Health Care Call-In Day TODAY! (WSLC Reports

November 5, 2009

Nov. 4: WSLC hosts luncheon on Nov. 12

Nov. 3: Boeing choice bad for everyone

Nov. 2: Health reform Call-In Day Thursday

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

It's National Call-In Day for Health Care Reform

Please take a few minutes today to call 1-877-323-5246 and leave messages for both of your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representatives -- yes, that means three calls! -- urging them to support health insurance reform legislation.

The House could vote on HR 3962, "The Affordable Health Care for America Act," as soon as Saturday. There are still Democratic members of Washington's delegation who have not yet announced how they intend to vote. They need to hear from YOU! Tell them to support health care reform that:

Includes a public option
Does not tax health plans
Requires employers to pay their fair share

This is history in the making! Imagine quality, affordable health care for everyone. Imagine having negotiations focus on wage and other improvements instead of health care takeaways. We're closer than ever to making that happen. Be a part of changing America for the better. Make these calls RIGHT NOW! Read more.

More health care news:

► At AFL-CIO Now -- Here's what health care reform means for working families -- Within days, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a historic health care reform bill that will cover everyone, cut costs and protect families from insurance company abuses. The House bill, H.R. 3962 -- the Affordable Health Care for America Act -- has provisions that will help families now and in the long term, all while decreasing the nation’s deficit.

► In today's Washington Post -- U.S. House expected to vote on health bill Saturday -- House leaders plan to hold a rare Saturday vote on the most far-reaching expansion of the health-care system in more than 40 years. Even so, they were still locking down support Wednesday among a handful of holdouts, with the biggest bloc dissatisfied with the measure's handling of abortion.

► At NYTimes.com -- Budget monitor says GOP bill leaves many uninsured -- The Republican bill, which has no chance of passage, would extend coverage to about 3 million people by 2019, leaving about 52 million people uninsured, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds. The Democrats’ health reform proposal would extend coverage to 36 million people.

► At Roll Call -- McMorris Rodgers calls health reform bill an "internal" terrorist attack -- The Eastern Washington Republican, who is leading the campaign by GOP women to attack the House health care bill, on Tuesday compared the proposal to an “internal” terrorist attack.

► In today's NY Times -- Unhealthy America (Nicholas Kristof column) -- The greatest distortion about the health care debate is that reform will destroy our health care system.

Election news:

► In today's Olympian -- Ref. 71 gains wider lead, but foes not ready to concede -- A large count from King and Thurston counties expands Referendum 71's lead to about 38,000 votes. Additional counts are planned today and Friday in most jurisdictions.

► In today's Seattle Times -- Gay-rights support stops at Cascades -- Social and religious conservatives leading the effort to defeat Ref. 71 say the campaign has revitalized their movement and that they will work to get more of their own elected to the Legislature.

► In today's Everett Herald -- A historic vote for fairness (editorial) -- Washington voters are to be congratulated for leading the nation toward a new standard of fairness. We have made history with the first voter-approved, statewide expansion of gay rights.

► In today's Seattle Times -- McGinn lead over Mallahan shrinks to 462 votes in mayor's race -- Votes are trending in Mallahan's direction. King County Elections has counted about 105,000 votes, about half the expected total. "If this trend continues, we're solid," Mallahan said.

► In today's News Tribune -- Margin in Tacoma mayor's race shrinks to 117 -- Labor-endorsed City Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland’s lead dwindles over Jim Merritt in the latest ballot count.

National election redux:

► From AP -- Voters to politicians: give us jobs, results, not spats -- Voters' memo to politicians: We're angry and fearful, mostly about jobs and the economy. We want tangible solutions, not partisan bickering or intraparty spats. And we'll vote either party out of office if we don't think you're listening. That's the latest warning to candidates who will seek offices low and high in all 50 states next year, when the number of elections will far exceed those held Tuesday.

► In today's NY Times -- Democrats to use election to push agenda in Congress -- Democrats say voters remained very uneasy about the economy and did not see Democrats producing on the health, energy and national security changes they promised when voters swept them to power.

► In today's NY Times -- Energized Republicans looking to avoid intraparty feud -- Energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, their leaders have begun maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power.

Local news:

► In today's Everett Herald -- Tale of 1916 Everett Massacre retold in style of radio play -- The Everett Public Library is offering a free radio show-style performance of a one-act sketch written by a union activist in the weeks after the massacre. “Their Court & Our Class” is performed by local actors and is available to listen to free on the library’s Web site at www.epls.org. Historian David Dilgard calls the sketch as a “rare, entertaining piece of the history of Everett and the labor movement.”

► In today's Tri-City Herald -- State Liquor Board cancels security contract with HWA -- Five months into the one-year contract, the board decides the Seattle private security firm is too fragile financially to guarantee it can complete the contract. The departments of Employment Security and L&I share that concern.

► In today's Tri-City Herald -- Cuts in juvenile justice don't make financial sense (editorial) -- Every effort should be made to find a way to protect the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Justice Center. It's not only a smart investment, but there's a moral imperative too. It's cliché but true -- today's children are tomorrow's future. If we give up trying to save them, what will tomorrow bring?

► In today's (Longview) Daily News -- State needs to become more business-friendly (editorial) -- We’re encouraged to hope that the 2010 session will be different than past sessions. With the economy in the tank, Boeing taking jobs out of state and small businesses still shedding jobs, state officials surely recognize the wisdom of giving private-sector employers an assist. What those employers need, in a nutshell, is fewer government rules and regulations.

National news:

► In today's NY Times -- U.S. Senate approves extension in jobless benefits -- The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to offer up to 20 more weeks of unemployment benefits to those who have been out of work a long time, after weeks of delay in which hundreds of thousands of Americans exhausted their government aid. The measure will increase to 99 weeks, or nearly two years, the maximum length of time that a jobless worker can get benefits in some states. As early as Thursday, the House is expected to approve the Senate version

► In today's NY Times -- Some Wall Street year-end bonuses could hit pre-downturn highs -- Thanks to federal bailouts, many banks and financial companies are turning handsome profits. So top producers are looking forward to blowout paydays once again.

► In today's Philadelphia Inquirer -- Funding union pensions a sticking point in Philly transit strike -- In the face of public opposition and political pressure, the leader of striking workers vowed yesterday to "stay out as long as it takes" to get a better contract offer from the city.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
It's National Call-In Day for Health Care Reform

Tell them to support health care reform that:

Includes a public option
Does not tax health plans
Requires employers to pay their fair share

BACKGROUND: Right here, right now, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve something for which American working families have fought for decades: genuine health care reform. We have an opportunity to loosen the albatross of insurance company greed that is making health insurance unaffordable, squeezing middle-class budgets, harming U.S. businesses' competitiveness, and perpetuating the moral crisis of rampant medical bankruptcies. We have the opportunity to do this for ourselves, for our children and for their children.

But for all the work we have done over the years -- and the extraordinary efforts of the past several months -- to get where we are today with health insurance reform legislation before Congress, we simply can't let up now that victory is in sight.

Well-heeled insurance industry and short-sided business lobbying groups are spending millions every day to convince Congress to maintain the status quo and kill health insurance reform. Although they have been voted into the minority, politically motivated Republicans are doing everything in their power to keep President Barack Obama from succeeding in this effort.

That's why the Washington State Labor Council is asking all affiliated unions, once again, to mobilize in support of health insurance reform that includes a robust public option. The WSLC is asking unions to prepare for the AFL-CIO's National Sticker and Call-In Day in support of health insurance reform on Thursday, Nov. 5.

When members of Congress hear from your members -- they listen. On Nov. 5, we want them to hear it loud and clear.

Your rank-and-file membership can make the difference by calling our U.S. Senators and Representatives to let them know that union members are standing firm in what we expect out of this legislation: a strong public option to create needed competition and cost savings, coverage that is affordable and accessible for everyone, and no taxation of our existing health benefits.

TAKE ACTION! Here's how your union can mobilize for the Nov. 5 effort:

Commit to handing out stickers and/or flyers at your union's worksites on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Download the worksite flier to generate as many calls to Senators and targeted House members as possible.
Take photos at the handout events and e-mail them to the WSLC for inclusion in a national scrapbook on the web.
Contact the media to generate coverage of the events. E-mail WSLC Communications Director Kathy Cummings for assistance.
Report all results, including job sites and number of phone calls generated, to WSLC Field Mobilization Director Lori Province or call her at 206-281-8901.