before the home announced that in order to avert bankruptcy, it was kicking out more than 100 infirm residents."

The Oscar-eve MPTF fundraiser was held just one night before Hollywood played host to the Academy Awards, and typically raises many millions of dollars. Limousines of some party-goers had to wait as Ramos and others held signs before them while legally using the crosswalk. "They need to listen to the families of residents and also to workers and our families. Closure is a terrible decision," said Ramos. "MPTF has the money and needs to find a way to let the residents stay."

* Variety's coverage and photos of the protest here
* For more information, visit http://www.savingthelivesofourown.org/

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann gave the Motion Picture Television Fund's president and chief executive David Tillman the title of the "World's Worse" person last night, for closing the retirement home for film-industry employees for no good reason.

Three hundred SEIU UHW members provide care at the acute care hospital and nursing home facilities under threat of closure, which would cause the eviction of over 120 of its oldest, weakest, most needy and disabled residents by the end of the year. So much for the Motion Picture and Television Fund's promise of "unwavering commitment" to the entertainment industry.

MPTF says this is necessary because the long term care facilities in question have run $10 million operating deficits for the past four years. However, public records show a profit margin of approximately 12% for 2006-7 with a 9.5% increase in net assets in 2007 alone. "Everybody would be farmed out to various nursing homes because the Fund says it's losing $10 million dollars a year and is rapidly running out of money," commented show host Keith Olbermann. "Except that it's latest financial statements from last November indicated no losses... the fund wants to instead open a condo-like development," he continued.

As usual, Olbermann gives a great summary of the issue and what is at stake. Watch here:

SEIU members have protested the possible closures, holding a vigil last Wednesday with more than 150 UHW members, resident family members, actors and clergy from the Motion Picture and Television Fund long term care facility in attendance.

"The fight to keep this residence open and preserve these jobs is a fight for morality over greed and for compassion over cruelty," Melanie Wilson told the crowd, underscoring a moving report on ongoing negotiations by worker Myra Torres. Melanie is the daughter of Charmin's "Mr. Whipple" ad fame, who called the facility home for years.

Watch the NBC Los Angeles report on the protest.