Federal Judge Blocks California In-Home Service Cuts
This cross-post from AFSCME reports the good news that a judge has blocked California’s plans to reduce or drop in-home care services for 130,000 people.
United Domestic Workers Homecare Providers Union (UDW/AFSCME) and its partners in a class-action lawsuit have won a key victory in their battle to prevent as many as 130,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities from losing critical in-home care services.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland this week issued a preliminary injunction stopping the state from changing rules in November that would have caused 40,000 people to lose in-home services, such as meal preparation and housekeeping. Services for another 90,000 would have been significantly reduced.
Rally Today Against Insurance Company Greed, and Other Health Care News
Today, health insurance industry bigwigs are meeting in Washington, D.C., to plot out their strategy to defeat health care reform. We’ll be rallying to show them that we won’t accept anything less than affordable, high-quality coverage for everyone.
Here’s what else is happening in the fight for health care:
- Health insurance companies, drug companies and their front groups have been breaking records in their fight to keep control over our health care, spending millions this summer on TV and lobbying in D.C.
- Senators are looking to rein in the insurance industry by ending the industry’s exception from anti-trust laws.
Suit Seeks to Protect California In-Home Care Services
California home care workers are under threat from potential devastating budget cuts. This is a report from AFSCME on how these workers are fighting back.
United Domestic Workers/AFSCME (UDW/AFSCME) has gone to court, along with several other plaintiffs, to prevent more than 100,000 low-income seniors and the disabled from losing critical in-home care services.
The group filed the class-action lawsuit Oct. 1 in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, on behalf of in-home care recipients and caregivers. It seeks to block the state of California from imposing budget cuts that would “render tens of thousands” of individuals ineligible to participate in the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.
Workers’ Struggle at Blue Diamond Shows Need for Employee Free Choice
Last year, workers sought a union at Blue Diamond, a nut processing company, hoping to redress unfair pay, unsafe conditions and mistreatment of sorters and packers. But in large part due to a vicious anti-union campaign by management, the workers lost their election and could not form a union.
A judge ruled an election under such circumstances is valid—and acknowledged that Blue Diamond took part in a broad array of unfair conduct against workers.
The fact that Blue Diamond’s wrongdoing went unpunished, denying workers a fair choice, is a sign that our labor laws are broken, says Kimberly Freeman, acting executive director of American Rights at Work, and is evidence America’s workers need the Employee Free Choice Act to prevent the unfair conduct by corporations that is all too common today.
In a letter to the Sacramento Bee, Freeman says the case shows the effects of unfair labor laws that allow corporations to intimidate employees seeking a voice on the job:
It’s no surprise that in the face of aggressive anti-union tactics, Blue Diamond’s employees lost in a system that was tilted to favor management from the beginning.
2,000 City Workers Ratify Pact with Milwaukee—and More Bargaining News
AFSCME members ratified a new contract with the city of Milwaukee, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
AFSCME, City of Milwaukee: Members of AFSCME Council 48 ratified a new contract with the city of Milwaukee. The 2,000 city employees agreed to a pay freeze for 2010 and 2011 in return for a no-layoff guarantee.
Op-Ed Highlights: What Employee Free Choice Means for Workers, Economy
 |
|
Congress is still on recess, but the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act continues across the country and in the media. Here are two great op-eds that explain why we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Netsy Firestein, director of the Labor Project for Working Families, writes in the San Jose Mercury News that the freedom to form unions and bargain will help workers provide for their families:
America’s working families are locked in a time vise. Our work hours are getting longer, our paychecks and benefits are shrinking, and we are struggling to raise and care for our families. The surging unemployment rate is only adding to our anxiety about holding down a job while juggling work and family responsibilities.
Transportation Security Meets with Government Employees, and More Bargaining News
Transportation Security holds first-ever meeting with government employees—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
AFGE, TSA: AFGE leaders met with Transportation Security Administration management in a first-ever formal meeting. “The past eight years with the Bush administration have been an uphill battle and we are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said AFGE National President John Gage. “With this meeting, TSA has acknowledged that AFGE is an integral piece of the agency’s relationship with its employees.”
Nurses Protest Nationwide Against Sick Leave Cuts, and More Bargaining News
Nurses hold national protest against attempts to cut their sick leave—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
Multiple, Tenet: Registered nurses and hospital workers at facilities owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp., represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and SEIU, organized a national protest to oppose attempts to cut their access to sick leave. “Every day, we are on the front lines for responding to health threats like the H1N1 virus. It’s basic common sense that nurses and other caregivers should not go to work if we’re sick ourselves. But these cuts will make it harder for us to take care of ourselves. It’s not too late for Tenet to rethink and redo this by restoring our extended sick leave,” said Sherri Stoddard, a member of CNA/NNOC.
2,500 UAW Members Say ‘No’ to Health Cuts and Outsourcing—and More Bargaining News
Some 2,500 UAW members in Texas authorize a strike—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
UAW, Bell Helicopter: Some 2,500 workers at Bell Helicopter plants in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, represented by UAW Local 218, went on strike today after rejecting contract proposals that would have increased medical costs and outsourced the work of janitors.
Pilots Hold Info Picket at Continental Shareholders’ Meeting, and More Bargaining News
Pilots hold info picket at Continental shareholders’ meeting—and more updates from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
ALPA, Continental: Continental Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), conducted informational picketing at the annual stockholders’ meeting to press for a fair contract that acknowledges many of the sacrifices and the cuts made by the workers to help the airline. Capt. Jay Pierce, chairman of the ALPA chapter for the Continental pilots, stated that the carrier has “gained a reputation as a leader in the industry and a leader in its treatment of employees. I come before you with one simple demand: show us that you are willing to be a leader when it comes to dealing with your pilots.”
