"We are American seamen. We are union members. We stuck together, we did our jobs. And that's how we did it."
Show your support for every worker in America - and on the high seas - to have the free choice to form a union and have the right training that protects them on the job. Tell your friends about this great story using the form on the right.
Sign up to attend the 1199SEIU Advocacy Day on April 15. 1199SEIU and the "Put Patients First" Coalition is continuing the campaign to encourage the Massachusetts legislature to put patients first and restore the funding cuts to Boston Medical Center & Cambridge Health Alliance.
Throughout the day on April 15 union members and coalition members will meet with legislators to deliver the message:
The Legislative Day lobbying will be from 2:30 PM to 4 PM, culminating with a 4:00 PM "Put Patients First Rally" at the State House in Boston. Stay tuned for info about buses to the state house.
It was recently announced in a Boston Medical Center email to employees that the White House announced that $15 billion in immediate Medicaid relief from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - the Federal stimulus bill- will be available to the states. The money, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), is federal matching funds given annually to states for assistance payments for certain Medicaid and medical insurance expenditures and related social services. The federal share of FMAP funds has been increased and the additional money was included in the stimulus bill. Massachusetts will be getting $3 billion over the next two years and more than $594 million has arrived in Massachusetts. However, the Deval Patrick Administration has not given any indication that the FMAP funds will be used to restore his administration’s Medicaid cuts !!!
In fact, Governor Deval Patrick allocated $1.2 billion of the FMAP funds in the fiscal year '09 and '10 budgets for non-health care uses !!! The Medicaid cuts have had a very negative impact on Boston Medical Center, Cambridge Health Alliance, and patients.
The recent cuts mean that the state will pay Boston Medical Center 64 cents for every dollar the hospital spends providing care next year.
BMC is busier than ever.
BMC and the Cambridge Health Alliance wants to be paid fairly for the services it provides patients. Clearly the intent when health care reform was proposed.
The increased FMAP funds coming to Massachusetts could be and should be a solution to the problem safety-net hospitals face.
But the Governor and his administration haven't offered a solution to the problem of how to pay for the services provided to a patient population that depends on Boston Medical Center and the healthcare safety-net.
We must continue to press this issue with the Governor and his administration and legislative leaders.
Tell Congress to Pass the Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice act allows workers to form a union when a majority of workers sign cards authorizing the union—putting the choice of how to form a union, whether by majority sign-up or an election, in the hands of workers, not corporations.
Get started now!
Your Members of Congress need to hear from you about the Employee Free Choice Act.
Last night, before Congress and the American people, President Obama delivered a clear message: the time to fix health care is now.
Putting an end to rumors that his plans to solve the health care crisis had been put on hold, the president showed bold leadership in his commitment to reform:
"So, let there be no doubt, health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."
Now it's up to us. We've only gotten this far because of the grassroots movement we've built. But the goal of our movement was never to see a president talk about health care reform, it's to see him sign it into law.
We worked tirelessly to elect a president committed to fixing health care. And within 10 minutes of his victory, we launched the next phase of our campaign to "keep health care on the map." Overnight, thousands of people throughout the U.S. put their name on the map, and took a stand for fixing our nation's ailing health care system.
Today, we must renew that call to action. Click here to join our health care movement right now by adding your name to the health care map: http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremap
Thanks,
Anna Burger
Secretary-Treasurer
SEIU
Hope for the future
"I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it's part of the solution."
- President Barack Obama, Jan. 30, 2009
Read the full transcript of the press conference here.
A task force on the middle class
" 'When I talk about the middle class, I am talking about folks who are currently in the middle class, but also folks who are aspiring to be in the middle class,' the President said. 'You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor union.'
"…In a White House that promotes its every step on the Internet, the administration has started a new website – www.AStrongMiddleClass.gov – that will keep track of the task force’s work."
(Source: LATimes, Jan 30, 2009.)
Angell Animal Hospital workers, your contract expires November 15, 2008, and we'd like to hear your opinions on how we can best help you get the contract you want. Click here to be taken to the survey.
Thank you!
Thursday, May 22 is Health Care Action Day!
Rally for Health Care for All,
Not Cuts in Health Insurance Benefits!
On May 22, thousands of workers and community activists will wear stickers, hold rallies and do other creative actions to promote health care reforms that will cover everyone, control costs, and improve the quality of care.
IBEW and CWA members at Verizon facilities across Massachusetts and Rhode Island have invited all labor activists and supporters of health care reform to join them at events for Health Care Action Day.
Verizon is just one of many companies attempting to pressure its employees to pay more for the cost of their health insurance. But shifting premium costs to employees is not a solution. It won't hold down skyrocketing health care costs or improve the quality of care. It only lets employers avoid their responsibility to work for real solutions.
When workers stand up to their employers to prevent shifting benefit costs, it puts pressure on management to begin working for a real national solution -- instead of hiding their heads in the sand.
All working people need secure, affordable health care coverage, even if they get laid-off, change jobs or work part time. Only a "Medicare for All" reform that would improve and expand our national Medicare program can provide that kind of coverage. On May 22, help send a message to corporate America and our elected officials that we're ready to fight for it!
Locations
Andover @ 12:00 PM
Shattuck Road, Andover, MA 01810
Boston @ 12:00 PM
185 Franklin St., Boston MA
Boylston @ 3:30 PM
170 Shrewsbury St. (Rt 140) Worcester, MA 01545
Our official title is Chapter 3 Firemen and Oilers Local 615. We are now officially merged with SEIU Local 615 as an independent, autonomous chapter. Look for a fresh, new site soon!
We've just learned that a US-based company, Golden Star Resources, is planning to expand the Prestea Mine in Southwest Ghana—a plan that threatens communities surrounding the mine.
The Prestea Mine has posed challenges to the rights and livelihoods of the people who live around it. Since 2001, this has included two cyanide spills and a violent confrontation between community members and mine guards. The expansion plans involve leveling low-income housing and schools—and it’s all being done without adequate consideration for community concerns.
Be fair for those who care! Many Boston hospital workers are struggling to make ends meet on wages that don't reward their years of labor. Come to the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East rally on May 8, 2008, at 4 pm on Brookline Avenue in the Longwood Medical area to support free and fair elections.
The Boston Central Labor Council wants you to know that McCain is WRONG on Healthcare. You'll see many issues on that link where John McCain is just plain WRONG for working families. Pass it along.
Are You a supervisor?
From Michael Capuano, Member of Congress:
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), also known as the Wagner Act, was a landmark piece of legislation, passed in the 1930s, allowing most workers in the private sector to organize labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes. It also established the National Labor Relations Board, giving it the power to investigate and decide unfair labor practices. In recent years however, the NLRB has been used by the current administration to take away important worker rights and workplace protections guaranteed under the law.
As you know, in 2006 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to substantially change the definition of a supervisor so that the term may now include workers such as nurses, building and construction trade workers, and journalists. Prior to the decision, under Section 2(11) of the National Labor Relations Act, a supervisor is defined as an individual who “directs” employees using “independent judgment”. By choosing to broaden the definition of supervisor to those who are supervisors in name only, the NLRB has taken away the workplace rights of millions of workers who will no longer be able to unionize.
In order to overturn the NLRB’s decision and restore the intent of the NLRA, H.R. 1644 would amend the definition of supervisor to require that a supervisor have authority over employees for the majority of their work time. In addition it would remove the responsibility to “assign and direct other employees” from the criteria of what constitutes a supervisor, since the NLRB gave too much weight to these criteria when reaching their flawed decision. I hope you will be pleased to know that I am a cosponsor of this important legislation, which has been referred to the House Education and Labor Committee. Please be assured that I am following this issue very closely and I will continue to have your views in mind as this legislation moves forward.
