seiu-ultcw july 2010 newsletter (english language version)

8/9/2019 SEIU-ULTCW July 2010 Newsletter (English language version)

1/8

SEIU United Long Term Care WorkersULTCWreport

July 20ULTCW

ULTCW EndorsEd CandidaTEs in sTaTE raCEs Win in JUnE Primary

The June 8th pima election wasa ke pat of builing a Califonialegislatue that tul unestans,espects an values the ha wokthat ou membes o to ensue thesafet of ou senios an peoplewith isabilities. As usual, ULTCWmembes steppe up to pla amajo ole in helping ou enosecaniates win the pima. Ofthe aces that took place up anown the state, ou membes

wee exceptionall active in 10 kecampaigns of which all but onecaniate won!

The next step in ou ght to potectthe futue of long tem cae anultimatel secue eicate funingfo vital pogams like In-HomeCae will come in Novembe whenwe all etun to the ballot box fothe geneal election. Leaing up tothat ate, we will continue to wokto elect caniates like Je Bown(fo Goveno) an Kamala Hais(fo Attone Geneal) who aecommitte to caegives, those we

cae fo, an ou vision fo the futue.

June 8th PrimaryVICTORIES!

Attorney General: Kamala Harris

Senate District 26: Curren Price

Assembly District 20: Bob Wiekowski

Assembly District 28: Luis Alejo

Assembly District 35: Das Williams

Assembly District 36: Linda Jones

Assembly District 43: Mike Gatto

Assembly District 50: Ricardo LaraAssembly District 59: Darcel Woods

Even amist the wost state bugetcisis in a geneation, homecae ne-gotiating teams ae still managing topull off impessive victoies in sevealke Nothen Califonia counties

MeMbers Helping to Defeat

HoMecare Wage cuts in

nortHern california

Melissa JohnsonOve 1,000 ULTCW membes

joine hunes of thousans inallies thoughout the state an inLas Vegas on Ma 1st to call focompehensive immigation efom.

ultcW MeMbers MarcH for

iMMigration reforM

(continued on page 8) (continued on page 8)

Its been a bus an pouctivepeio fo Membe Stength the epatment esponsible foeveloping membes leaeshipan political outeach skills.

eMpoWering MeMbers,

cHanging california

(continued on page 3)


2/8

Toa, ove 2 million Califonians ae unemploe,500,000 homes have been foeclose on, an we face astate buget ecit that excees $19 billion. If this wasntenough, hunes of thousans of aitional Califonia

jobs ae at isk an fagile lives place in jeopa as theGoveno calls fo evastating cuts to vital social sevicepogams like in-home cae.

A Chance for ChangeHoweve, fom all of this comes geat oppotunit fous (ULTCW) to ceate the change neee to shift thestatewie convesation an ceate a political lanscapethat potects woking families instea of copoate

Ameica. Thees no question that Califonia is at a aetuning point, an though this tuning point we have the

unique oppotunit to buil stength an make ou visionfo social an economic justice a ealit.

Although ou union has successfull taken on manchallenges in the past, the abilit of ULTCW membes toinuence political change was again evient in the June8th pima election. Leaing up to the election, oumembes took on the challenge to activel be engagein 10 ke campaigns thoughout Califonia. As a esult ofou eication an commitment to a bette futue, 9 outof 10 of ou enose caniates won thei election. Notonl ae these inceible victoies fo ou caniates, the

also epesent a clea pictue of what is possible whenULTCW becomes full engage the political pocess anthe powe we possess as a union.

Between Now and NovemberOve the next 100 as leaing up to the Novembe 9thgeneal election, we must continue ou wok to elect thecaniates that will change the political lanscape to onethat tul ecognies an values the wok of long temcae povies, an espects the ights of those fo whomwe povie cae. Such caniates inclue Je Bownfo Goveno an Kamala Hais fo Attone Geneal. In

aition to these two ke ofces, well also be engage in

othe statewie aces that ae essentialin eaching the majoit necessa tomake woking families a Califonia pioit.

As cucial to ou futue as the Novembe election isthe vision fo ou union eaches beon the ofces ofSacamento an the election ccle. A majo componentto builing powe means that we must become moe thana union of long tem cae povies we must become aecognie leae that is committe to othe social aneconomic justice issues that impact ou communities anthe lives of membes 24 hous a a.

On Septembe 4th, we will be hosting the Fesh StatWoking Families Communit Festival to assist families

with chilen going back to school, ignite communitpaticipation, an kick-off ou election season wok. OnOctobe 2n, well be taking impotant steps towaachieving this b joining the counts leaing civil ights,outh, social justice an labo oganiations in a a ofaction. The nationwie event will mobilie thousans of

Ameicans an focus on the goal of ceating 1 million jobsbetween now an 2012.

The Future Begins NowIts been sai time an time again, that when we stanunite as ULTCW, anthing is possible. We continue to

pove this to be tue. An we must continue to take onthe challenges that help us gow as a union, that help oumembes gow as leaes, an bing us close to acquiingthe political goals that weve establishe. In the next fewmonths, ou union will be asking fo ou involvementin these effots. Its ou involvement that will bing us alclose to the victo we have eamt of fo seveal eas a victo that will potect long tem cae funing oncean fo all, a victo that will bing geate espect to thevaluable wok we o an the voices we ca, a victothat expans ou each an the lives we touch.

Staning unite as ULTCW, anthing is possible!

B Laphona Butle Pesient, SEIU ULTCW

presiDent's report:BUILdING AN ECONOMy THAT WOrKS FOr ALL

Save the date

Freshstart

wkin fmilicmmuniy fivl

Join us to generate a fresh start- for the school year- for our community- for California's economy

formoreinfo, gotofreshtartfest.org

sudy, spmb 4

12:005:00 pm, Lo angl, Ca


3/8

To lean moe about this pogam an how ou can be involve, please call theMmb actio Ct t (877) MY ULTCW.

Fo states, the epatment (in conjunction withExtenal Affais) taine 35 membe-intens to go to thehomes of membes in ual aeas an eucate themon cucial issues facing homecae wokes like theCalifonia buget cisis. Stating in late Ma, these visits

esulte in 1492 new full-ege membes; 745 COPE-paing membes; 437 calls to legislatos; an 127new egistee votes. Ou membes have also beengatheing suppot postcas as pat of ou Safe Lives,Saves Mone communit outeach an suppot effotsto stop cuts to the states In-Home Cae pogam. Sofa, ULTCW membes have collecte an astouning28,841 cas!In aition, the epatments Membe Political Oganie(MPO) initiative esulte in 150 membes volunteeingon the campaigns of 10 politicians unning fo statewie

ofce. Gatifingl, we saw victoies in 9 of those 10 aces!To continue this success an achieve ou political goals,ou membes will activel be ecuiting membes to plegeat least ve hous between now an Novembe 8th tohelp elect the caniates who suppot long tem cae.

eMpoWering MeMbers, cHanging california

While we all unestan the impotance to elect leaeswho suppot long tem cae, its also impotant thatwe evelop stong leaes fomwithin ou membeship. One of theecommenations that came fom theM.O.V.E. committee was to ceate aleaeship acaem that woul povieULTCW membes with the skills

an tools neee to be active unionleaes. To move this iea fowa,we ceate a pilot poject in which 21membes volunteee. Ove the couseof thee consecutive Satuas, thegoup met to iscuss what it means tobe a leae, the taits of an effective leae an to honethei own leaeship skills. At the same time as these

21 membes wee meeting, anothe goup of ULTCWmembes paticipate in a simila pilot poject that

focuse on how to inuence changethough ou political sstem.

Congatulations to ou volunteemembes who gauate fom thepilot pojects an gave valuable

feeback an ecommenations aswe wok to launch these pogamsin the nea futue as pat of ouEucation an Taining ivisionBe sue to sta tune to upcomingeitions of the newslette fo futhe

etails an how ou can paticipate.

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

ULTCW

builDing leaDers froM WitHin ultcW fora stronger toMorroW

(continued from page 1)


4/8

HelpRebuild California

This FallNovembers election gives us the opportunito change Californias political landscape byelecting new state leaders who understandthe importance of long term care and thework we do.

By simply pledging to dedicate at least 5hours between now and November 8th we

can make this change a reality and protectthe future of long term care.

Take The Pledge Today!

Join other members and take

the pledge today by calling

(877) MY ULTCW!ULTCW

LongTermCareUnited

Workers

Although June 30th make the constitutional ealine foa new state buget that aesses a $19 billion ecit,state legislatos have not et eache an ageement onwhat that buget looks like. Howeve, we o know fomthe Govenos Ma revise Buget (elease on Ma 14)that the Goveno is poposing to cut a staggeing $750million fom the In-Home Suppotive Sevices pogam.

These cuts epesent eliminating half of the entie pogam.

Although less than the oiginal cuts popose in Janua,the Ma revise Buget is completel unacceptable as itwoul mean that hunes of thousans of cae ecipi-ents woul lose all o pat of the cae hous the equieto live safel at home, an neal 200,000 in-home cae-gives coul lose thei jobs. In aition to placing lives inange an putting ha woking Califonians out of wok,the popose cuts woul also esult in the state sening$1.4 billion in feeal matching funs back to Washington

dC each ea make etun to sene.

Simpl put, an cut to the states In-Home Cae pogamis angeous an hamful to those the pogam seves,

the caegives poviing cae, an the states economThat is wh ULTCW membes will be woking to change

the political lanscape of Califonia b being full engagein the Novembe election to elect those who full une-stan the impotance of long tem cae an the impotantole ou membes pla in the elive of qualit cae.

gov recoMMenDs eliMinating Half of HoMecare prograM

July 1, 2010, marked the deadline for all

California IHSS caregivers to have started the

background check process. This means that in

order to continue to be an IHSS caregiver, you

must have completed one of four steps by July

1 and must complete all four by December 31,

2010. These four steps include attending an

orientation, completing a background check,

lling out an enrollment form, and signing a

statement that you understand the requirements

to be an IHSS caregiver. If you have

any questions on how or where to

complete these steps, please

contact your local public

authority or call the Member

Action Center at (877) MY

ULTCW.

four steps neeDeD

to coMplete Your

backgrounD cHeck


5/8

M name is Stac McClue, an I ama single mom an an in-home cae-give fo m 4-ea-ol little gil, T-le. Tle was bon a nomal, health,

beautiful bab gil. An fo the eato follow, evething was going wellas Tle was eaching all of he mile-stones. Howeve, one moning inFebua of 2007 m little 17-month-ol gil fell while walking. Not an un-

common occuence fo a chil heage. Howeve, this time Tle wasunable to get up. She was also un-able to talk o function. I immeiatelushe he to the hospital whee she

spent fou as befoe being senthome with a misiagnosis. Ovethe weeks an months to follow, T-les conition got wose. Althoughshe saw man specialists, no onecoul explain what was happening.He smptoms gew wose until shecoul no longe cawl o eat on heown. M little gil was slipping awa.Finall, in Jul of 2007 Tle was i-agnose with Opsoclonus Moclo-

nus Snome (OMS) a ae autoimmune/neuological isoe thatstikes one in ten million chilen.Ove the next thee eas, she woulspen countless as in an out ofhospitals. In the meanwhile, I lost

m job since I coulnt leave Tlessie an neal lost m house.

Toa, Tle is oing bette but she stilequies constant supevision. When

I foun out about the In-Home Sup-potive Sevices pogam, I thought itwas a tue blessing. I was now ableto povie cae to Tle an be ableto make sue we ha a oof ove ouheas. Howeve, as we all know, thislifeline sevice is once again facingangeous cuts that will put hun-es of thousans of lives in angeI ealie that a ke pat of potect-ing the homecae pogam comes in

Novembe at the ballot box. That iswh Ill be joining m fellow ULTCWmembes an oing what I can tohelp elect the caniates who shaeou commitment to long tem cae!

STACy MCCLUrE San Benaino Count In-Home Caegive

in MY WorDs.

Afte winning tempoa estaining oes to stop thestates 2009 buget cuts to IHSS hous an poviewages, the state of Califonia le appeals. In eal 2010,the 9th Cicuit Cout of Appeals uphel Juge ClauiaWilkens uling that stoppe the state fom loweing itscontibution towa caegive wages. On June 15 a pan-el of juges fom the 9th Cout of Appeals hea agu-ments egaing anothe uling b Juge Wilkens that

stoppe the state fomcutting the hous of cae aecipient eceives. We aestill awaiting a ecisionb the panel of juges onthis case.

state appeals court victorY

In aition to the ha wok ULTCWmembes i fo caniates in theJune 8th pima election, we alsoplae an impotant ole in gettingfome democatic Assembl mem-be an fien of long-tem caegiv-es, John Lai, into a unoff with re-publican caniate Sam Blakesleefo the vacant Senate distict 15seat which uns fom Santa BabaaCount up the coast to Santa Cu.

The unoff election will be hel on August 17, 2010. If John wins theunoff, democats will be just oneseat awa fom having a 2/3 majoitin the Senate. Cuentl, democatshol a majoit of seats in the As-sembl. Achieving a 2/3 majoit inthe State Senate is vital in oe topass a state buget that helps Cali-fonia woking families.

ultcW MeMbers Help force runoff

in coastal ca state senate race


6/8

the heartbeatof california

weare

UL

TCW

ThisMini-PosterisbasedontheartworkofTesOne,

OneLove

ispartof"TheHeartbeatofCaliforn

ia"exhibitcurrentlyondisplayatULTCW'sLosAngelesofce.

Theexhibit,comprisedof

worksprimarilybyCaliforniaartists,

conveysCaliforniathemessuchasCommunity,Home,MutualDepende

nce,ProgressandUnity.


7/8

nursing HoMe blitZULTCW MEMBErS rEACH OUT TO THOUSANdSOF NUrSING HOME WOrKErS OrGANIzING BLITz OFFTO SUCCESSFUL STArT

FACT: 1 in 4 women an 1 in 9 men in the Unite States ae vic-

tims of omestic violence at some point in thei lives.

FACT: Being a victim of omestic violence is nothing to beashame of. To stop the ccle of violence, each out fo con-ential help.

Ou membes ae ou pioit an base on the fact that 1 in 4women ae victims of omestic violence, thees no question thatthis issue impacts ou membeship. ULTCW is pou to patnewith the Jenesse Cente an simila oganiations in an effot toaise awaeness of the esouces that ae available to help oumembes, thei families an fiens who n themselves caught

in the ccle of omestic violence. If ou

nee help, please take the st step bcalling one of these conential hotlines.

Jenesse Centehealing families since1980.

The Jenesse Cente is the olest omestic violence inteventpogam in South Los Angeles. The Cente has helpe couless families though its mission to povie victims of omesviolence with a compehensive, centalie base of suppot assist them in aessing thei immeiate cisis an changing tpattens of thei lives.

coMMunitY partner spotligHtJenessee center

Jenesse Center 24 hour Helpline: 1-800-479-7328

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-Safe

Being membes of ULTCW, we all know the impotanceof having a union that elives a stong, unie voice onthe job. Howeve, thee ae still fa too man nusing homewokes thoughout Califonia who o not have a unionan theefoe have no voice. Ou membes ae out tochange that!

Ove the past seveal weeks, ove 80 ULTCW membes(both nusing home an homecae) have been wokingtogethe to each out to thousans of nusing home wokesthoughout Southen Califonia to help them take the steps

necessa to oganie. Althoughwe've onl just begun ou oganiingblit campaign, ou effots have aleacome with geat success as we ecentl wonelections at Centinela West an Centinela East. Wehave also scheule elections at Count Villa Seal Beaan Count Villa rehabilitation. We like to welcome onewest membes to the ULTCW famil an congatulaou Membe Oganies who have been ghting to masue that no voice goes unhea!

As a member of ULTCW, I know that together we

can accomplish anything at our facilities. Im helpingto organize caregivers who dont have a union so

that they too have a voice at work and experience

rsthand that united as ULTCW we are all stronger!

Mi C. vsquz, Cna t Couty vill By vist

Weve heard what SEIU ULTCW has been able to d

for other nursing home workers and couldnt wait be a part of it. Having a strong unied voice at work

essential for both workers and our residents.

Mois ris, Cna t Ctil Wst


8/8

MeMbers Helping to Defeat

HoMecare Wage cuts in

nortHern california

an membe-le avocac effots aeplaing an impotant ole.

In Solano, count ofcials wante toslash wages fom $11.50 to just $9

pe hou. But membes thee ig-ging in thei heels against the cuts spoke out passionatel at meetingsof the public authoit aviso boa;met with membes of the countboa of supevisos; an wote let-tes to the eito of local papes. Inthe en, negotiatos atie a con-tact that keeps wages an benetsat 'status quo' levels no smallachievement given the magnitue ofCalifonia's buget gap.

In Menocino Count, count ofcialsoiginall tie to impose a 10% wagecut. In esponse, membes stage a

potest that was covee b localTV an pint meia; hel a publiceucation vigil; testie egulal atcount boa meetings; an pe-fome each-out at senio centes,cit councils an othe communitallies. As a esult, count ofcialsbacke off on thei oiginal 10%cut, an membes ae still push-

ing (as of mi-Jul) fo a status-quocontact.

Negotiatos will begin talks withcount ofcials in Santa Cu ineal August, an in Napa late thatmonth.

ultcW MeMbers MarcH

for iMMigration reforM

Among the statewie Ma daallies that membes attene wasa massive mach in owntownLos Angeles at which ULTCWPesient, Laphona Butle,



aesse the cow of 250,000stating: We come togethe toato ght fo justice! A justice in whichpeople ae able to wok fo a livablewage, contibute to the econom,pa taxes that help buil schoolsfo ou chilen. A justice in whichwe ae able to wok togethe as apeople without fea ecogniing

the contibutions we all bing to the Ameican deam an making thiscount geat.In aition to maching in the allies,ULTCW membes celebate theiethnic ivesit b pefomingcultual ances in the steetsan plaing native instuments.ULTCW membes compise oneof the most ivese unions inCalifonia with ethnic backgouns

that inclue Amenian, Chinese,Koean, russian, Afican, Latinoan Vietnamese to name a few.

ULTCW

www.seiu-ultcw.org

.

Solano

11.509

Mendocino

10%

10%

7

SantaCruz

Napa

ULTCWLaphonzaButler

25

1

ultcW1

ULTCW

ULTCW

seiu-ultcw july 2010 newsletter (english language version)

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