Last Wednesday nearly 50 leaders and members from locals all over the state gathered for a training on how to defeat Tabor II and the gutting of the Excise Tax. AFSCME, APWU, IAFF, IAM, IATSE, IBEW, IBT, SMWIA, UNITE HERE, USW, IAM, and others were all represented.
The turnout reflected the breadth and depth of concern among working Mainers who will be devastated if Tabor II or the Excise Tax question pass this November. Question 4 (Tabor) and question 2 (Excise Tax), if passed will strangle public services while we are in the worst economic climate since the great depression.
To fight back union leaders and members were equipped with the tools and the knowledge, at Wednesday's training to get the message out that Tabor II and gutting the Excise Tax are no good for Maine.
The highlight of the training was a teleconference presentation given by Carol Hedges of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute from Colorado. She detailed how Tabor had devastated the Colorado economy and urged Mainers to fight back. We're rejected versions of TABOR twice before it's time we finally put it down for good.
In Solidarity,
Ed Gorham, Maine AFL-CIO President
Matt Schlobohm, Maine AFL-CIO Political Director
Don't forget to Check Out the Maine Employee Free Choice Act blog at http://employeefreechoice.typepad.com/me/ and our friends at DirigoBlue.com and http://www.unionmaine.blogspot.com/.
Nurses Stand Up For Universal Health care
The Maine State Nurses Association continues to fight for H.R. 676 Universal Single-Payer Health care. In her op-ed published last Saturday in the Bangor Daily News Cecile Martin declared.
"Why are we willing to watch as countless Americans suffer under the burden of a health care system that insists on payment “at the time services are rendered,” as if the purchase of health care is on the same level as buying a movie ticket or a new dress? Why are we satisfied with a system where medications are so costly that many either go without needed medications or skip doses? Why are we subsidizing the health care of our representatives in Washington, who don’t seem interested in improving the care of their constituents?" Click Here to Read the Rest
The Maine AFL-CIO stands with Cecile and the MSNA in demanding a single-payer solution to our health care crisis- the only means by which every citizen can get access to quality affordable health care.
For more materials and information about the Employee Free Choice Act visit the Working Families Toolkit. You can make custom fliers and fact sheets after briefly registering: www.workingfamiliestoolkit.com
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments will be moderated. Only obscenities and people's names will be removed. Please show respect to the other members. No Flames, no drivel.