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Vol. 1, Issue 123
October 30, 2009
New House Health Care Bill is the Right
Reform for Working Families
Yesterday,
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a comprehensive health
care reform bill that would guarantee coverage for 96 percent of
the U.S. public. The House is expected to vote on the bill as
soon as next week.
 The bill, H.R. 3962, includes a public
health option, expands Medicaid coverage to families who earn up
to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, provides help for
middle-class families to get coverage and sets tough new rules
for insurers, making sure that no one can be denied care or be
rejected from coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
It’s fairly funded through a combination of employer
responsibility, cost savings and a surtax on the extremely
wealthy—and does not get its funding from taxes on
middle-class workers’
benefits.
Learn more at
http://tinyurl.com/ykwabga
Now is the Time: Take Action Next
Week for Health Care Reform
In anticipation of the upcoming health care vote
on the House floor, the AFL-CIO has announced a massive week of
action beginning November 5th.. All are encouraged to call their
members of Congress every day, and urge them to stand with
working families and vote for health care reform.
Please call your members of Congress
every day at 877-264-4226.
As the House begins deliberations on the bill on
Wednesday, workers and health care advocates in the Central
Valley will be holding rallies to call on Congress to pass
comprehensive health care reform.
In Fresno- Join the march for health care
reform, beginning at 11am on Wednesday at Sen. Dianne
Feinstein’s office (2500 Tulare St.) and concluding
with a rally at Rep. Jim Costa’s office (855 M St.).
Email Dillon at
dsavoryclc@yahoo.com for more
information.
In Bakersfield- Stand up for health care
reform at a rally on Wednesday at noon outside Rep. Jim
Costa’s office (2700 M St.).
Call Rob at (661) 364-7101 for more
information.
Major League Baseball Players Endorse
Employee Free Choice
 Just
in time for the World Series, 12 members of the Major League
Baseball Players Association this week joined the broad
coalition in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
World Series participants Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino
and Mark Teixeira were joined by other major leaguers Heath
Bell, Dave Bush, LaTroy Hawkins, Torii Hunter, John Lannan,
Andrew Miller, J.J. Putz, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright
as they signed onto the statement this week. The players also
appeared in print ads that ran in Washington, D.C., papers on
Wednesday.
Learn more and see the full ad at
http://tinyurl.com/yj6mf23
Help Save Waste Management Jobs in the East
Bay
Two years ago, Waste Management
locked out 600 Teamster and Machinist workers. In solidarity,
more than 300 members of ILWU Local 6 -- recyclers, clerical and
landfill workers -- honored the picket lines for four weeks.
Unity forced the company to settle better contracts.
Now
the ILWU Local 6 contract is up for negotiation, and Waste
Management is threatening to lay off 40 workers and move their
work out-of-state or to non-union locations. Support these
workers by sending a message to the Waste Management CEO, urging
him to honor his commitments.
Take action at
http://tinyurl.com/yj753dk
Low-Wage Workers in LA Seek to Outlaw Wage
Theft
This week, advocates for low-wage
workers joined LA City Councilmember Richard Alarcón as
he announced his plan to create a “wage theft”
ordinance in Los Angeles, which would make it a crime for
employers to steal or withhold wages, and would increase
tracking and enforcement of those who take advantage of workers.
According to a study by UCLA, 26 percent of low-wage
workers are not paid minimum wage, and more than 75 percent are
not paid the legal overtime rate. The study also found that of
workers who have complained about wages or tried to form a
union, 43 percent had some form of illegal retaliation by their
employer including suspension or firing, threatening to call
immigration authorities, or threatening to cut workers’
hours or pay.
Learn more at
http://tinyurl.com/y99eqds
Tuesday: Election in Congressional District
10
On Tuesday, voters in Congressional District 10,
which includes parts of Contra Costa, Solano, Alameda and
Sacramento counties, will be voting to elect a new
Representative to replace Ellen Tauscher, who was appointed to
serve in White House state department earlier this year.
Labor has endorsed current Lt. Governor John
Garamendi to replace Tauscher in Congressional District 10.
“John Garamendi is a tireless advocate for working
families and will serve California well in the U.S.
Congress,” said California Labor Federation Executive
Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski. “In more than three
decades of public service, Garamendi has distinguished himself
as a true champion for California’s workers.”
Learn more about the election at
http://tinyurl.com/y9m8zbv
Rite Aid Workers Win NLRB
Victory
 More than 18 months after workers at the
Rite Aid warehouse in Lancaster voted to join the ILWU, the
company still refuses to negotiate a first contract. This week,
the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a formal
complaint against Rite Aid, declaring the company has failed to
bargain in good faith.
This is not the first time the
company has run into trouble with the NLRB. In January 2007, the
company fired a worker for his support of the union, but rehired
him six months later as part of a settlement with the NLRB. The
Labor Board also charged Rite Aid with 49 other federal labor
law violations, including disciplining, demoting, suspending and
firing union supporters; threatening that people would lose
their raises if they voted for the union; and publicly
disparaging union supporters. The company settled in May 2007
rather than go before an NLRB judge.
Learn
more at http://tinyurl.com/yhrpu4s
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