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Newsletter 1-2 2006: Bush vs Workers pg2
Reprinted
with permission from UDW's parent union, AFSCME's
Public
Employee,
the official
publication of the Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
January/February
2006
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Hard Times in the Land of Plenty
By Jon Melegrito Cont..
Photo:
Don Dinndorf
"I’m paying several times as much for
health care premiums now as I did
18 years ago. In our county contract,
negotiated last year, health care was the
biggest issue. Even with our good union
contract, we’re paying more out of
pocket nowadays — $295 a month for
my family health-insurance coverage
compared to only $89 16 years ago.
With prescription-drug and hospital
costs, I expect to pay $1,000 a year
on top of that."
— Patrick Guernsey, vice president,
Local 552 (Minnesota Council 5)
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The overall number of Americans without health insurance increased for
the fourth year in a row, up 6 million since 2000 to 45.8 million
in 2004.
— Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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In 2004, according to The New York
Times, the average CEO of a major company received $9.84 million
in total compensation. Want to know more about such appalling
corporate excess — or
what happened with a particular company? Want to get active in
protesting and helping change that culture?
Visit the AFL-CIO
website
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At year end 2004, household debt (including mortgages)
was 121 percent of annual disposable income,
according to the Federal Reserve. Four years earlier, it was
103 percent of disposable income.
— The Washington Post
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Photo: Marc Ascher |
"Bush’s tax cuts, which only benefit the rich,
have hurt everybody else in New Jersey. With less money for
counties and municipalities, workers aren’t able to get
decent wages. Basic services are also being cut to solve the
state budget deficit. As a health care employee, I see it every
day — people struggling to get medical services without
going broke." |
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— Glenwood Smith, NUHHCE/AFSCME District 1199J,
New Jersey
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"The Bush budget cuts will
devastate Washington
state’s children, the
disabled population and
needy families. Bush is
cutting child-support
enforcement, foster care
and more. In 22 years of
working for the state, I’ve
never seen such a huge
dismantling of social
programs and safety nets."
— Sue Henricksen, Local 53
(Washington Federation
of State Employees/
AFSCME Council 28)
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Photo:
Tim Welch
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Since 1980 in particular, U.S. government
policies have consistently favored
the wealthy at the expense of working
families — and under the current
administration, that favoritism has
become extreme and relentless. From
tax cuts that favor the rich to bankruptcy
‘’reform’’ that punishes the
unlucky, almost every domestic policy
seems intended to accelerate our march
back to the robber baron era.
— Paul Krugman, New York Times
columnist
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You may download this article in PDF format from the
AFSCME website:
Public
Employee
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