Join Our March on
Wall Street

Dear Peter,                      3-8-2010

Will you join us?

Our first step is to hold Wall Street accountable and ensure the Big Banks pay to replace the jobs they destroyed.

While millions are suffering, the party on Wall Street continues—producing speculation instead of investment, executive bonuses instead of jobs and the sowing of the seeds of another financial crisis even as we continue to suffer the consequences of the current one. This is the legacy of the failed deregulatory economic model of the past 30 years and the failed presidency of George W. Bush.

We will carry out this effort to hold Wall Street accountable at every level—in Washington, D.C., in state capitols and city halls, in boardrooms and workplaces and in living rooms across this country.

Our message to the banks will be clear: Your risky schemes to enrich yourselves and your friends tanked our economy and took our jobs. You played Russian Roulette with our futures, and it's time you faced up to your responsibilities to the people whose lives you played with. It is time for you to pay back a small part of what you owe the American people instead of continuing to pay yourselves million-dollar bonuses.

Join us as we fight for Good Jobs Now and hold Wall Street accountable.

Together we will fight the complacency and obstruction that are preventing action, and challenge the speculation and greed that stand in the way of the investments that could create the jobs we need today and an economy that will work tomorrow. 

The consequences of inaction for working people and their families—the lives put on hold, the homes lost, the communities threatened—are grim. Children in families touched by long-term unemployment are more likely to drop out of high school and less likely to go to college. Young workers entering the job market now are likely to have diminished earnings throughout their careers. Older workers who are dislocated risk never being able to regain the economic standing and dignity that come from having good jobs.

The harm from this crisis to our society will be measured in more than dollars and cents, and only working together can we restore good jobs for all Americans—not just the privileged few.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
AFL-CIO President

Dear Peter,                           2-19-2010

We recently learned that the Senate and the White House cut a last-minute deal with obstructionist Republicans to approve some of President Obama’s nominees. But guess who was left out of the deal? Yup, that’s right: working people.

Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, highly respected labor lawyers whom President Obama nominated for seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), weren’t included in the deal. Meanwhile, the NLRB, tasked with protecting American workers’ rights, has been handicapped with vacancies for the past two years.

Enough is enough. Call the Democratic Party headquarters today and demand that President Obama fight Republican obstructionism and use his executive power to appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB during the Presidents Day recess.

Call the Democratic Party headquarters NOW: (800) 705-7083.

Becker already has received majority backing in the Senate and both won committee support, but the Republican minority has continually blocked their appointments. America’s working people are getting short shrift and it’s past time to do something about it. Workers need an NLRB that can enforce the National Labor Relations Act and protect workers' rights—not an NLRB handicapped by vacancies.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
AFL-CIO President

Dear Peter,                           2-18-2010

The Whirlpool Corp. is closing a refrigerator manufacturing plant in Evansville, Ind., putting more than 1,100 people out of work. Even worse, Whirlpool will continue to produce these refrigerators, but not in Evansville and not anywhere else in America. They are planning to manufacture them in Mexico, where weaker labor and environmental laws make them “cheaper” for Whirlpool to produce.

This is outrageous and unacceptable, especially in light of Whirlpool’s profitability and the $19 million dollars in economic recovery money Whirlpool recently received from the federal government as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Those are OUR economic recovery funds, not Mexico’s.

To protest Whirlpool’s decisions and demand good jobs in America, I’m heading to Evansville next Friday to rally and march with local workers and labor leaders—and I’d like you to join me. No, I’m not asking you to join me in person, but I would like you to sign a petition in solidarity with the Evansville workers for me to deliver to Whirlpool’s management.

Click here to sign our petition to Whirlpool: Keep It Made in America: Save Our Jobs.

Too many people have lost their jobs. Too many jobs have been sent overseas. Enough is enough. Whirlpool’s management can’t take our money, shut down our factories and lay off our workers. It’s not acceptable—and together we’re going to deliver a loud and clear message to Whirlpool: Keep It Made in America and Save Our Jobs.

Sign our petition today.

Tell your friends to sign the petition in solidarity.

Together we will fight against corporate greed and for good jobs. Together we will rebuild the American economy, because everyone deserves a good job NOW!

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
AFL-CIO President

P.S. Please sign the petition today. Our power is in our numbers. Together we can make a difference.

Dear Peter,                             2-3-2010

No one ever said that winning comprehensive health care reform would be easy. From contentious committee hearings and votes in the House and Senate to middle-of-the-night procedural votes in the Senate, the process has been long and complicated.

But all hand-wringing aside, success is near. All we need is a majority of senators to support commonsense changes—including eliminating the tax on workers' benefits—to the current health care bill as already approved by the Senate. To be clear, a super-majority of senators doesn’t need to support the changes, only a simple majority.

The process for this is known as budget reconciliation, but the name doesn’t really matter. What matters is that a majority of senators can bring comprehensive health care reform to all America’s working men and women.

One of your current senators voted in favor of Bush’s tax cuts for the rich using budget reconciliation. Send a message today to that senator: Don’t be a hypocrite. If a majority vote was good enough for Bush’s tax cuts, a majority vote certainly is good enough for comprehensive health care reform for all.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Tired of banks loading you up with fees while taking taxpayer money and giving executives huge bonuses? Send a final notice—payment is past due and it's time for the government to rein in the banks.

Dear Peter,                               1-22-2010

Wall Street banks threw our economy into crisis. Bailing them out cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. Now, with unemployment at 10 percent, those same Wall Street banks are planning to give six- and even seven-figure bonuses to the executives who created this mess.

It's time to say enough, and send the banks a final notice. Payment is past due on the harm they've done to the economy. Payment is past due on all the ways they've mistreated their customers—from excessive credit card fees to risky mortgages.

We're letting the bankers know—since they won't rein themselves in, the government is going to have to do it. And we're letting our senators know we want the banks to face consequences for their actions:

• President Obama's proposed financial crisis responsibility fee on the largest banks will help get back the taxpayer money that bailed out those same banks, without penalizing community banks and small firms.
• We need a consumer financial protection agency to provide strong oversight so banks can't play Russian roulette with our economy again, and to protect customers from being bled dry.

Click here to let the bankers know this is their final notice. Your message also will go to your senators to urge them to rein in the banks.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. Yesterday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told us the Massachusetts special election results demand harder, faster, smarter action from us on working family issues. Sending this final notice to the big banks is our first step. Take action now!

Dear Peter,                                 1-21-2010

What happened Tuesday in Massachusetts was a wake-up call to all of us.

It was a working class revolt—a signal that in this economic crisis, the American people demand jobs, health care and an economy that works for them now—not political business as usual.

It was a loud and clear message that our elected leaders—and our labor movement—must do more for working people, do it fast and do it smarter.

An AFL-CIO poll taken Tuesday night shows without doubt:

Voters are fed up that elected leaders have done too little to help working families.

They said Democrats have NOT overreached on jobs, the economy and health care—they have underreached.

Voters have seen too much help for Wall Street and not nearly enough help for Main Street.

Unless Democrats demonstrate that fixing the economy is their overriding priority, and begin to create more jobs for working Americans NOW, we’re going to see more results this November like the Massachusetts election.

For the union movement and activists, the message was also clear: It’s not time to leave it to any political party to take care of us once we put them in office. It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the health care we need. 
 
I am not discouraged by Tuesday’s election results. Actually, I’m energized and I want you to be, too. Working America is demanding major change NOW—not timid, go-slow, partial solutions.

I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver.

Let’s do it—starting NOW.

P.S. I’m sending this same message in a YouTube video. Please take a look and share it with other fighters for working families.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

Dear Peter,                             1-13-2010

Add your voice to the national call-in day for health care reform today. Please call your U.S. representative now and urge him or her to vote for health care that will work for working families.

After a long, hard fight, we’re down to our final opportunities to make a difference on health care reform.

Both the House and Senate have passed health care bills that will be merged into final legislation over the next few weeks. The House version is far better for working families—so please call your representative now and urge him or her to stick with working families and vote for health care reform that:

• DOES NOT tax our health care benefits.
• Requires employers to pay their fair share.
• Controls health care costs—and the best way to do that is by creating a public health care insurance plan option.

Please call your representative now toll-free at 1-877-3-AFLCIO (1-877-323-5246).
 
We’re closer to major health care reform than we’ve been in 60 years. But so much is at stake as the House and Senate hammer out a final bill. This really is the finish line. Make your voice heard now.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. Call your representative toll-free at 1-877-323-5246. Then please urge your friends to call Congress, too. Just click this link.

Dear Peter,                                1-11-2010

Today AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will deliver a major address on jobs, the economy, health care and more at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Watch it live at 1 p.m. at www.press.org.

Find out more about what it will take to turn around America for working families—and how we will do it.

Don’t miss it!

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Dear Peter,                        1-8-2010

Get ready: We’re taking the fight for health care reform to the finish line Wednesday, Jan. 13, with a national call-in day.

Pledge now to call your congressional representative and urge your friends to call the House, too.

Our message to representatives:

Vote for health care reform that:

• DOES NOT tax our health care benefits.
• Requires employers to pay their fair share.
• Controls health care costs—and the best way to do that is by creating a public health care insurance plan option.

Pledge now to make your call.

The fight for health care reform has been long and hard—and we’re just weeks away from a final bill merging the versions passed by the House and Senate.

Both bills greatly increase the number of people who will have health care coverage and end some of the most egregious insurance company abuses.

But the bill passed by the House is far better for working families—and now is our time to tell representatives to stick to their guns and vote for health care reform that will really work for working families.

The Senate bill is badly flawed. It would tax middle-class health care benefits, allow employers to escape responsibility for paying a fair share and does not include a public health insurance option to reduce costs and hold insurers accountable.

We’re down to our final opportunities to make sure that health care reform passed this year works for us.

Pledge now that you will call your representative next Wednesday and urge your friends to call, too.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Dear Peter,                         12-23-2009

One month ago, the House of Representatives passed a historic health care bill—one that would make great strides toward the guarantee of quality, affordable health care for everyone in America.

Tomorrow morning, we expect the Senate to pass its health care bill. While the Senate bill includes significant reforms, it does not adequately address our health care crisis. Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill will not check costs in the short term, does not ensure that employers pay their fair share and is not financed fairly.

As the House and Senate merge their bills into final legislation, we have one chance to fix health care reform before it is sent to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Your representative signed a letter opposing a tax on workers' health care benefits to pay for reform, and we need Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to stay strong and fight to ensure the final bill is financed fairly.

Write Rep. Cleaver today.

12-16-2009

**** ALERT: Wednesday, Dec. 16, is the LAST DAY to order from The Union Shop Online to receive your merchandise by Dec. 25. ****

Dear Peter,

You are one of our most loyal activists, and we’d like to thank you this holiday season with a 10-percent discount on all the great union-made gear at The Union Shop Online.

Get out your gift-giving list, make your selections from The Union Shop Online and enter Thanks09 as your coupon code when you check out—we’ll take 10 percent off everything.

To ensure delivery of your union-made items by Dec. 25, be sure to order by Wednesday, Dec. 16. That's today, so don’t delay!

• 10 percent off union-made hoodies.
• 10 percent off union-made Fiesta pitchers.
• 10 percent off union-made holiday cards.
• 10 percent off everything with coupon code Thanks09

Never before has it been so important to support America’s workers and good jobs. Shop at The Union Shop Online this week and take 10 percent off everything.

In solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network

Dear Peter,                              10-15-2009   

As the government affairs director of the AFL-CIO, I spend hours every day speaking to senators and representatives here in Washington about health care reform. In every meeting, I try to represent the voices of more than 11 million union members when I lay out the core components of real reform.

But not surprisingly, my voice is not enough. At many meetings, senators ask me for examples of what people in their home states have to say about reform. And that’s where you come in. The more letters and phone calls I have from activists like you, the more powerful our voice is.

Only working together can we bring the real reform that we need. I'm not asking you to write a letter or make a call today. But can you commit to writing at least one letter or making at least one phone call to your senators and representative in Washington during the next few weeks?

Click here to commit to write a letter or make a call for real health care reform.

We are in the middle of a truly historic opportunity to win real health care reform. Over the next few weeks, America’s working men and women need your help.

Thank you,

Bill Samuel
AFL-CIO Government Affairs Director

Dear Peter,                        10-7-2009

The clock is ticking. Every hour, another five people die because they don’t have health insurance.¹

How many more have to die before everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care?

Too many have died already. We have waited long enough for real health care reform.

Call your members of Congress today toll free and demand that they support real health care reform NOW: 1-877-702-0976

Now is the time for reform. All across the country, as a part of a nationwide call-in day, tens of thousands of activists like you are calling Congress and demanding real health care reform that:

• Controls costs.
• Holds insurance companies accountable.
• Includes a strong public health insurance option to lower costs and make sure everybody can get health care.
• Requires employers to pay their fair share.
• Does not add taxes or other costs for working families—we’re already paying too much.

Working together, we can make sure everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care.

Call and tell your senators and representative to support real health care reform:
1-877-702-0976

Insurance company lobbyists and the Chamber of Commerce are doing everything they can to slow down the process and ultimately kill reform. Don’t let them block reform. The time for waiting is done. We want quality and accessible health care for all now.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. We voted for change last November. Now it’s time for Congress to deliver real health care reform. Call your senators and representative today: 1-877-702-0976

¹ Study links 45,000 U.S. deaths to lack of insurance (Reuters).

Dear Peter,                             9-22-2009

Are you sick of insurance companies being able to deny coverage or raise rates for individuals or businesses based on pre-existing medical conditions?

Are you sick of insurance companies being able to come between doctors and patients when it comes to deciding what care patients need?

Are you sick of insurance companies being able to provide incentives to their employees who deny care and reject claims?

We’re sick of it, and today thousands of people across the country are taking to the streets at more than 100 events to demand that insurance companies stop denying our care and stop using our premiums to lobby against health insurance reform. Join the thousands of activists and help take the fight directly to the insurance companies. 

We want real health insurance reform, and we’re sick of insurance companies getting in the way. 

• Click here if a Blue Cross Blue Shield company provides your health insurance. 
• Click here if UnitedHealthcare provides your health insurance. 
• Click here if Aetna provides your health insurance.
• Click here if Humana provides your health insurance.
• Click here if CIGNA provides your health insurance.
• Click here if a different company provides your health insurance.
• Click here if you don’t have health insurance.

For years, insurance companies have expanded their stranglehold over health care in this country. They make record profits. They make life-and-death decisions. And they’re spending millions of dollars on campaign contributions and lobbyists to defeat reform—$1.4 million per day.

That’s your money they’re spending to defeat health care reform and the choice of a public health insurance option. Tell them you are sick of it! 

Thank you for fighting back against the insurance industry—the real enemy in this debate.

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. Together we can stop the insurance companies and ensure that Congress passes real health insurance reform.

Dear Peter,                                9-16-2009

The 26th AFL-CIO Convention begins this Sunday in Pittsburgh, and I’m excited to announce that we will be streaming live video online from the convention floor all week.

The convention kicks off at 3 p.m. Sunday and continues through 12:15 p.m. Thursday. We’ll be streaming online all the main floor activities, including speeches, resolution discussions and debates and officer elections.

Watch the AFL-CIO Convention live online.

Convention Highlights: Be sure not to miss AFL-CIO President John Sweeney’s keynote Sunday afternoon, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' speech Monday morning and President Obama's address to the convention Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, new AFL-CIO officers will be nominated. Watch the election of our next president, secretary-treasurer and executive vice president live online.

Watch the AFL-CIO Convention live online.

Click here for our main convention website.

Click here for a full convention schedule. (pdf)

 Follow the AFL-CIO on Twitter for the latest updates, including schedule changes, etc.

Thank you,

Reggie Cole
AFL-CIO Broadcast Division

Dear Peter,                                  9-10-2009

Last night, President Obama laid out in clear and certain terms how and why we need health care reform. The president is right. The status quo is unacceptable, our health care system desperately needs reform and we've never been closer to making historic breakthroughs in guaranteeing quality, affordable health care.

A key component of reform is a quality public health insurance option because it will help hold down costs and provide real competition for insurance companies. But the public option is at risk because insurance companies are spending millions on lobbyists to stop it. It’s time for members of Congress to side with us instead of the health insurance lobbyists and support a public option.

Tens of thousands of you already have made calls, written letters and attended town hall meetings on health care reform, but we need you to call your senators again today. Opponents of reform aren’t slowing down, and we can’t afford to slow down either.

Ask your senators to join us and support a public insurance option to reform our health care system.

Sen. Kit Bond: (202) 224-5721
Sen. Claire McCaskill: (202) 224-6154

Tell your senators that health care reform can’t wait. Here are some specific talking points to keep in mind when you call.

I want health care reform that:

• Requires insurers to compete with a quality public health insurance option to keep them honest and hold down costs.
• Requires companies to pay their fair share toward employees' health care.
• Does not tax health coverage, which would penalize the very people who already are struggling with out-of-control costs.
• Puts people and their doctors in charge of their own health care.
• Ends insurance company abuses.

Thank you for everything you do. And as we continue our fight for real health care reform, keep in mind these words from President Obama:

Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care.

Working together, we truly can provide stability and security to those who have insurance, and affordable coverage to those who don’t.

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. Call Sen. Bond and Sen. McCaskill today. Report what they had to say on our blog.

Dear Peter,                           9-4-2009

This Labor Day weekend, we are taking a moment to reflect on the future of America’s working men of women. Young workers today have lower-paying jobs than they did 10 years ago—those able to find jobs at all. Health care is a luxury, and retirement security is something for their parents, not them.

In fact, 34 percent of workers younger than 35 still live at home with their parents. Low-income young workers are as likely to live with parents as on their own.

A new report by the AFL-CIO and Working America, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade,” finds that the economic meltdown over the past decade has handicapped young workers’ ability to transition into adulthood and financial independence.

After getting married, my wife and I decided to move in with my parents to pay off our bills. We could afford to live on our own, but we’d never be able to get out of debt. We have school loans to pay off, too. We’d like to have children, but we just can’t manage the expense of it right now...so we’re putting it off till we’re in a better place.

—Nate Scherer, 31, lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he shares a home with his wife, his parents and his brother.

What do you think it means for our future? Read more about the report on our blog and share your thoughts.

Read the full report. (pdf)

Here are just a few of the report's disturbing findings:

• 31 percent of young workers report being uninsured, up from 24 percent 10 years ago, and 79 percent of the uninsured say they don’t have coverage because they can’t afford it or their employer does not offer it.
• Only 31 percent say they make enough money to cover their bills and put some money aside—22 percentage points fewer than in 1999.
• Seven in 10 do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses—a real danger when so many jobs are disappearing.

The future of our country depends on the prosperity of each generation, and while the magnitude of the problems is huge, so are the opportunities. Young workers remain full of hope and want to be involved. As a movement, we must engage proactively with this generation.

Young workers in particular must be given the tools to lead the next generation to prosperity. Our national survey shows just how broken our economy is for our young people—and what’s at stake if we don't fix it.

—AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

As we look to the future this Labor Day, let's all think about what we can do to make our economy work better for the next generation. Keep in mind that one exciting result of our survey is that not only do young people want to be involved, their priorities are even more progressive than the older generation of workers.

Join us on our blog all weekend for Labor Day stories and opportunities to connect.

 Friend us on Facebook.

 Follow us on Twitter.

Together, we can make a difference.

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Dear Peter,                           8-22-2009

Table of Contents

• Fall B.A. Courses—Registration Deadline: Aug. 28
• Union Skills Courses and Schedule
• NLC Now Offers Federal Financial Aid

Bachelor of Arts Degree Programs and Course Schedules

The NLC fall semester starts Sept. 8. Apply now or register for courses online here. The NLC offers fully and partially online courses, making study possible for full-time workers with families. Courses can be taken individually or as part of a Bachelor of Arts degree program. Click here to find out more about the NLC degree programs.

Fall BA Course Schedule (REGISTRATION DEADLINE AUG. 28)

Courses begin online Sept. 8, 2009. Residence week: Oct. 3-9, 2009

SATURDAY-THURSDAY 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Labor and the Economy
Senior Seminar
History of Labor Theater
Union Structure and Governance

SUNDAY-FRIDAY 8:00-11:00 a.m.
Intro to Labor Studies
Organizing and Representing the New Workforce
Workplace Hazards and the Law
Writing About Labor Literature

SUNDAY-FRIDAY 11:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m
Comparative Research Methods
Gender and Identity in Labor History
Labor in the Global Economy
Employment Rights
Senior Project (Online Only)
Senior Project Progress (no class time)

Online Class Offering for BA and Online Degree Program

Courses begin Sept. 8, 2009, and are completely online, no residential required. All degree courses are three semester credits unless otherwise noted.

Introduction to Labor Studies
Digital Learning and the Future
Comparative Research Methods
Social History of Labor Music
Effective Writing (lower division credits)*
Science, Technology and Our World
Film & Globalization
Labor Law
Computer Skills for Trade Unionists
Instructional Systems Design
Response to Bio-Terrorism I
Foundations in Safety & Health
The Role of Corporation in Society
Union Administration**
Leadership Theory**
Effective Leadership**
Grassroots Leadership for Working America I (5 weeks, 1 credit)**
Grassroots Leadership for Working America II (10 weeks, 2 credits)**
Using Web 2.0 for Student Collaboration (Sept. 8-Oct, 20)***
Going Digital with Student Storytelling (Nov. 2-Dec. 18)***
Internet and Educational Research (Sept. 8-Oct. 20)***
Integrating Technology in Classroom (Sept. 8-Oct 20.)***

* This course does not count as part of the NLC 30.
** These courses can be utilized for the new Leadership for Change Certificate.
*** These courses can be utilized for the new Computer Skills & Technology in Education Certificate and are worth two credits each—12 credits to complete certificate.

Union Skills Courses at NLC

Participation in a Union Skills Course provides students with the opportunity to learn practical, tested skills and keep up to date with the labor movement. Courses are open to all and are usually two credits. A third credit can sometimes be earned through additional assignments in consultation with the course instructor.

Union Skills Course Schedule 2009-2010

NLC Now Offers Federal Financial Aid

The NLC is pleased to offer a number of opportunities for financial assistance, now including federal financial aid in the form of grants and loans to students who qualify, and scholarship opportunities through union and privately funded programs. The NLC was approved to offer federal financial aid this spring. Click here to learn more about financial aid loans and grants through the NLC.

Dear Peter,                                  8-14-2009

A lot of angry, over-the-top rhetoric is muddying our discussion of health care reform. To help clear things up, here’s a brief summary of President Obama’s plan, including how it will stop insurance company abuses and help you—even if you currently have a strong health benefits plan.

• Health care reform will stop insurance company abuses.
  • Insurance companies won’t be able to refuse to pay a claim or give you coverage because of “pre-existing” conditions.
  • Your out-of-pocket expenses will be capped. No more going broke because of a serious illness or injury.
  • Insurance companies won’t be allowed to charge women higher rates than men or drop you if you get sick.
  • Insurance companies will have to cover your children until age 26 instead of dumping them at 19.

   

• Health care reform will hold down rising costs.
  • A public health insurance option will force private insurers to compete and will lower costs for everyone.
  • By requiring companies to pay their fair share, we’ll stop them from dumping their health care costs on the rest of us.

   

• Health reform means affordable care will be there for you, no matter what. If you lose your job, or your kid loses his. If you get sick. When you retire. Affordable health care will be there for you, no matter what. That means you and your family can’t fall through the cracks and won’t go broke because of health care bills.

For more information about how health care reform can help you and for answers to many of the common questions about President Obama’s plan, check out this new web resource from the White House.

We are so close to real reform, but getting over the finish line will be a battle. We are up against giant insurance companies, a Republican Party that wants President Obama to fail and the corporate media like Fox and Rush Limbaugh.

The reality is that health care costs are spiraling out of control, and everyone in America deserves quality and affordable care. Health care reform simply can’t wait. We will all be better off with real reform.

Thank you for everything you do, and please forward this e-mail far and wide.

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Dear Peter,                                 8-6-2009

Across the country, a small group of radical right-wingers are engaging in an all-out effort to stop real health care reform. There is little doubt that this increased level of coordinated activity is because we are closer to reform than we have been in more than 50 years.

While we are getting closer to real reform, we can’t let up yet. We need to keep fighting to ensure that our voices are heard over the unruly mobs. More than 75 percent of America’s workers support President Obama’s plan for real health care reform, and we cannot allow a small band of angry zealots to stand in our way.

Currently, fringe right-wing opponents of health care reform are focused on disrupting congressional town hall meetings. And we’ll be e-mailing you directly if we learn about town hall meetings near you. In the meantime, we need you to call your U.S. representative’s district office today and remind him or her to support real health care reform this year.

Call your representative toll free: 1-877-702-0976

The progress Congress has made so far toward reform has come thanks in part to the more than 50,000 phone calls made last week by activists like you. As of today, four congressional committees have approved health care reform bills with a quality public health insurance option, a requirement for employers to pay their fair share and no taxation of workers’ existing health care benefits.

This is a remarkable achievement and the furthest we’ve come in 50 years toward providing affordable, secure and stable health care for all. We still have a ways to go, and while the media loves to highlight all the bumps in the road, it’s important to remember two things: We have yet to lose a significant vote in Congress this year on health reform, and the president, his staff and leaders in Congress are all committed to enacting health care reform this year.
 
Call your representative toll free: 1-877-702-0976

If you have a chance to speak with your member of Congress or a staff member, here is a question and a few talking points you might find helpful. But personal stories are often the most powerful way to communicate the need for reform, so feel free to tell your own story.

• Will you side with health insurers and vote for legislation that continues their control over health care, or vote for reform that puts patients and their doctors in charge of their health care?

   

• I want real health care reform with:

   

  • A quality public health insurance option.
  • A requirement for employers to pay their fair share.
  • No taxation of workers’ existing health care benefits.

Thank you for your support,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. We are going to win this fight, but we can’t do it without hard work. The Republicans and their corporate allies are going all out to stop reform, and the next 30 days are going to be critical. Call your representative toll free: 1-877-702-0976

Dear Peter,                     7-28-2009

Our all-out push for real health care reform continues—we can’t afford for Congress to wait any longer.

We need to fix our broken health care system with a reform bill that provides a quality public health insurance option, calls on employers to pay their fair share and doesn’t ask workers to pay more for what they already have.

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. The time is now, and we need a few minutes of your time today to make sure Congress acts now. Call on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to support real health care reform today.

Call Rep. Cleaver toll free today: 1-877-702-0976

Across the country as a part of a nationwide call-in day, tens of thousands of activists like you are calling their representatives demanding real health care reform with the following three conditions:

• A quality public health insurance option.
• Requirements that all employers pay their fair share.
• No taxation of workers’ benefits.

This is a historic opportunity to fix our broken health care system, and we need every member of Congress to understand this. Working together, we can make sure everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care.

Call and tell your representative to support real health care reform: 1-877-702-0976

It’s absolutely critical that you call today. Insurance company lobbyists and the Chamber of Commerce are doing everything they can to slow down the process and ultimately kill reform. Don’t let them block reform. The time for waiting is done. We want quality and accessible health care for all NOW. Call your representative today.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. We voted for change last November. Now it’s time for Congress to deliver real health care reform. Call your representative today: 1-877-702-0976

Dear Peter,                          7-14-2009

Streaming hi-def web video. Music. Movies. Pictures. Books. All available when you want them—how you want them. This is the promise of the Internet.

But is your Internet service fast enough to fulfill that promise? Can you stream hi-definition video online? Can you even watch low-quality streaming video? Sadly, the answer is probably not.

The United States ranks just 15th among industrialized nations in broadband access, and we are virtually the only industrialized country without a national high-speed Internet policy.

Click here to take the CWA Speed Matters Internet Speed Test and find out how your Internet service stacks up.

To keep up in this rapidly modernizing world, everyone must have access to high-speed, affordable Internet service. The country that invented the Internet should be a leader in broadband speed and access, and we need your help to make it happen.

The good news is that at the direction of President Obama, the Federal Communications Commission is crafting a national broadband strategy. To help the FCC develop this new strategy, we will compile the data from the speed tests of hundreds of thousands of activists like you and report on the results, breaking them down by state, county and ZIP code.

Click here to take the CWA Speed Matters Internet Speed Test and help make a difference.

Speed Matters is a project of the Communications Workers of America. CWA has been working for years to close the digital divide in the United States—collecting data, spreading awareness and lobbying our lawmakers about the need for universal broadband.

The U.S. government invests relatively less on telecommunications than most other major countries, and we continue to lose ground to other countries in broadband access and speed. People like you are charged more for slower speeds, and our existing high-speed networks aren’t even available, much less affordable, for millions of American households.

The result? Every day, American businesses are missing opportunities to sell their goods and services in the global marketplace. Every day, the American people are missing out on important health and educational benefits. And every day, the American economy is missing out on good jobs created by broadband deployment and maintenance. The FCC is working to fix this right now, and the results of your speed test will help them develop the best possible policy.

Test your Internet speed and be part of the effort to bring the benefits of affordable high-speed Internet access to every American.

There’s been a digital divide in the United States for many years. It has cost millions of Americans the full benefits of the digital age and kept our economy from reaching its full potential.

Now we’re so close to closing the divide. I hope you’ll support this effort.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

Dear Peter,                           7-10-2009

We knew that achieving meaningful health care reform wasn’t going to be easy, but today we have some exciting news to share. Three committees in the House of Representatives just released a draft proposal that provides a quality public health insurance option, calls on employers to pay their fair share and doesn’t ask workers to pay more for what they already have.

This is a strong reform proposal that meets the goals of President Obama, and ours, to control runaway health care costs, offer the American people real choices and expand access to quality health care.

Speak out today: Send a message to your representative in support of real health care reform.

This proposal is just a small step in the long road to real health care reform, but as part of the reform process, it’s critical that your representatives in Washington hear from you now in support of this proposal.

Opponents of reform are making their views known at every moment, and we need your help to counter their lobbying efforts. Sadly, we cannot count on our representatives to vote for reform because it’s the right thing to do, so we need to regularly remind them how important this issue is to us and why we need real health care reform now.

Make your voice heard: Send a message to your representative today.

Insurance companies, drug makers and other private health industries have spent $126 million on lobbyists this year alone, and we can’t let them kill real reform. The American people want real health care reform, and it’s up to you to keep the pressure on your representatives in Washington to do the right thing.

Together, we can ensure that everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care. 

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. Congress just came back into session, and health care really is at the top of the agenda. We need you to make your voice heard right now. Contact your representative today.

Dear Peter,                           7-2-2009

Every Fourth of July is an opportunity to celebrate the freedom we have, while remembering the freedoms for which we are still fighting. Our key fight now is about whether the workplace is a place of dignity—or of absolute employer power.

It’s a fight over the basic question of whether workers’ rights at work, health care and pensions are fundamental to having a decent life—or luxuries that only CEOs and investment bankers get to enjoy.

This is why we are fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act.

We are fighting for the people who do the real work of our society—who build our cities, teach our children and run into burning buildings when everyone else runs out. The people who make power plants work, tend the mentally ill and collect garbage. The people who staff hospitals, fly planes, drive buses, build ships, harvest produce and perform thousands of other critical jobs.

These people are why we are fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act.

We can only win this fight together, so join me on this Independence Day weekend and send a message to your representatives in Washington: Pass the Employee Free Choice Act because every worker deserves the freedom to join a union and bargain for a better life.

Write your representative and senators today.

America’s workers need all of us to keep fighting for our freedom.

John J. Sweeney
AFL-CIO President

Dear Peter,                         6-23-2009

The more than 23,000 of you who took the online 2009 Health Care for America Survey made it clear: Our health care system is failing us, and we need relief from costs that are bankrupting families, endangering our health and hobbling businesses. That’s why it’s so important that we let Congress know they must hang in there and get health care reform done!

In the survey, sponsored by the AFL-CIO and Working America, nearly one-third reported skipping important medical care because of costs. Almost everyone is dissatisfied with health care costs—including nearly three-quarters of people with insurance. And 6,409 of you were so motivated that you took the time to share personal stories about your experiences with health care.

In the current economic crisis, 97 percent say health care reform is urgent. With Congress working on legislation right now, it is critical that your senators and representatives hear from you.

1) Read the report and personal stories and pass them along.

2) Tell your members of Congress we need real health care reform now.

The survey shows that every day people are being forced to make life-and-death decisions: Pay their health care premiums or buy the life-saving prescription? Chip away at credit card debt or skip the required care for a serious chronic condition?

This is not acceptable. We must have real health care reform now.

That’s what the 23,460 people who took the 2009 Health Care for America Survey—and the 6,409 who submitted heart-wrenching personal stories—demand. You and others who took the survey reveal the real-world toll of soaring health care costs, lack of insurance, systemic flaws in our health care system and the economic downturn.

Read the full report here, including thousands of categorized stories.

Your survey responses further reinforce the three key elements in real health care reform:

• A strong public health insurance plan must be available to lower costs and make sure everybody has a health care option.

   

• All employers should be required to either provide health care to their employees or pay into a system to make sure everyone is covered.

   

• Workers’ health care benefits must not be taxed—we’re already paying too much.

Contact your representative and senators today. Tell them health care reform must include each of these elements.

It is vitally important that your representative and senators hear from constituents like you. Together, we can ensure that everyone in America has high-quality health care.

In solidarity,

Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator

P.S. There are no two ways about it. The status quo is unsustainable. If we continue on the current path, health care costs will crush families, business and government at all levels. It is critical that we have real health care reform now. Contact Congress today.