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Missouri home care providers win historic court ruling
After a protracted three-year court battle, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the state must certify the election by home care workers who voted overwhelmingly for union representation. The Missouri Home Care Union—a partnership between AFSCME Council 72 and SEIU—will represent 13,000 home care workers across the Show Me State. Read the rest of this entry »
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Photo credit, Contra Costa Times
In 2002, Mario Scharmer slammed his car into a pole while driving drunk. He was alone in the car, having just dropped off some friends.
Barely alive, he was put into an induced coma at the hospital. Once taken out of the coma, he was pronounced brain-dead, with very little chance of any meaningful recovery.
Ten years later, Mario, 28, has beaten expectations and his life has slowly been rebuilt with the help of friends and family.
Read more
AFSCME N.Y. honors lawmakers who stood up for state workers
AFSCME New York hosted a legislative reception at the state capitol in Albany on Monday to honor more than 70 lawmakers who stood strong for public service workers’ retirement security by voting no on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s anti-worker pension plan in March. Read the rest of this entry » |
Maine’s anti-worker Gov. calls state workers ‘corrupt’
Since he was elected 16 months ago, Maine Gov. Paul LePage has been on a bizarre anti-worker crusade that has included removing an historic workers’ memorial mural from the state Department of Labor, shepherding a public-sector right-to-work-for-less bill through the legislature and using his line-item veto to cut big holes in the state’s safety net. Last Friday, LePage turned his anti-worker rhetoric up to eleven. Read the rest of this entry » |
Please Keep this Information for Future Use – Leer en español
In August 2012, the IHSS program will be getting a new payroll system that will use a New IHSS Timesheet. You will be receiving the New Timesheet with your paycheck (a sample is attached). This notice gives you information about the New Timesheet. It is important that you read and follow the instructions provided in this notice in order to be paid correctly and on time for the hours of IHSS service you provide.
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Maryland expands collective bargaining for state workers
As the Maryland General Assembly session came to a close in April, legislators passed a bill that gives state workers in four previously excluded executive departments collective bargaining rights already enjoyed by their sisters and brothers in the state service. AFSCME members across the state worked with Gov. Martin O’Malley as he led the charge to get this critical expansion of workers’ rights through the legislative process. Read the rest of this entry » |
UDW Members from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County participated in an AFSCME Sponsored Battleground Informational Classroom Session.
Our members gained new skills and joined the fight to protect worker’s rights in California and across the country. Members had a chance to strategize over the upcoming November “Corporate Power Grab” ballot initiative, which would give the very wealthy and big corporations even more influence over our elections. It would take away union members’ right to pool their money to have a voice in politics.
Check out our ”Battleground Bulletins” news category to see how AFSCME is fighting for the rights of ALL workers at the national level.
UDW Santa Barbara chapter helps to kick off Jason Hodge’s campaign for
CA Senate at the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival.
Right-to-work-for-less hits snag in Minn.
The Minnesota state House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly—118-9—to table right-to-work-for-less legislation early Friday. Thanks to the public outcry AFSCME members from Council 5 and Council 65 helped to cultivate, state legislators felt pressured to pull back on their anti-worker agenda. Read the rest of this entry » |
Advocacy Without Borders: One Community
– Accountability With Action
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
#076-2012 – APRIL 30, 2012 – MONDAY
State Budget Crisis – Hearings Today:
Download Agenda (pdf)
SACRAMENTO, CA (CDCAN) [Last updated 04/30/2012 07:45 AM] - Access to “fair and equal services” to regional center services under the Department of Developmental Services for eligible children and adults with autism spectrum disorders is the focus of a 2 hour informational hearing this morning, from 10:00 AM to 12 noon, by the State Senate Select Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders, at the State Capitol in Room 3191. Brief public comment will be taken after the presentations by several panels. This hearing is scheduled to be televised live (and streamed live on the internet) via CalChannel (see below for details). Read the rest of this entry »
by Helen Cox | April 25, 2012
BURLINGTON, Vt. – This past week, AFSCME members came together in Vermont to support the efforts of caregivers in forming their union, Vermont Homecare United/AFSCME.
Melissa Matoushek, Robin Calabria and Patti Cilwick (left to right) contacted caregivers across Vermont to help form their union, Vermont Homecare United/AFSCME. (Photo by Helen Cox)
Members from Pennsylvania, Kentucky and right here in Vermont have already reached hundreds of caregivers at their homes and have significantly grown our Council 93 family.
“Visiting caregivers to talk about their work is an amazing experience and the first step in ensuring that they can continue providing quality care and maintaining strong programs in our state.” said Patti Cilwick, a social worker at HowardCenter, a local non-profit. “All of our voices are stronger when we come together with AFSCME.”
More than 5,000 caregivers in the Green Mountain State provide Medicaid-funded in-home services to children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities. Since January, caregivers have come together to stand up for quality care and respect for the care they provide. Read the rest of this entry »
Federal judge rules random drug testing of Florida workers unconstitutional
A federal judge tossed out Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s executive order that required random drug testing for 85,000 public service workers in the Sunshine State. U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro ruled the order unconstitutional in violation of the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable search and seizure. Ungaro’s ruling applies to current employees who faced drug testing under Scott’s plan, not to testing in conjunction with a job change. Read the rest of this entry » |
AFSCME members challenge partisan ruling in Michigan
The Michigan Board of Canvassers deadlocked on a 2-2 vote today, blocking a citizens’ veto of the “local dictators” law from reaching the November ballot. The anti-worker board members quickly ducked out of the chamber amidst shouts of “shame” from 150 opponents of the law who packed the hearing room. Had the ballot initiative been certified today, the local dictators law would have been immediately suspended until the November vote. AFSCME-led Stand Up for Democracy plans to challenge this ruling on the grounds that Board precedent argued for certification. Read the rest of this entry » |
- CA Submitted Proposal for Funding December 1st to Cover IHSS -
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
#074-2012 – APRIL 26, 2012 – THURSDAY
Advocacy Without Borders: One Community – Accountability With Action
State Budget Crisis:
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RELEASES FINAL REGULATION FOR NEW MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR THE STATES CALLED “COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE OPTION”
SACRAMENTO, CA (CDCAN) [Last updated 04/26/2012 09:00 PM] - The Obama Administration today announced the release of the long awaited final federal regulations for a new Medicaid program, called the “Community First Choice Option” that will provide states who apply, with a higher federal match to fund community-based programs services and supports for person with disabilities and seniors who would otherwise be placed in a nursing home or similar facility. The announcement was made by the US Department of Health and Human Services earlier today. The regulations were first issued as proposed rules over a year ago for public comment. Read the rest of this entry »
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
#072-2012 – APRIL 25, 2012 – WEDNESDAY
State Budget Crisis:
SENATE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE RELEASES 28 PAGE AGENDA ON GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL TO EXPAND “DUAL ELIGIBLE” DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FROM 4 TO 10 COUNTIES IN 2013
SACRAMENTO, CA (CDCAN) [Last updated 04/25/2012 12:04 PM] - The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (Democrat – Concord) will meet April 26th, Thursday at 09:30 AM or whenever the State Senate floor session adjourns that morning, at the State Capitol in Room 4203 to review the Governor’s proposals to expand the demonstration project to shift people with disabilities and seniors who are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal into Medi-Cal managed care-type plans from 4 counties to 10 counties beginning in January 2013. The 28 page agenda, saved as a document pdf file is attached to this CDCAN Report titled “20120425 – Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services April 26 2012 Agenda – Health.pdf” Read the rest of this entry »
San Jose Mercury News, April 24 2012
By Gary Passmore, Vice President of the Congress of California Seniors
Rising health care costs and the downturn in the economy have meant disaster for California’s seniors, resulting in huge budget cuts to health care programs that serve our vulnerable population.
As reported in the Mercury News last week, Gov. Jerry Brown has attempted to stop the bleeding by proposing to restructure state health care programs for the poor. His plan represents an opportunity for California to deliver more care for the dollar through better coordinated, more effective care.
However, we believe his plan must be improved upon by investing in the tools seniors need to proactively manage our health and maintaining our choices when it comes to directing our care. Read the rest of this entry »
Walker’s cronies get bonuses while working families cut back
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker handed out $765,000 in bonuses and raises to his top staff, as AFSCME members and other public service workers tightened their belts in the wake of his anti-worker budget. These payouts are part of Walker’s politicization of Wisconsin state government. After taking office he replaced 40 top civil service positions with political appointees. Read the rest of this entry » |
AFSCME leads shareholders to rein in CEO pay
Citigroup shareholders made history last week when they voted to reject the proposed pay package for the company’s top executives. Financial services institutions must now hold non-binding “say on pay” votes—which give shareholders the chance to disapprove of excessive executive compensation—at least every three years. In 2006, the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan was the first U.S. investor group to file a “say on pay” proposal. Six years later, thanks to Dodd-Frank, it is the law of the land. Read the rest of this entry » |
Launched in February by UDW and its labor and consumer allies, the campaign is designed to protect IHSS from continued budget cuts and fix the program so that it works for all of us.
Throughout the state, UDW and its allies have been holding membership meetings, lobbying visits, teleconferences, and other activities aimed at building broad support for IHSS reform. In the latest issue of UDW’s Caregiver newsletter, UDW members are being asked to sign and return a petition showing their support for “Let’s Get Healthy at Home.”
Our plan to improve IHSS includes the following: Read the rest of this entry »
PHI April 19, 2012
An analysis of 6 million caregivers in California who provide services and supports to family members or friends found that those who are paid by Medi-Cal to assist low-income elders and people with disabilities were the most likely to be “economically insecure.”
In Hidden in Plain Sight: California’s Paid Medi-Cal Caregivers Are Vulnerable (pdf), researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research report that of the 290,000 Medi-Cal paid caregivers assisting family or friends — most of whom are likely to be employees of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program — more than half (57 percent) had incomes below or near the federal poverty level (average monthly income of $1,970). Read more
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation’s leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health-related information on Californians.
The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) is the nation’s largest state health survey and one of the largest health surveys in the United States.
New York Times, Opinion Page
April 15, 2012
Evelyn Coke, who died in 2009 at age 74, was a home care aide whose case for fair pay went to the Supreme Court in 2007, where she lost 9 to 0. At issue were federal rules that define home care aides as “companions,” a label that exempts employers from having to pay minimum wage and time-and-a-half for overtime. The justices said that only Congress or the Labor Department could change the rules.
Pauline Beck is a home care aide in California. In 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama was paired with Ms. Beck for an event called “Walk a Day in My Shoes,” in which he worked for a day at her job caring for an 86-year-old amputee. Read the rest of this entry »
AFSCME members fight to protect Colorado voters
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has launched a massive attack on the rights of Centennial State voters this year. Gessler has been lobbying the state legislature to block efforts—supported by AFSCME and allied groups—to prevent voters from being considered “inactive” after missing only one election. Read the rest of this entry » |
Iowa senator’s speech helps keep IWD office open
Governor Terry Branstad’s plan to close the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) office in Des Moines was scrapped shortly after a state senator made a passionate speech on the topic. State Senator Bill Dotzler headed to the floor of the legislature after the announcement of a plan to shutter the Des Moines IWD office in a pilot program that would replace human agents with phone banks and computer kiosks. The IWD agency reversed course only thirty minutes after Dotzler’s speech. Read the rest of this entry » |
| Corporations, super-rich must pay their fair share
As average Americans are putting the finishing touches on their income tax returns this week, millionaires like Mitt Romney and major corporations—including General Electric, Verizon, Boeing and Wells Fargo—have been taking advantage of loopholes and corporate tax credits to get out of paying their fair share. Meanwhile, some Members of Congress have been carrying water for the super-rich by passing the Ryan Budget—a plan to shift yet more of the tax burden from those who can afford it most onto the backs of working families, while slashing the public services these families need and AFSCME members provide. Read the rest of this entry » |
California Watch, April 17, 2012
by Chtistina Jewett
A Southern California health plan that state Controller John Chiang said “fleeced the state” out of an estimated $300 million stands to gain hundreds of members who are losing services as a result of state budget cuts.
Chiang urged the state’s Medi-Cal agency yesterday to recover the funds before routing former Adult Day Health Care participants into the Senior Care Action Network (SCAN) Health Plan.
A Medi-Cal audit [PDF] last year found that SCAN reaped $85 million in profits off a one-year, $100 million Medi-Cal contract due to overpayments. Read more
