FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2018
Contact: Meghan.Finegan@seiu.org; c: 617-283-8597
Working Iowans need a leader who will fight for higher wages to strengthen the middle class, stop private companies from profiting from Medicaid
Iowa City, Iowa – Working Iowans from the state’s hospitals and schools who provide care and essential services to their communities recently voted to endorse Fred Hubbell for Governor.
“Iowans want to see our hard work rewarded and to be able to care for our own families. We want affordable healthcare we can count on, and we deserve leaders who will put working people first. With Fred Hubbell’s leadership, we will fight to get incomes rising for all Iowans, stop corporations from profiting from Medicaid, and ensure every working person has the right to come together in a strong union and have a real voice on the job again,” said SEIU Local 199 President Cathy Glasson, RN.
The members of Local 199 Iowa are reaching out to their friends, neighbors and larger communities in preparation for election day on November 6, ensuring that Iowans are registered to vote, know their polling place and have a ride to the polls.
“People may be fed up with what’s going on in Washington, but we need everyone to turn out and vote this election. By electing candidates who will take a stand against special interests and respect the work we do every day in our hospitals and schools, we can turn Iowa around,” said Carrie Means, a licensed social worker at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Just as SEIU members are gearing up for election day, many educational workers are voting to recertify and keep their union in the workplace — a tactic built into the anti-worker law driven by Republican legislators and passed by then Governor Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds early in 2017. The current law denies working people the right to negotiate over workplace issues like healthcare benefits, paid sick days and working conditions. As Tim Martens, Head Custodian at Dubuque Community School District said, “We need to make sure everyone has a strong voice on the job and we know Fred Hubbell will stand with us.”
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SEIU Local 199 represents healthcare and educational workers throughout Iowa who are dedicated to improving the lives of working people and their families and creating a more just and humane society.
It happens every four years. Iowa voters meet in churches, schools, even living rooms, to be part of the first-in-the-nation stop for US presidential hopefuls. The Iowa Caucuses have helped launch and end the aspirations of many candidates. This initial test in the presidential selection process will be the focus of a new massive open online course (MOOC) at Iowa State University, the Iowa Presidential Caucuses.It’s Free!
The Iowa Presidential Caucuses MOOC is open to all free of charge. There will be four four-week, self-paced sessions, beginning in September 2015 and leading up to the Iowa Caucuses in early 2016.
Cost per enrollment: Free
Joint event with Center for Worker Justice, Iowa City Federation and SEIU Iowa.
See other events across the nation –
SEIU family,
I’m wrapping up the day at a fantastic rally on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Here’s a photo.
Tens of thousands of people finished this amazing day at rallies like this. The crowds were gigantic across the country.
Here’s one look at New York.
Chicago also produced incredible turnout.
1199/UHE home care workers and healthcare workers showed up big. Home care workers turned out in big numbers across the country.
Students came out.
Child care workers joined in.
Adjunct faculty were on the march.
Airport workers made their voices heard.
Check FightFor15.org for more photos of how large the rallies and strikes got.
Here are a few other highlights that stood out to me.
Charlene Carruthers, national director of Black Youth 100, shared in a video: “It’s a fight for the dignity of workers. It’s a fight for workers to be able to collectively bargain. It’s a fight for workers to actually be in safe environments where their issues and their grievances can be heard.”
In New York, a die-in led by workers and #BlackLivesMatter activists closed down a McDonald’s at 71st and Broadway.
Elected officials from across the country spoke out to support the fight to raise wages:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “Raising the minimum wage is about economics, but it’s also about our values. Nobody who works full time should live in poverty. #FightFor15”
Mayor Bill de Blasio: “Our City will continue to #FightFor15 because the minimum wage must keep up with the cost of living.”
Sen. Al Franken: “I believe that if you work hard, and take responsibility, you should be able to put a roof over your head and provide a decent life for your children.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin: “This #TaxDay & #Fightfor15 day, let’s join together to fight for paid sick days, tax cuts & better benefits for middle class workers.”
Sen. Chris Murphy: “All people who work for a living deserve to make enough to afford basic needs.”
Rep. Mark Takano: “Historic strikes TODAY. I’m for $15 and union rights. With me? RT and see the latest action.”
In Oakland, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich spoke with McDonald’s workers, calling the Fight for $15 a “fight for the soul of America” and “America’s next civil rights movement.”
I believe that this day was among the proudest days in the history of SEIU. I’ll be in touch soon with more details about what we accomplished together.
I know we’re all tired after a long and inspiring day. Thanks for your leadership and your hard work.
In unity,
Mary Kay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEfOMQl_19Y#t=28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_VKEJiwFiE&feature=youtu.be
Fast for Families ended its first fast on the National Mall Dec. 12, 2013, with a commissioning to the country to continue to Act. Fast. & Pray until immigration reform is achieved.
Building on momentum created last year, Fast for Families is entering the next phase of its campaign to enact commonsense immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. Fast for Families Across America will visit more than 100 congressional districts in the coming months to engage constituents in a dialogue about the moral crisis caused by our broken immigration system and encourage them to fast, act and pray.
The Fast for Families Across America Tour will kick off Jan. 27 and end April 9 (around Cesar Chavez Day) in Washington, D.C., while Congress is still in session and members are preparing to return to their districts for a two-week recess.
Stay tuned for more information.
Fast for Families: November 2013
I invite you to join us wherever you are by watching the press conference on the live stream by going to: http://fast4families.org/media/live-stream/.
SEIU Local 199 Nurses man the First Aid Tent at the Annual Harkin Steak Fry on 09-15-2013
Left to Right: Cathy Glasson (Local 199 Union President), Mary Burke, Ann Byrne, Scott Vick, and Pauline Taylor.
We need you to tell Gov. Branstad to stop the Medicaid Madness. 
The State Senate just passed Medicaid expansion on Monday, which would provide health security for an additional 150,000 Iowans, save our state money, and create thousands of new jobs.
Unfortunately, Gov. Branstad is opposed to expansion, and is determined to put politics ahead of our health care.
We are proud to be part of the Healthiest Iowa Initiative: a coalition of more than two dozen organizations, all educating their members and encouraging all Iowans to contact Gov. Branstad.
Here’s how you can help:
1) Sign the petition at healthiestiowa.com. Your signatures, along with those of thousands of Iowans, will reach the Governor and make a difference.
Tens of thousands of SEIU members are calling on Congress to pass commonsense immigration reform now.
