Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Five Steps Towards Job Creation

Wall Street has gotten its bailouts. Now it’s time for Main Street to get some immediate help.

The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to take five steps NOW to care for the jobless and put America back to work.

1. Extend the lifeline for jobless workers. Unless Congress acts now, supplemental unemployment benefits, additional food assistance and expansion of COBRA health care benefits will expire at the end of the year. They must be extended for another 12 months to protect working families from bankruptcy, home foreclosure and loss of health care. Extending benefits also will boost personal spending and create jobs throughout the economy.

2. Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems. America still has at least $3 trillion in unmet infrastructure needs. We should put people to work to fix our nation’s broken-down school buildings and invest in transportation, green technology, energy efficiency and more.

3. Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services. State and local governments and school districts have a $178 billion budget shortfall this year alone—while the recession creates greater need for their services. States and communities must get help to maintain critical frontline services, prevent massive job cuts and avoid deep damage to education just when our children need it most.

4. Fund jobs in our communities. While workers go without jobs, important work is left undone in our communities. We should put people to work restoring our environment, providing child care and tutoring, cleaning up abandoned houses and more. These are not replacements for existing public jobs. They must pay competitive wages and should target distressed communities.

5. Put TARP funds to work for Main Street. The bank bailout helped Wall Street, not Main Street. We should put some of the billions of dollars in leftover Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to work creating jobs by enabling community banks to lend money to small- and medium-size businesses. If small businesses can get credit, they will create jobs.

America’s jobs situation would be even more dismal without the economic stimulus program President Obama and Congress enacted, which has saved or created 1 million jobs. But the depth of this crisis demands that we do more—and that we do it now, before more people lose their jobs, their homes, their health care and their hope.

(Photo: Rev. Jesse Jackson and National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka speaking about job creation and the need for a working-class bailout at last month's "Showdown in Chicago." Photo Credit: Sara Wallenfang.  For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157622554516515/.)

Health Insurance Reform Is Necessary for Job Creation

The Department of Labor reports that 190,000 jobs were lost in October. So far an estimated 8.1 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December of 2007. October was the 22 consecutive month of job losses, the longest such losing streak in 70 years.  What is it going to take to turn these numbers around and start a recovery for working people?

“In the construction industry, we know that job creation comes when businesses have the ability to start up or expand,” says Tom Fisher, President and Business Manager of Wisconsin Laborers District Council (LIUNA). “One of the big obstacles standing in the way of new or growing businesses in today’s economy is our broken health care system.”

Many entrepreneurs who might otherwise be hiring are holding back because they can’t face the uncertainty of going without health insurance coverage for themselves or their families.   They are either barred from getting individual coverage entirely due to preexisting conditions, or the cost is simply too high.

Existing companies are also unable to hire new employees and building new facilities, in part because they are spending an ever increasing amount to insure the workers that they already have.

A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute concluded, “The high cost to self-employed workers and small businesses of the private, employer-based health-care system in place in the United States may act as a significant deterrent to small start-up companies, an experience not shared by entrepreneurs in countries with universal access to health care.” (An International Comparison of Small Business Employment, August 2009.)

As part of our fight to create jobs, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO is urging the Senate to pass health insurance reform with a strong public insurance option to control costs, expand access, and provide stability so that businesses can plan and expand. 

Much Work Ahead on the Senate Health Insurance Reform Bill

The Senate has taken a significant step toward passing quality, affordable health care for America by voting to proceed with debate on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This legislation includes far stronger provisions to bring down health care costs than other bills, it covers more Americans and it holds insurance companies accountable.

Senator Harry Reid has worked to create a good bill.  But it is not a perfect bill. 

A tax on middle class health benefits is the wrong way to finance health care reform.  The bill raises the threshold for taxation to $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families (and $1350/individual and $3000/family higher for coverage of workers in high-risk occupations, for retirees 55 years old and up, and for residents in 17 highest-cost states for a period of three years.) We will work hard to eliminate this provision as the bill heads to the Senate floor.  The House bill, which does not include a tax on health benefits, gets it right.

The Senate bill does include an alternative that we believe gets us closer to the fair financing plan in the House bill.  It provides for a Medicare tax increase on the wealthiest Americans.  While the .5 % increase in the Medicare tax for those making $250,000 and up is a modest start at more progressive funding, it breaks the Senate’s months long opposition to new taxes. 

It also requires employers, with at least 50 full time employees, that offer no health coverage to pay a penalty of $750 per employee, if one or more full-time workers qualify for a government subsidy in the health insurance exchange.  We continue to press for a full employer mandate covering all workers in all firms, but this at least creates a serious penalty for free rider employers.

The legislation would cover 94 percent of Americans while reducing the deficit by $130 billion over the next 10 years. 

The legislation includes a public insurance plan option that will help bring down costs by keeping insurance companies honest and forcing them to compete.  The inclusion of the public option in both the House and Senate bills shows that Members of Congress believe the public option is an essential part of any final health care legislation.

The legislation would also hold insurance companies accountable by ending the practice of denials and raising premiums because of preexisting conditions or gender.

It includes a provision that will cut the rate of growth in Medicare spending in half, according to the Congressional Budget Office, through a powerful new Medicare Commission.  Besides being a strong mechanism for controlling Medicare costs, the Commission will set a path that private purchasers can, and likely will, follow to control private health care spending.

The next step is for the Senate to get 60 votes.  We will be working hard – mobilizing working families, calling and writing Senators in support of genuine health care reform.

We are optimistic that we are closer than ever to achieving the goal of health care for all in America. 

Welcome Our Newest Affiliate

On Monday, the Janesville Education Association (JEA), representing 840 educators within the Janesville School District, ratified by membership vote affiliation with the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the Rock County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

This affiliation is possible through a national agreement between the AFL-CIO and the National Education Association (which is not a member of the AFL-CIO) whereby individual local unions of the NEA may affiliate with the AFL-CIO on the national, state, and local levels.  The Beloit Education Association, the Kenosha Education Association and Madison Teachers, Inc. have also taken advantage of this membership opportunity.

“This is an exciting new partnership,” said David Parr, JEA President.  “Through the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the Rock County Central Labor Council, Janesville educators are standing in solidarity with other working people on the issues that impact our community.  We intend to take an active role within both organizations.”

With over 1000 affiliated unions which represent 250,000 members statewide, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO speaks for working people on matters of public concern, provides services to local unions, and coordinates political and legislative action.   The JEA will now have full voting rights to help determine the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO’s leadership and priorities.

“We welcome our sisters and brothers at the Janesville Education Association to the table,” said Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.  “These are extremely challenging economic times, and a united labor movement will serve the interests of all workers.  Education professionals have something unique and valuable to contribute to the on-going struggle of working families for economic and social justice—and for an increased quality of life in our local communities and our state.”

The Janesville Education Association is also affiliated with the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) and the National Education Association (NEA).

New Alliance Update

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO is reorganizing in order to become a more effective voice for Wisconsin workers.  The first step in this new alliance process is detailed strategic planning based on input from our many affiliated unions.

On November 11, the Greater Eau Claire Labor Council held a successful strategic planning meeting.  Seventeen participants divided into committees to discuss local priorities and how best to achieve goals.

As part of new alliance efforts, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO will be hiring three additional Service Area Organizers.  These positions will be focused on union membership mobilization, actions and rallies, political activity, support for organizing, contract fights, and legislative initiatives.  Service Area Organizers will be responsible for working with Union Affiliates, Area and Central Labor Councils, and the State AFL-CIO. 

New Service Area Organizers will serve South Central Wisconsin (servicing Dane, Iowa, Sauk, Columbia, Dodge and Jefferson counties), Southeast Wisconsin (servicing Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Washington counties), and Central Wisconsin (servicing Adams, Wood, Portage, Waupaca, Marathon, Shawano, Langlade & Lincoln counties).

Current Service Area Organizers include Andy Thompson serving Western Wisconsin, Greg Hinds serving Northeast Wisconsin, and Justin Geiger serving Southeast Wisconsin.

(Photos: Greater Eau Claire Labor Council strategic planning meeting. Photo Credit: Andy Thompson.)

Obama Signs Unemployment Extension

Last week, long-term jobless workers received a bit of relief.  President Barack Obama signed legislation to provide up to 20 extra weeks of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for workers who exhaust their benefits before finding new work. The bill had been held up for almost six weeks as Senate Republicans blocked several attempts to bring it to a vote.

An estimated 24,180 Wisconsin workers are eligible for this extension. 

“We welcome this as necessary stopgap measure to keep families afloat, but we also know that any lasting solution hinges on job creation,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “As a state and as a nation we should foster job growth by reinvesting in our crumbling infrastructure.  There is also growth potential in clean energy and the green economy.”

Obama's signature came just hours after it was announced the nation's unemployment rate had soared to 10.2 percent in October, from 9.8 percent in September.

The legislation provides an additional 14 weeks of benefits to unemployed workers in all states and an additional six weeks for jobless workers in states with an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher.  Wisconsin's September unemployment rate was 8.3%, but based on a three-month average, Wisconsin workers would still qualify for the extra six weeks.

“We have to ask ourselves how we got into this mess,” added Neuenfeldt.  “Clearly, we should revise the trade policies that gutted our manufacturing sector by sending jobs to places with lower labor and human rights standards.”

Your Efforts Made It Happen!

By now, you have probably heard about Saturday’s historic vote in the House of Representatives.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act passed on a bipartisan vote of 220 to 215.  Wisconsin union members played a significant role in moving this critical piece of legislation.

Union members and working families in Wisconsin made 3,387 phone calls and wrote 48,521 letters to Congress before the House vote on Saturday night.  

Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, David Obey and Steve Kagen were listening.  These five Wisconsin leaders sided with working people, rather than insurance company lobbyists, to pass comprehensive health insurance reform.

“This was a huge test of who will stand with working families versus the moneyed special interests,” said Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.  “Working families will remember who fulfilled the promises they were elected on and they will continue to stand with their Representatives who delivered.”

You can thank your Representative with a quick phone call to his or her DC office:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin  (202) 225-2906
Rep. Ron Kind  (202) 225-5506
Rep. Gwen Moore (202) 225-4572
Rep. David Obey (202) 225-3365
Rep. Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665

Although we still have a long way to go to, the passage of this legislation was the necessary first step towards security and stability for our nation’s health care system.   If such legislation becomes law, working families would get much needed relief from skyrocketing health care prices, and uninsured Americans would be able to choose between a public option and private for-profit insurance.
 
The legislation would also help small businesses access quality, affordable health care with lower rates and stable pricing from year to year.  And it would lessen the burden of covering the  uninsured by requiring employers to provide health care for their employees or pay into a common fund.

And last but not least, the House bill is financed in a responsible way – it is fully paid for and would reduce our nation’s rising deficits.  It does not attempt to pay for health care on the backs of middle class working families by increasing taxes on the health care that families are already struggling to pay for.

We have won the battle, but victory is far from certain.  Once the Senate votes on its own bill, the two bills will be reconciled into final health insurance reform legislation.  

Be sure to stay engaged as the Senate addresses the health care crisis.

(Top Photo:  Workers from UFCW Local 1473 hand out health care stickers and flyers at the gates of Klements in Milwaukee.  Photo Credit: Justin Geiger. Bottom Photo: Nurses and health care professionals from WFNHP-AFT Local 5001 make phone calls to Congress from their worksite.  Photo Credit: Candice Owley.) 

Stickers and Flyers Statewide! Working People Want Reform!

On Thursday, November 5, union members across Wisconsin kicked off a week of workplace actions, focused on encouraging their coworkers to contact Congress about health care reform.

Working people will settle for nothing less than reform which:

• Creates a robust public health insurance option to control costs, keep insurance companies honest and make sure that everybody has access to health care

• Requires employers to pay their fair share to finance reform

• Does not create new middle-class taxes

We are closer than we have ever been to achieving these goals.  The House of Representatives is expected to vote on “Affordable Health Care for America Act” this weekend.  Tell your Representative to vote yes by calling:

1-877-323-5246

While you’re at it, ask your Senators to support legislation that matches the House bill.

Over the course of the next week, union volunteers plan to distribute health care stickers and flyers at 268 workplaces across the state.  Check the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO flickr page for the latest photos from health care actions as they are collected: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/collections/72157622253225259/.

(Top Photo: Nurses and health care professionals from WFNHP-AFT Local 5001 make phone calls to Congress from their worksite.  Photo Credit: Candice Owley.  Middle Photo:  Workers from UFCW Local 1473 hand out health care stickers and flyers at the gates of Klements in Milwaukee.  Photo Credit: Justin Geiger. Bottom Photo: Ken Green and other members of UA Local 75 call on Congress to pass comprehensive health insurance reform.  Photo Credit: Justin Geiger.)

Thank You, Kind and Kagen: Now Let’s Make Reform a Reality!

With Congress expected to vote on comprehensive health care reform this weekend, Wisconsin workers are taking a stand to make sure that the final product controls costs and expands access. 

"We have a chance to get affordable health-care with this bill out there," said Mary Goulding, President of AFSCME Council 40.  “It's not just a union issue."

Yesterday, AFSCME issued a new report highlighting the cost benefits of the proposed House legislation and calling for immediate passage.   Armed with this new information, leaders from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO held a press conference in La Crosse and a press call in Green Bay to talk about continuing statewide, grassroots actions around health care reform.

Participants from AFSCME, IAMAW, UA, USW and the Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO thanked Rep. Ron Kind and Rep. Steve Kagen for siding with Wisconsin working families rather than insurance company special interests.  Both Congressmen have demonstrated strong support for a public insurance option, which is necessary to control costs and create competition for insurance companies.

There is still a lot of work to be done, and Congress must continue to hear from working people.  Between November 5 and November 13, Wisconsin union members will be handing out stickers and flyers at their worksites, urging their coworkers to contact Congress about health insurance reform.

In Green Bay, USW District 2 Political Director Mike Pyne highlighted the incredible effort his members are making; they have written approximately 850 letters to Congress so far.  122 USW Locals across the state plan to distribute health care flyers and stickers to 181 worksites during the upcoming week.

Be sure to call your Representative before the important House vote, and then follow up with your Senators to make sure they also side with working families:

1-877-323-5246

Here are some clips from yesterday’s press coverage:

This story from The Green Bay Press-Gazette also appeared in 9 other newspapers across the state:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911050659

This article appeared in The La Crosse Tribune:

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_ffa7d1c0-c9d0-11de-bee0-001cc4c03286.html

The following is from WXOW-ABC television in La Crosse:
http://www.wxow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11444020

This is the story from News Talk Radio AM1410 WIZM:
http://www.1410wizm.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=3447

And last but not least, Wisconsin Public Radio also covered the story (scroll down to November 4):
http://wpr.org/news/newsstories.cfm

Television channel WKBT-CBS also covered the La Crosse press conference. 

(Top Photo: UA Local 434 Business Agent Dave Branson reminded reporters in La Crosse that, "Health care cannot be paid for by a new tax on middle class benefits." Bottom Photo: Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Terry Hicks and retired AFSCME registered nurse Sue Conard, both interviewed by media in La Crosse.  Credit for Both Photos: Andy Thompson. For more photos from La Crosse, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157622618035903/)

House of Representatives Could Vote Soon

Union members across Wisconsin have already made 3,143 phone calls and written 13,594 letters to Congress in support of health insurance reform which:

Includes a public health insurance option

A robust public option is needed to lower premiums through competition and break the stranglehold insurance companies have over the current system.

Requires employers to pay their fair share

The only fair way to cover the cost of care for all is to include an employer responsibility provision that requires all employers to provide health coverage or contribute a truly meaningful sum to help pay for subsidies.

Rejects new taxes that would hurt working families

Health care reform must ease the cost burden on individuals and families, not worsen it. Attempting to fund reform by taxing middle-class benefits is completely unacceptable.

The "AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT," which could be voted on as early as Friday, November 6 in the House of Representatives, meets these three important criteria.

Starting tomorrow, November 5, Wisconsin working people will participate in a National Week of Grassroots Actions to pass substantial health care reform. 

Between November 5 and November 13, Wisconsin union members will be handing out stickers and flyers at their worksites, urging their coworkers to contact Congress. 

The phone lines are already open, so make your voice heard today:

1-877-323-5246

(Photo: Wood County & Vincinity CLC, AFL-CIO Semi Annual Conference.  Photo Credit: Jim Giedd)