Vol. 1, Issue 121
Next Week: Hit the Streets for
Health Care Reform
Overnight Vigil
in Sacramento
On Monday, October 19th, workers and
health care advocates will hold an overnight vigil and fast to
urge Congress to pass real health care reform. The event will
kick off on Monday at 5pm at the Federal Building (501 I St. in
Sacramento). A candlelight vigil will be held that evening from
9-11pm, and the vigil and fast will conclude with a special
program from 5:30-8am the next morning.
Email zak@sacramentolabor.org for more information.
Festival,
March and Rally in Modesto
On Sunday, October 18th,
join the health care march, rally and festival at Enslen Park
(corner of Enslen and Morris Streets in Modesto). The march will
begin at 1pm and the rally will start at 2pm, with special music
and poetry performances throughout the day.
Email modestopublicoption@live.com to learn more.
Health Care
Roundtable in Bakersfield
Join workers, health care
advocates, medical professionals, seniors, students, clergy and
others for a special roundtable on health care reform. The forum
will begin at 7pm on October 20th at the East California Church
of Christ (1020 E. California Ave., Bakersfield)
For more information, email
mvictoria@calaborfed.org.
Caravan in Los
Angeles
Join
the caravan across the Los Angeles area to get the word out
about health care reform. The caravan will begin at 7am on
Tuesday, October 20th at LA County USC Medical Center (1200 N
State St in LA). At 8:30am the caravan will arrive at Glendale
Health Center (501 North Glendale Ave in Glendale), and will
make several other stops before concluding at 12:30pm at Clinica
Romero (318 S Alvarado St. in LA).
Contact Mari at (213) 369-9460 to
learn more.
Street Rally in
San Diego
On Tuesday, October 20th, take action for
health care reform by joining a rally and citizen action in
downtown San Diego outside Sen. Feinstein’s office (750 B
St). Participants will be drawing five chalk outlines to
represent the five people who die every hour without health
insurance.
For more information, email
asaavedra@unionyes.org
New Study Details High Cost of
Governor’s Furlough Scheme
This week, the UC Berkeley Labor Center released
a new study, which found that the Governor’s expanded
three-day-a-month furloughs not only fail to generate
significant cost savings, but they also harm the state and local
economy. According to the new data, the furloughs policy imposed
by Governor 
Schwarzenegger by Executive Order will save
the general fund a paltry 12 cents for every dollar cut in wages
and benefits. The furloughs have cut state workers pay by almost
15 percent, triggering a wave of foreclosures and causing
significant harm to the Sacramento economy.
To highlight these findings, the California
Labor Federation joined Senate President Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg, Ken Jacobs, the author of the study, and several
public and private sector workers at a press conference on
Wednesday to challenge the ill-advised furlough policy. Senator
Steinberg emphasized that the study is yet another reason why
the Legislature should ratify the contract with SEIU Local 1000,
the union that represents thousands of furloughed state workers.
Read the study at
http://tinyurl.com/yzo76jt
Four Labor Bills Signed Into Law
This Week
This week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed four
California Labor Federation-sponsored bills into law. In a year
of tremendous economic hardship, these bills represent some
important gains for union members and working families.
The new laws include SB 186 (DeSaulnier), which
ensures that injured workers have the right to see their own
doctors; AB 236 (Swanson), which extends California’s car
wash registry; AB 260 (Lieu), which reforms mortgage lending
practices; and AB 483 (Buchanan), which establishes a
workers’ compensation database to protect injured workers
and prevent fraud.
Learn more about these new laws at
http://www.calaborfed.org/issues/
Home Care Workers Sue to Protect
In-Home Care Services
Earlier this month, United Domestic
Workers/AFSCME, which represents California’s In-Home
Supportive Service (IHSS) workers, filed a class-action law suit
to block the state of California from imposing budget cuts that
would render tens of thousands disabled and low-income seniors
ineligible for critical in-home care services.
“By cutting IHSS, the governor and the
Legislature are actually putting people’s lives at
risk,” said UDW President Laura Reyes. “A person
with Alzheimer’s may be capable of cooking and cleaning
for herself, but without assistance, she is likely to leave the
stove on after she finishes cooking and burn her house
down.”
Read more at http://tinyurl.com/yjjeleg
