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In Meeting with Labor Leaders, Obama Vows to Stand behind Middle Class

by Pablo Ros  |  November 14, 2012

We were there for him right up to Election Day, and now Pres. Barack Obama has promised labor leaders that he will stand up for the middle class during budget negotiations with congressional Republicans, set to begin at the end of this week.

At the White House on Tuesday, Obama heard from AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders, AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka, as well as other leaders of labor and progressive groups who urged him to make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes, by ending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, and resist cuts to entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

“We’re going to have our folks engaged,” Saunders told POLITICO after the meeting. “Just like they were in the election, they’re going to be engaged in this campaign. We’re going to keep the pressure on.”

No sooner were the results of the Nov. 6 elections announced than labor leaders began pressuring the lame-duck Congress to do the right thing. In an open letter to President Obama and Congress published as a full-page ad in the Washington Post, Saunders, Trumka, NEA Pres. Dennis Van Roekel, SEIU Pres. Mary Kay Henry, and other prominent progressive leaders spelled out the demands of the middle class for a new federal budget.

“As you face urgent budget decisions over the next two months, you must keep the election results in mind and resist budget cuts that slow our economy and hurt families,” the open letter reads. “The best way to reduce the deficit is to put people back to work and get our economy going again.”

Congress and the President need to reach a budget agreement soon to avoid the mixture of spending cuts and tax increases known as the “fiscal cliff” that is set to take effect Jan. 1. The scheduled changes include the end of all Bush-era tax cuts, the end of temporary tax cuts from the Obama stimulus bill, and cuts to military and domestic programs.

13,000 Missouri Home Care Workers Win Final Legal Challenge, Now Set to Bargain First Union Contract

by David Patterson  |  November 14, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – In a four-year struggle to have a voice on the job, improve working conditions and strengthen the quality of care for the people they serve, 13,000 Missouri home care workers cleared the last legal obstacle that has delayed negotiations on their first contract with the state.

The Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to a lower court decision upholding the results of a 2010 election in which the state's home care workers voted to form a union. The ruling represents the legal end of the line for the union’s opponents, who had sought to invalidate the results of the election and obstruct collective bargaining on behalf of workers who provide vital home care to the state’s seniors and people with disabilities.

“Since 2008, Missouri home care workers have sought to have their voices heard, only to see opponents tie up their efforts in the courts,” said AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders, whose union represents the home care workers in a coalition with SEIU. “This court decision represents a huge victory for these workers and will now finally allow them to begin bargaining for their first union contract.”

The state’s home care workers won the right to form a union after Missouri voters passed the Missouri Quality Home Care Act in 2008 by a resounding 75-percent majority. Home care workers subsequently voted to form their union, and opponents sought to stymie them in the courts.

“This ruling is a huge relief to people like me who rely on home care providers to help us live independently and stay out of nursing homes,” said Edna Austin of Crystal City, Mo. “The union will give them the resources they need to improve their working conditions, reduce turnover and provide more security for families who hire them.”

Home care workers perform essential services such as cooking, cleaning and emergency response. They are also instrumental in curtailing nursing home costs the state would incur if home care wasn’t available.

Labor and Its Allies Make the Difference in Campaign 2012

by Cynthia McCabe  |  November 07, 2012

AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders

Sixty-five percent of union members voted for Pres. Barack Obama in yesterday’s election, and their support, coupled with the 66 percent of the vote earned from households organized by a 3-million member pro-worker coalition, helped propel his re-election.

That’s one of the key findings in polling released today by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Other findings of note include:

• 62 percent of those polled said they used their vote to send a message that the wealthy must start paying their fair share of taxes.
• 73 percent said they were sending a message that lawmakers have a responsibility to protect Medicare and Social Security.
• 80 percent said Mitt Romney’s comments dismissing 47  percent of Americans – an attack AFSCME amplified with our immensely popular “Meet Richard” video featuring Romney’s trash collector Richard Hayes – were “very important” as they considered how to cast their vote.

AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders joined AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka this morning at an event highlighting voters’ rejection of Romney’s harmful vision for America and their call for labor and allies to rebuild the middle class.

Saunders, who is chair of AFL-CIO’s Political Committee, called this year’s campaign, “the smartest, biggest and broadest effort labor’s ever run.” That effort included 65,600 AFSCME activists who knocked on 385,000 doors, made 1.1 million phone calls, and 4,400 worksite visits on behalf of pro-worker candidates and ballot measures. (Click here to read AFSCME’s new report Main Street’s New Moment: What Election 2012 Means for America’s Working Families.)

Saunders pointed out that lawmakers who would target collective bargaining “might think twice about doing that,” given last night’s results. In Wisconsin and Ohio, where workers faced relentless attacks from governors and state lawmakers, support among AFSCME members for President Obama grew significantly from 2008 to 2012 and he won both states. In New Hampshire, voters elected Maggie Hassan as governor, rejecting an opponent who bragged he would be Wisconsin Gov. “Scott Walker on steroids” if elected.

Saunders acknowledged that the previous night’s sweeping victories at every level of government had not always seemed certain.

“Faced with a rotten economy, high unemployment, decimated public services and other consequences of the failed policies of the past, the fundamentals pointed to an extremely bumpy road for President Obama’s reelection bid,” he said. He added that AFSCME’s Executive Board jumped in and unanimously endorsed President Obama early in the election cycle and began an immediate campaign to define Romney for members and the general public.

Additionally, the efforts of Working America – a group dedicated to organizing non-union members to fight for workers’ rights – were also crucial in continuing to define Romney as hostile and indifferent to the realities of working people during his years as a vulture capitalist with Bain Capital and as Massachusetts governor. And through the Workers’ Voice coalition, union volunteers facing unprecedented right-wing spending were still able to penetrate the election noise and reach the general public with a message of rebuilding the middle class.

A Force to Be Reckoned With

by Amy Hendrick and Hey Suk Chong  |  November 07, 2012

Election Day was a great victory for working families. We chose a future where opportunities are available to everyone, and not just a select few.

We won because of the more than 65,000 AFSCME members who rallied, made phone calls, knocked on doors and drove people to the polls.

Please watch this short video — a tribute to all the AFSCME sisters and brothers who made a difference.

You can also read all about the significance of the election results in our new report, “Main Street’s New Moment: What Election 2012 Means for America’s Working Families.”

Obama Re-Elected to the White House

by Cynthia McCabe  |  November 06, 2012

They did it.

In Ohio, it was Randy Desposito, a nurse, who made it happen. In Michigan, it was legal secretary Yvonne Ross who made it happen. In California, it was vending machine technician Jose Mendez and his wife Marcelina Mendez, a housekeeper at a university. In Wisconsin, it was clerical worker Renita Hoover. In Florida, it was David Diaz, a sanitation worker.

Across the country, 65,600 public service workers who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO pulled together with family, coworkers, neighbors and community allies to ensure victory in Election 2012 for Pres. Barack Obama and candidates who will support America’s working families in Congress and state and local offices. It didn’t matter if the candidates were Democrat or Republican. It wasn’t about left versus right. It was about right versus wrong.

“This is a good day for the middle class, the Main Street movement and the American Dream,” AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders said. “The American people sent a clear message that we will stand with a President who stands with all Americans. From the White House to the statehouses, we pulled together to elect leaders who believe that we are all in this together.”

Perhaps no race more clearly demonstrates the commitment of voters to uphold the values of Main Street than Elizabeth Warren’s victory in Massachusetts, winning the seat held for decades by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. From the beginning, Warren offered a full-throated embrace of Main Street’s fight to curb Wall Street’s power – and the active role that government has to play in the struggle. Other huge wins in the Senate included Chris Murphy in Connecticut, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Tim Kaine in Virginia, and Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

While some votes are still being tallied and a number of important races have yet to be called, today’s election results are a declaration by the American people that they are standing up for working families, children, seniors and the most vulnerable of our country. Despite nefarious attacks against the very right to vote, Americans chose Medicare, not millionaires. Social Security, not cynicism. They said that it was wrong for politicians to try stripping Americans of their rights, their jobs and their promised benefits. That it was wrong to make working families sacrifice while asking nothing of the wealthiest. This election determined whether the values of Main Street were more important than the greed of Wall Street. Main Street won.

Let’s be candid. Until last night, the fight between Main Street and Wall Street appeared to be a draw. Working families won in Ohio in 2011. Gov. Scott Walker won in Wisconsin earlier this year. But the results last night showed that working families had pulled ahead. 

In Wisconsin, they voted to return President Obama and Vice President Biden – champions of working people – to office. They sent Tammy Baldwin to the U.S. Senate.

They ousted union-busting, right-to-work promoting legislators in Indiana. If you thought labor was dead in the wake of the Wisconsin recall, take a look at the size of the checks billionaires had to write to try, unsuccessfully, to bail out their candidates. Labor was outspent 15 to 1 and we still won.

Throughout the campaign, AFSCME volunteers knocked on doors, made 1.1 million phone calls and made 4,400 worksite visits. We worked in coalition with other labor unions and our community allies – an approach refined in our defeat of Senate Bill 5 in Ohio last year – to amplify the strength of our numbers. It was workers’ solidarity and it worked. AFSCME members delivered a victory for working families at every level of government last night.

AFSCME played a key role in defining Mitt Romney, dating back to the earliest days of the campaign. In January, our “Greed” ad highlighted his dangerous work as a vulture capitalist, not a job creator, as a principal with Bain Capital. Later in the campaign, our “Meet Richard” video featuring Mitt Romney’s garbage collector became one of the most-watched videos of the entire election season, keeping the pressure on Romney for his comments dismissing 47 percent of Americans.

Our chief concern must now be to partner with allies in Congress and protect the social safety net. While right-wing politicians tried to sell voters the lie that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are going broke, our energized volunteers propelled to victory candidates who will protect them. We know these attacks will continue and we are ready. With good jobs and so much else at stake, we cannot afford to be anything but ready.

Last Push by AFSCME Members Standing Up for Main Street

by Kate Childs Graham  |  November 06, 2012

Sec.-Treas. Laura Reyes joined AFSCME members at a house party in Pueblo, Colo. (Photo by Bryan Kelsen)

This weekend in San Diego, before the sun even rose, a group of AFSCME members gathered to get out the vote for Pres. Barack Obama and state and local candidates and ballot proposals supportive of working families. Before they left, AFSCME Sec.-Treas. Laura Reyes fired them up. “Though this election’s end is just hours away, we can’t stop yet. We need to make every minute count today.”

These final 48 hours have been a whirlwind of activity for AFSCME members across the country.

In Ohio, canvassing is a family affair. OAPSE member Diana Vernon brought her children Taylor and Megan to knock on doors with an armful of literature on Issue 2. AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders told volunteers, “If we do all we can, if we pull together, we will win a victory today that will help build a better future for every American family.”

Pres. Lee Saunders kicks off the Election Day canvass in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Erick Sanchez)

In Colorado, Josette Jaramillo of Council 76 hosted a “Women for Obama” house party on Sunday night, which Reyes attended. Earlier, District Council 37 member Carmen Flores hosted two parties at a New York senior center. Parties were also held for AFSCME Maryland retirees and UDW members in California, with Geraldine Cross-White and Sharon DuChessi hosting respectively.

In Connecticut, Council 4 members got their dialing fingers ready early this morning. They have spent the day phone banking supporters of President Obama and Senate-hopeful Chris Murphy, reminding them to get to the polls.

OAPSE member Diana Vernon (in the AFSCME shirt) with her daughters, Taylor and Megan, and sister-in-law Sharon Erick. (Photo by Joe Weidner)

In Florida, where voter suppression tactics have reared their ugly head, AFSCME volunteers have kept a close eye at polling locations. One volunteer met Timothy Miller, a man with a disability, and his home care provider Angelica James. She asked Miller why he came out to vote, to which he said quietly, “To have a voice.”

In Philadelphia, members of DC 33 and DC 47 blanketed the city with literature, to get out the vote for President Obama.

Whether on doors, on phones or at the polls, AFSCME members have one, clear message: The election matters. Your voice matters. Your vote matters.

Don’t forget to vote today. To find your polling place, visit AFSCME.org/vote. 

What’s At Stake in Massachusetts

by Cheryl Kelly  |  November 05, 2012

Pres. Lee Saunders with AFSCME GOTV volunteers in Massachusetts.

BOSTON – For 47 years Sen. Ted Kennedy represented the people of Massachusetts and Tuesday they will go to the polls to begin a new chapter in state politics. AFSCME volunteers are getting out the vote this week to ensure Elizabeth Warren wins that seat.

On Tuesday, unlike any other Election Day in history, voters and volunteers know there is too much at stake for Massachusetts and the Democratic majority in the Senate to stand on the sidelines.

If Warren’s opponent, Scott Brown, gets elected to a full Senate term, he could make a significant ideological swing to the right without having to worry about re-election for another six years. A vote for Scott Brown is a vote for a right-wing-controlled Senate determined to hold the Obama administration hostage for another four years.

Brown voted several times to revoke police and firefighters’ collective bargaining rights. He joined the Republican leadership in blocking consideration of the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act to provide aid to state and local governments to keep teachers in the classroom and firefighters and police officers on the street. It would have saved an estimated 400,000 jobs.

A vote for Elizabeth Warren is a vote for what we hope to accomplish in a second term for President Obama; economic recovery, fair tax policies that require the richest 1 percent to pay their fair share and don’t ask the working middle class to shoulder all tax burdens, more funding for our schools, helping students access affordable higher education, and support for collective bargaining rights.

AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders puts this election in perspective for not only Massachusetts, but nationally.

“This election is not just about who sits in the Oval Office or in the Senate,” said Saunders, who has been getting out the vote all weekend in the northeast. “It’s about our belief that if you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll get ahead. And the belief that we are not a ‘you’re on your own’ nation, but a ‘we’re all in this together nation.’”

We Are AFSCME: A New York Paramedic Shares Harrowing Hurricane Sandy Story

November 03, 2012

FDNY paramedic and Local 2507 (DC 37) member Madelyn Brown with her daughter.

Madelyn Brown is an FDNY paramedic with Local 2507 (District Council 37). Like her other AFSCME sisters and brothers working to help people during the disaster, she did extraordinary work on the job this past week.

The storm hit on Monday. I’d worked the night before in Brooklyn and the whole talk of the day was Hurricane Sandy. Initially, everyone didn’t think much of it though.

The actual day of the hurricane, I pulled a double (shift.) I came home for like an hour to get a little rest, then said ‘Let me just get to work a little earlier today because I know it’s going to be chaotic.’ That’s when my daughter was telling me, “Mommy, why can’t you be home with your family? Everyone else is home with their family.” I said “You know I have to go out and help people. There are people who are dying and they can’t make it to the hospital. I give them medicine, take them to the hospital.” My daughter, she calls me a doctor in the streets. My husband stayed home with all three of the kids and I headed out.

We got the regular people calling, all trying to get into the hospital before the storm hit. People started worrying. Then we started getting the emergency calls. A woman whose sister was going into cardiac arrest called. The elevators were out so we had to run up six flights of steps. That’s a lot to do when you’re carrying all that equipment. Unfortunately we couldn’t do much for her. This was between 7 and 9 p.m. Monday night.

The thing we were most worried about was the debris flying around. The trees were falling down. We didn’t want one falling on us so I had to reverse the ambulance a couple times, also because the wires were coming down on us. They’d advised us to wear a helmet.

We got another call from a woman who thought her mother was having a heart attack. She was so ecstatic when we got there. We evaluated her, took her to the hospital. It took us 10 minutes to go three blocks because of the trees and the power lines that were coming down. I kept in close contact with my husband and the kids. In moments like that, you just want to make it home at the end of the day. And if you can’t, you always hope that you helped someone else.

I grew up in Queens. I’ve been working EMS for 15 years. When I came out of high school I said I wanted to go to college. It’s funny, I was looking through this book of things I could study and I said, “Paramedic. That looks interesting.” I still wake up every day excited to go to work. When people are in trouble, I’m the one who comes. You get a rush when someone’s calling you and you can make a difference. That’s why we’re all in it.

(Some politicians) want to finish us off. We’re all union members though who are out here. We don’t even get paid that much. They want to take our pensions. Us – the ones who always go out to work in times like this and make the difference. Somebody has to go to help.

My prayers go out to all those affected and to my fellow first responder brothers and sisters. You're always appreciated.

– As told to Cynthia McCabe

We Are AFSCME: Campaign Volunteer Shares His Story of Activism

November 01, 2012

This post was written by Dwight J. Frederick, AFSCME Local 714 (Council 4), Connecticut Department of Social Services.

How Hundreds of Thousands of South Floridians Could Be Disenfranchised

by John Noonan  |  November 01, 2012

Early voting in Florida (Photo by Benjamin Thompson/Flickr)

MIAMI – If you think right-wing opponents of Pres. Barack Obama and other pro-worker candidates didn’t know how popular early voting in Florida would be, then think again. There is a concerted effort to kill early vote turnout.

Just take if from Republican State Senator Michael Bennett, who said, “We all want everybody to vote. But we want an informed voter… Voting is a privilege. How easy should it be?…Why would we make it any easier? I want ’em to fight for it. I want ’em to know what it’s like.”

1. Cut the early voting period by six days. Especially important to their effort this year was targeting the last Sunday before Election Day when African American churches traditionally hold “Souls to the Polls” voter mobilization services.
2. Lengthen the ballot so it takes much longer to vote. In counties where early voting is popular and the numbers favor President Obama, they load the ballot – in Miami-Dade it’s 18 pages – so it’s taking folks up to 45 minutes to cast their vote. Voters must fill out every page of the ballot, front and back, or voting machines will not accept it.
3. Keep the same number of early voting stations and staffers at polls as in 2008 despite increased interest. Turnout for early vote this year is higher than 2008, yet elections officials are not increasing voting machines and staff. (The average daily tally in 2008 in Miami-Dade County was 23,279 voters; on Monday, 25,001 people voted in Miami-Dade County.) There is no possible way for everyone who wants to take advantage of their right to early vote to do so.

South Florida early vote projections after two days of early voting: 

Even with six-hour lines at South Florida early voting locations, election officials simply can’t process as many votes per hour as is necessary to accommodate voter demand.

What’s the best way to defeat these voter suppression schemes? Hang in there and vote anyway!