Why this matters to you: Homecare Providers are state workers.

This week’s Battleground Bulletin recaps the AFSCME Public Safety Congress and provides an update on the We Are Ohio campaign.

Hundreds of AFSCME members who work in corrections and law enforcement gathered in Houston last weekend to plan our response to state-level attacks on public workers and to honor the work our officers do to keep the public safe.

The highly engaged audience of officers jumped to participate in workshops covering topics ranging from engaging with broader community partners in the “We Are One” campaign to regional breakout sessions and a seminar on emotional well-being.

Sec.-Treas. Lee Saunders exhorts public safety officers to continue the fight for public services and collective bargaining rights. (Photo by Luis Gomez)

AFSCME Sec.-Treas. Lee A. Saunders led a plenary session to honor the sacrifices made by AFSCME members who work in public safety. Saunders touched on the courage of AFSCME members on Sept. 11, 2001 as he introduced “We Remember 9/11: A Decade Later” and recognized two officers for their exceptional service: Michael Whitehead, a corrections officer at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, Conn. (Local 391, Council 4) and police officer William Beeler of the Manchester, Conn. police department (Local 1495, Council 15).

AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee said in the keynote speech: “Whether it is a governor who is hell-bent on privatizing prisons, or a mayor who wants to cut pay and benefits,” finding ways to work together to counter them is “what this conference is all about.”

AFSCME represents over 100,000 public safety officers and employees nationwide who are often the first to respond to serve their communities, through crises and everyday duties. The Public Safety Congress honored sacrifices AFSCME members make, while offering these public workers tools to fight back against the assault on their livelihoods.

We Are Ohio Campaign Heats Up

With seven weeks left until Election Day, We Are Ohio launched the latest salvo in the campaign to veto Governor John Kasich’s undemocratic, anti-worker legislation. On Tuesday, We Are Ohio launched their third television ad of the campaign season, called “Sacrifice.” The ad points out that public employees have made considerable sacrifices to help the State of Ohio and their local communities get through these tough economic times without an interruption in vital public services.

While public workers sacrificed $350 million through wage freezes, unpaid furloughs and increased healthcare contributions; Kasich and his friends funneled $100 million to their corporate donors and wrote a loophole into SB 5 to protect their own raises. Kasich and his allies want to cut funding and jobs for the hard working Ohioans who have our backs—first responders, nurses and public education staff—while lining their own pockets and those of their corporate friends.

As the No on Issue 2 campaign heats up, labor and our progressive and community allies are working to stop implementation of a voter suppression bill—called HB 194—which would drastically reduce the time and locations for early voting, invalidate a ballot on which a candidate’s name was both marked and written and end the requirement of poll workers to tell voters if they are in the wrong precinct. A group called Fair Elections Ohio has been collecting petition signatures for a Citizens’ Veto of HB 194 and has held joint rallies with anti-SB 5 groups. They have garnered support for their petition from President Obama’s reelection campaign, along with substantial funding from the labor movement.

Breaking News
News from the front lines of our fight for workers rights:

OH: Rove-affiliated PACs to spend big in Ohio
Joe Hallett, Columbus Dispatch, 09/21/11

WI: 1 in 5 jobs touted on Wisconsin state website are out of state
Scott Bauer, Associated Press, 09/21/11

OH: Kasich on public employees: “we are at war with these people”
Joseph, Plunderbund, 09/19/11

WI: FBI Raid’s Target Was Point Person for Scott Walker’s Anti-Labor Program
John Nichols, The Nation, 09/20/11

MI: Union rep’s lawsuit seeks to remove Detroit schools emergency manager
Chastity Pratt Dawsey, Detroit Free Press, 09/20/11

CT: AFSCME Councils 4 and 15 Earn Big Wins
Kevin Hanes, AFSCME Greenline, 09/16/11

MN: Union Says $50,000 Bonus Sure Doesn’t Seem Like Shared Sacrifice
John Michaelson, Public News Service – MN, 09/21/11

Yup, moderates and independents support taxing the rich
Greg Sargent, Washington Post: The Plum Line, 09/20/11

CGI: Unions Build Green Jobs Infrastructure For American Workers
Brad Johnson, ThinkProgress Green, 09/20/11

Victory of the Week – New Hampshire
Progressive candidate Peter Leishman defeated Speaker Bill O’Brien-backed David Simpson in a special state house election on Tuesday. Of the four special contests this year, all four have been won by pro-labor candidates who vow to oppose right-to-work-for-less legislation.

Democratic and moderate Republican leadership in the New Hampshire legislature believe that these four victories for pro-worker candidates are an accurate barometer of New Hampshire citizens’ rejection of Speaker O’Brien’s extreme anti-worker tactics and rhetoric.

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