SWEB and Staff Update June 17, 2009
SWEB and Staff Update
June 17, 2009
Submitted by Kathy Jellison, President, SEIU 668
1. The Budget – all state employees should have received information from the commonwealth concerning the possible budget impasse and payless paydays, along with a FAQ to address questions. All state employees are required to report to work as usual throughout the impasse. The PSECU is giving interest free loans, up to $1000 per pay (www.psecu.org) and members should begin to talk to their mortgage companies and creditors to prepare for the possibility of payless paydays.
While we are pursuing all of our options here at 668, please check the website for updates @ www.seiu668.org and the HOTLINE @ 1-800-932-0368, Ext. 115.
In response to our demand to bargain, a meeting was held June 18, 2009 with the Office of Administration over the impact of the payless paydays. During that meeting, the commonwealth gave the Union a 30-day notice of possible furloughs. Of the 600 planned statewide furloughs (based on Rendell’s first budget proposal in Feb. 2009), 21 of those are 668 members. One rank and file from the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, 17 rank and file from PHRC and 3 Supervisors from PHRC. No furloughs will take place until after the budget has been passed and this number may change depending on the actual budget.
2. We have been very busy with our Human Services Campaign:
Completed our Lobby Days with the June 9, 2009 event of mostly the County Assistance Offices, Corrections, Area on Aging and some others. Healthcare Pa. joined us for the Rally and it was a loud and focused event. The focus is on CUT WASTE, NOT SERVICES.
Our cost savings proposals have been sent to every legislator and have generated many interviews and radio show appearances by members and staff of 668. The commercials are airing statewide and we have electronic billboards in the Harrisburg area where the legislators pass to go to work.
Our allies and coalition partners have been helping us and we are helping them to get the word out that public services are needed now more than ever in these hard economic times.
Our actions are expected to RAMP UP as the budget nears, so please be ready to don your purple and make some noise!
Check out our Human Services Campaign upcoming activities at seiu668.org
3. Healthcare – the Senate and the House are moving on very quick legislative timelines over the next two months to pass a health care reform package, with the goal of passing a bill in both chambers before the August recess. The hope is for a plan that ensures affordable coverage, includes a strong public health insurance option and requires employers to cover workers or share in the responsibility by not shifting their cost to public health care or on those of us that have insurance. Did you know:
60- 80% of home foreclosures and bankruptcies are due to a family health care crisis.
We are the only industrialized nation without some type of universal healthcare.
18,314 people die every year due to having no healthcare. In many instances a simple x-ray would have saved a life.
Nobody’s benefits are safe. The state of Maine has a $1 billion deficit which is 18 % of their budget. A single mom working a state job makes $54,380.40 per year. She pays $2300 per year for her healthcare and 40% more for her dependents. She will lose $1374 this year in rolling furlough days imposed by the Governor, no raises as they are frozen and must use mandatory generics, even though one of her children needs a specialty medication that is not available in generic form. She will lose her house before the end of the year. The legislators in Maine were seen giving each other a "HIGH– 5" because they were able to "take back" from the state employees.
Six-term Senator Max Baucus, Montana, spoke to the International Executive Board last week. He is a leader in moving legislation for healthcare for all. While he could not give any concrete responses as the plan is in constant motion and movement and will be for the next few months, he did comment on the top 3 questions posed of him:
Will I lose the healthcare I have now? No, the employer based system will stay in place. The plan is to build on it with no disruption.
Will my healthcare be taxed? We are opposed to taxing healthcare. Remember that we went after McCain on this issue. There is discussion on a cap – having healthcare be tax free up to a cap amount. It would protect those earning under $200,000 per year. There are also discussions on taking the federal program and taxing anything over that amount provided after 2016.|
Will it be single payer? No. There are not enough votes for single payer. It will be a public/ private plan that allows for competition and bringing costs down. The plan will need to be financed by savings in healthcare (1/2) and new revenue (1/2), such as tax on sugared beverages, limits on the deductions on income tax, etc. Consolidation in the private insurance industry has greatly narrowed price and quality competition. The AMA reports that 94% of insurance markets are highly concentrated and premiums have skyrocketed, increasing more than 87%, on average, over the past 6 years. A public health option with a more structured and robust private market will break the stranglehold a handful of companies have on the insurance market.
There was a motion passed at SWEB Dec. 6, 2007 – "That SEIU 668 will not support any legislation until it provides for a government administered and run healthcare program that eliminates waste. This legislation must mirror HR 676." A friendly amendment was added – "Public service employees represented by SEIU 668 will administer the program." There are party lines drawn and the end result will be combination of public/ private plans. This plan could be the back door to getting the universal healthcare that we so desperately need. The cost will be about $1.3 trillion per year over the next decade. It is an opportunity to change the way we think about healthcare, to change the course of healthcare costs and to change the pattern of health care access and delivery, according to AARP. Not socialized medicine, but a uniquely built American system built on the existing network of employer-provided care, private insurance and a strengthened Medicare. Look at the alternative – in the last 8 years, health care costs have risen about 5 times faster than wages. If we don’t do something, in the next 8 years the average American family will spend half their income paying for health care.