SEIU Applauds Forward Thinking Plan for Education Reform

Milwaukee – Support staff of Milwaukee Public Schools joined Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee), and State Senator Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) today at Hawley Elementary School where they unveiled a new plan for education reform.

 

The plan proposed by Representative Grigsby and Senator Coggs allows for greater oversight by the Mayor, increases community involvement in the school district, and leaves the elected school board intact. The plan is supported by SEIU members who are concerned about the quality of education in Milwaukee Public Schools.

“We work inside the schools, and we have children who attend MPS,” stated Delores Copening a food service worker at Carson Academy. “More than anyone, we understand improvements must be made and we trust that it can be done by the school board, mayor, and the community working together.”

SEIU members opposed the original plans for a mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools due to unease that the elected school board was being replaced by an appointed body that would have less motivation to listen to community concerns. The bill presented today allows for financial oversight by the mayor, and provides veto power to the mayor for the school board’s selection of superintendant. The school board will remain in control of collective bargaining and governance of the school board.

Show Us Employee Appreciation

Downtown Janitors Say Employee Appreciation Means Quality Affordable Health Care

This week, Milwaukee is celebrating the 4^th Annual Downtown Employee Appreciation Week with food, games and live music. Over 100 of Milwaukee’s janitors joined in the festivities with a rally outside Senator Herb Kohl’s office on Wisconsin Avenue.  They wanted to remind Senator Kohl that appreciating workers means providing access to quality affordable health care.

“How are we being appreciated when so many downtown employees are going without health care?” asked Maria Sada, a janitor in the building of Senator Kohl’s office.  “Respect means health care for me and my neighbors.”

The downtown janitors are concerned with recent news that health care reform may not come to a vote in accordance to the timeline set out by President Obama. With unemployment on the rise and an uncertain economy, the high cost of health care is a difficult burden for many in Wisconsin and across the nation.

 “Every month Congress fails to pass health care reform, workers are pushed deeper into debt,” stated Jackie Berry, who has been cleaning buildings downtown for over 15 years. “The cost of waiting for quality and affordable health care is too great.”

The downtown rally is one of many actions members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) held this month to encourage passage of health care reform. SEIU members made over 700 phone calls to legislative offices, and collected signatures asking that reform not be delayed.

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State Budget Improves Wisconsin Home Care

Home health care aides across the state praise the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor Doyle for the creation of the Wisconsin Quality Home Care Authority (WQHCA), which was included in the Governor’s budget. The WQHCA creates a registry to aide seniors in finding qualified independent home health care providers, provides training to caregivers, and allows workers a choice whether to unite as a union.

“The budget signed today will improve homecare and allow more seniors and people with disabilities to live where they want – in their own home,” announced Mike Thomas, President of the SEIU Wisconsin State Council.

Currently, many families in Wisconsin have difficulty finding experienced home care aides as they are left to their own to recruit through classified ads or community bulletin boards. Without the most basic benefits, or trainings provided to new workers, turnover is exceptionally high. Seniors and people with disabilities who cannot find stable care providers are often forced into more costly state institutions such as nursing homes.

Through the WQHCA, people searching for home health care aides may use a statewide registry that will match them with caregivers best suited to meet their needs. Trainings will be available to both new and current home health care aides to improve care to consumers.

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A Reason to Celebrate

The smell of BBQ filled the air as SEIU members in Milwaukee enjoyed the 1st Annual Juneteenth BBQ Cook-Out. Members of the African American Caucus of SEIU from Minnesota and Wisconsin battled it out over the grill, handing out free food to union members. The cook-out took place at the Milwaukee Juneteenth festival located on Martin Luther King Blvd.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement.

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"We Can't Wait"

SEIU Members Tell Congress to Fix Our Healthcare System

During the recent congressional recess, SEIU Healthcare members across the country met with members of Congress to share the urgent need for quality, affordable healthcare for our patients, our families and our communities.

SEIU members in Wisconsin met with four congressional members.

"I had the opportunity to meet with Congressman [Paul] Ryan (Wis.1st) to discuss healthcare and to deliver our members’ stories. It’s important for healthcare workers to tell their stories, who better than the ones who live it every day?" Ethel Gates, Nursing Home CNA.

Facts from SEIU Healthcare Members on the Front Lines:
• 65 percent of members see patients who don’t get the lifesaving care they need
because they are uninsured or can’t pay.
• 70 percent of members can’t afford their own healthcare, or have a close family member who can’t afford care.
• 68 percent of members say that healthcare costs could be lowered and quality care improved if we are staffed and equipped to provide best-practices care.
• 56 percent of members see patients who don’t get the care they need because of their race, ethnicity, or language.

Health Care Congressional Report

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