Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement after both Republicans and Democrats last Thursday announced their selections to serve on the ‘supercommittee’ that is charged with finding $1.5 trillion in budget cuts.
She said: ‘Which Members (of Congress) serve on the new “supercommittee” is not as important as the work they are charged with doing.
‘Regardless of the committee’s makeup, developing recommendations that will both preserve and create jobs should be at the top of its priority list.
‘Nothing is more important than getting America back to work if we want to get our economy back on its feet.
‘We also expect the committee to find a balanced approach to reducing the deficit.
‘(Committee) Members should come to the table with open minds, but with the full understanding that the decisions they make will have significant ramifications for years to come on seniors, low-income families, the unemployed and working families – those who should not be forced to shoulder the burden of any deficit reduction measures.
‘The committee’s recommendations must include revenue and must protect vital programmes like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security that provide a lifeline for millions of Americans.
‘The committee must also preserve our investments in future generations of Americans such as child care services and education programmes.
‘A cut-only approach will not work and will end up shifting responsibility to already stretched state budgets and costing millions of jobs.
‘More partisan gridlock is not an option. We cannot afford a replay of political brinksmanship we saw with the debt ceiling debate.
‘The issues are too serious and the potential impact too great for this new committee to do anything other than work together to create a balanced approach to addressing our deficit.’
In an effort to refocus Republican lawmakers on the need for job creation, the 2.1 million nurses, janitors, security officers, child care providers and other SEIU members, last Thursday unveiled a seven-figure ad campaign, including broadcast and cable television, radio, direct mail and phones and online advertising.
The ads will run in Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Virginia, with a special emphasis on African American and Latino media outlets.
Despite an unemployment rate of 9.1 per cent – 16 per cent for African Americans and 11 per cent for Latinos – and as many as 30 million Americans in need of full time work, Republican leaders in Congress have failed to make job creation a priority, focusing instead on rewarding corporations and the rich with tax breaks and incentives to ship jobs overseas.
‘Rather than turning their attention to the jobs crisis, Republican leaders are narrowly and exclusively focused on the wealthiest one per cent of Americans,’ said Brandon Davis, National Political Director, SEIU.
‘Ignoring the jobs crisis is especially devastating for people of colour, considering the unacceptably high employment and unemployment rates for Latinos and African Americans.’
President Mary Kay Henry said: ‘Working families are struggling through the worst recession in a generation.
‘Republicans in Congress have a responsibility, and moral obligation, to make job creation their first priority.
‘The lesson of the past few days is clear: The American people have lost faith that elected leaders alone will make this happen. Working families in communities across the country are sending a clear message that it’s time to focus on job creation,’ said Henry.
The drawn-out debt ceiling debate galvanised working people to come together en masse to redirect the discussion from catering to CEOs in board rooms to creating jobs and relieving the pain of families at their kitchen tables across the country.
In the weeks leading up to the critical final hours of the debt ceiling debate, SEIU active and retiree members made more than 16,000 calls, sent emails and took to the streets to say loud and clear that cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security would be unacceptable.
In New York, seniors and community members from Long Island and NYC took action to get their message heard loud and clear: instead of slashing funds to programmes like Medicare and Medicaid, banks should be helping balance the budget.
More than 150 people organised by United NY, 1199SEIU and 32BJ held ‘Knit-Ins’ at banks on August 3 to create blankets that say ‘Save Medicare.’
The blankets are being hand-delivered to members of Congress during the August recess.
Earlier in July, SEIU Local 200U members, who provide support for people with developmental disabilities, joined with community ally, the Centre for Disability Rights, to pay a visit to Representative Buerkle’s staff for a discussion about proposed cuts in Medicaid.
As part of the visit, members delivered over 800 postcards they’d collected calling on Rep. Buerkle and Representative Gibson to fund Medicaid services for people with disabilities, not tax breaks for corporate jet owners.
In Minnesota, SEIU members joined an audience of 60 constituents at US Representative Erik Paulsen’s district office to tell him not to balance the budget on the backs of seniors and working families.
Members and activists protested and held signs outside of US Representative Chip Cravaack’s office, telling him to ‘Stop Protecting Fat Cats.’
In contrast, members gathered in a gesture of appreciation outside the office of Representative Betty McCollum to show their thanks for her strong opposition to cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
In Pennsylvania, SEIU Healthcare PA members took action by visiting the district offices of Representatives Tim Holden and Jason Altmire to send the message that we cannot solve the ongoing debt ceiling debate through cut and gut economic policies only.
In Massachusetts, 1,199 SEIU members, hospital representatives, healthcare advocates and faith leaders gathered on the steps of the state house in late July to urge their Congressional delegation to stand strong in the face of potential Medicaid cuts.
In Illinois, in late July, Senator Mark Kirk’s capitol office in Springfield became a scene filled with dozens of SEIU members chanting ‘Show some guts; stop the cuts!’
In Ohio, veterans, seniors and other concerned citizens met up at outside the offices of Congressman Bill Johnson and Congressman John Boehner to protest proposed cuts. A group also rallied outside the office of Senator Rob Portman to voice their concerns about cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
In California, SEIU-UHW members at St. Francis Medical Center mobilised to speak with the media about why it’s important to have a deal that protects Medicaid for seniors, children and the disabled.
In Fresno, 500 healthcare workers rallied alongside concerned citizens outside the office of Rep. Jeffrey Denham (R-CA), to tell the congressman to prioritise job creation when Congress re-convenes in September after the August recess.
In Glendale, Wisconsin, supporters staged a funeral procession, complete with a hearse and coffins, outside Senator Alberta Darlings’ office.
In spite of the fact that Medicaid and Medicare provide critical healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents, Darling supports Paul Ryan’s extreme plan to undermine the nation’s historic health care commitments to seniors, children and people with disabilities.
In Florida, SEIU members and seniors participated in rallies in Tallahassee and West Palm Beach. In West Palm Beach, activists from MoveOn.org and the Florida Alliance of Retired Americans joined SEIU members gathering outside Representative Allen West’s office to protest against West’s support for the ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance Act,’ which would greatly diminish Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits for Floridians who need them the most.
The SEIU concluded: ‘The debt ceiling deal was a last ditch attempt to avert financial disaster, but it by no means secures the future of Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security.
‘At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is precisely why it’s time for unions and progressives to mobilise their core activists and members even more for a series of bold actions on jobs that Congress can’t ignore.
‘We need a better vision of America, where we can work for a living, support our families, and retire with dignity.
‘Simply put, working people need leaders to lead. But if we want Congress to show more courage to stand up and get serious about job creation, then we need to start showing more fight and displaying more courage ourselves.
‘You can get started right now by calling your member of Congress right now to tell them to focus on creating jobs for millions of workers and preserving the benefits of retirees.’
