It is certainly reasonable — if also cruel and selfish — for true conservatives to oppose health reform if they do not believe that access to health care is a fundamental right and that people who cannot afford to pay their own way should be left untreated. read more

In this case, McCain wants to score political points by stalling a pro-labor nominee. As a legal scholar, Becker helped lay the intellectual foundation for the Employee Free Choice Act. read more

A Letter to Affiliated Unions and Friends of Labor from the Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council read more

The public sector offers a clear alternative to the private-sector, where workers face layoffs and speed-ups for those remaining on the payroll. It is simple: allow employees to decide whether or not they want to organize, without intimidating them. If the Employee Free Choice Act—as originally written, with a provision allowing employees to organize via "card-check" if they wish to—were passed by Congress, this public-sector alternative would become a private-sector reality. read more

But Zeese said that the politicians won’t make the difference. “The truth is — they are not the ones who count,” Zeese said. “It wasn’t LBJ who brought civil rights to the United States. It was organized people being persistent in their demands. It was not Woodrow Wilson who gave women the right to vote. It was women demanding the right to vote that gave them the right to vote. And it will not be President Obama that gives us single payer health care. It will be us that gives us single payer health care.” read more

In every other advanced industrial nation, the contentious issue of who pays for medical care was taken off the bargaining table long ago. And no worker would ever lose his or her life defending job-based private health insurance. read more

    “I Have Great Insurance . . . Why Would I Want Healthcare Reform?”     It’s true that many USW members enjoy some of the best healthcare insurance around.  For years, many of us have made it a top priority at the bargaining table.  Now that the national debate is focused on reforming healthcare, many members are wondering: Why would I want reform?  Here’s Why:

• Healthcare is often the most difficult issue in our negotiations.  Premium costs have risen 138 percent in the last decade.   Employers try to pass off those costs to us.  Throughout our union, we’re seeing plan changes with higher deductibles, co-pays, etc.  We’re also seeing fewer wage and benefit increases as trade-offs for maintaining coverage.  Many employers are even trying to dump health insurance altogether both for us and especially retirees.  And, it’s only going to get worse. . .
• Rising costs will continue to make negotiations harder.  Within 10 years, the average family plan will cost more than $30,000 per year.  We can expect more strikes, disputes and bargaining trade-offs if nothing changes as we struggle to keep our coverage in place.
• Rising healthcare costs continue to be a driving force in companies shifting production overseas.  Easing the healthcare burden gives employers one less incentive to abandon U.S. workers.
• We’re paying twice for the uninsured.  As taxpayers, we know we pay for things like Medicare, Medicaid and VA benefits.  But, did you know that through our insurance premiums, we also pay for the 46.3 million who are uninsured?  When the uninsured get medical care they can’t pay for, those of us with insurance foot the bill.  Right now the premium cost for family coverage includes about $1,100 due to this cost-shifting.  With a reformed system, the burden won’t be so heavy on a few.
• We might not always have the jobs we have right now.  Many Steelworkers are employed in industries that are under constant attack from foreign competition and the economic crisis.  While our union continues to fight on nearly every front to protect jobs, what happens if your job ends?  What happens if you get sick and can’t work?  What happens when you retire?  Without healthcare reform, our ability to get healthcare and remain financially secure are always uncertain.
• It’s our friends, family members and neighbors who are the uninsured.  One of them dies every 12 minutes because they lack insurance.  It’s just wrong.

      This morning, a new Washington Post poll showed what many other polls have been demonstrating: the U.S. public supports a public health insurance option as part of health care reform legislation to compete with private insurance companies. Some 57 percent of those polled support a public insurance option as part of health care reform, and 52 percent of independent voters said they supported a public option. In fact, when offered the choice between a health care plan that has “bipartisan support” or one that includes a public option, a majority wants a public option. America gets it: A public option is the best way to make health care reform work and ensure it’s affordable for everyone. So what’s the hold-up? The public option was included in bills passed by three U.S. House committees as well as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. But the Senate Finance Committee passed a bill without a public option. The wishes of a majority of the Senate and all the relevant committees in the House, as well as a strong majority of the public, are being held up by a minority of senators more interested in whether a public option is “fair” to the insurance companies than good for working families.   That’s why we need to keep fighting to make sure members of the Senate and House understand that one of the messages voters sent last fall was in favor of real health insurance reform, and we won’t accept anything less. Guess what, senators: You don’t work for the insurance companies. You work for us.

The obstructionists complain that the government shouldn't be involved in their health care. Yet they're willing to allow insurance companies to deny payment for one out of five treatments doctors order. read more

  var isoPubDate = 'August 13, 2009'   Our membership in the global economy has taken its toll on our labor force. Because of unfair, one-sided trade agreements and a weak, do-nothing Congress, we are sinking into a record-breaking depression. The stimulus package has not trickled down from the private-jet class to the clunker-driving class yet and, by the time it does, I fear we will not be able to recover. I thought this Congress was willing to take bold steps, but instead it's "discuss this, argue about that," and in the end nothing gets passed that benefits the working class. The latest health-care plan is supposed to take everyone off the uninsured rolls, but it still gives the power to insurance companies. The insurance companies are the reason our health costs are out of sight, with their administrative costs. What happened to the Conyers bill, HR 676? Never mind the excuse that we don't want government in our health care. They already are. Government has run Medicare since 1967 and it's been pretty successful, not to mention a life-saver for many seniors who have lost benefits that were promised by their former employers. One reason we can't compete with foreign competitors is that they have lower costs due to national health care programs. Our health-care crisis continues to grow. It's time for bold steps, like discussing HR 676, single-payer universal health care. If I seem unsympathetic toward health-care insurers, it's because I recall how unsympathetic they have been. It's time to take the burden off of the employers and employees. We need a national health plan. Willie Desnoyers Mattapoisett document.write(unescape(xtraFacts)); 

Attorney General Martha Coakley has issued three citations, ordering a Dorchester painting company to pay $36,000 in fines and over $53,000 in restitution for intentionally violating the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage, Payroll Records Keeping, and Wage and Hour Laws. read more

With lawmakers home for August recess, a fierce battle has broken out over what precisely is in the mammoth healthcare bills being pushed by congressional Democrats. There has been no shortage of misinformation. Here is a look at a few of the most contentious parts of the legislation. read more

Please join Mayor Scott W. Lang, Congressman Barney Frank, members of the New Bedford legislative delegation, and the Lafrance Hospitality Co., at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel in Downtown New Bedford Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 2:00 p.m., 185 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, Mass.   Click here for map and directions http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS331US331&q=185+macarthur+blvd+new+bedford+ma  Parking is available. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served compliments of White's of Westport.   As you know, the development of a hotel facility Downtown will have an immediate and long lasting impact on the economy of the city. We hope you can show your support for this important project by attending the groundbreaking ceremony.   Sincerely,   Matthew A. Morrissey Executive Director

WHO Fall River Educators’ Association Members, E-Board Members, Faculty Representatives, Retired Members, Other School Municipal Bargaining Units, Fall River Firefighters, Family, Friends, Southeast Labor Council, the Coalition for Social Justice, Local Politicians, etc. WHAT  Demonstration WHERE  Fall River Government Center WHEN  Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Rain or Shine WHY Call attention to the manner in which contract negotiations have been handled by school and municipal officials Expect negotiations to be conducted in private Allow union leaders to speak at city council or school committee meetings on behalf of members Proclaim that all employees have a right to expect fair treatment and respect for the work they perform each day Raise community awareness concerning municipal elections Point out that those who serve the public must be carefully selected if the city is to survive Communicate that the public has a right to expect high quality services from their elected officials PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON NOW. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL.   

This is how the right would rather operate instead of actually solving working families problems read more

Friday: August 21st, 2009 Is Harwich Fire Capt. & PFFM Trustee & All Around Good Guy; Robert W. Johnson's Birthday!     Robert has defied the odds to this point, and i think it would be great if we could flood him with cards and e-mails, expressing our thoughts and well wishes on his birthday.   48 42 Wilma's Way East Harwich, MA 02645      I would appreciate it if you would send this e-mail out to all your contacts.   (Please don't send this e-mail to Robert)   Gregory P. Ballam, Sr. Gregory P. Ballam, Sr.

As America comes to grips with the reality that changes are desperately needed within its health care infrastructure, it might prove useful to first debunk some myths about the Canadian system. read more

But once again, the city failed to live up to its Responsible Employer Ordinance and didn't require the winning bidder, CTA Construction Inc. of South Boston, to demonstrate that it could run apprenticeship programs at Lincoln. Those programs would train unskilled city residents for a future share of local carpentry, iron work and manual labor available at construction jobs. read more

BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office and Georgia based Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc. (Home Depot) have reached an agreement to settle allegations the company did not properly calculate vacation benefits for some employees during part of 2005 through 2007. Under the terms of the agreement, Home Depot has agreed to pay a total of nearly $45,000 in restitution to 58 former employees as well as an assessment of $10,000 to the Commonwealth. read more