Keystone Progress Blog

Bush v. Obama on Job Growth

2012-01-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

All you need to know about monthly job growth. Red is Bush, blue is Obama:

The Movement to Overturn Citizens United Swamps the Internet

2012-01-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Like this video by Lee Camp? See his stand-up routine at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit
www.paprogressivesummit.org

Dogs Against Romney

2012-01-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

From our friend Rob Groce in South Carolina: Dogs Against Romney:

Our 2011 PA Legislative Heroes

2012-01-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Keystone Progress is proud to recognize the 20 Pennsylvania Legislators who voted correctly on all 11 votes we selected as key to protecting a progressive vision for our state.

These are the 20:

Rep. Louise Williams Bishop
Rep. Tim Briggs
Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown
Rep. Michelle Brownlee
Rep. Mark Cohen
Rep. Lawrence Curry
Rep. Pam DeLissio
Rep. Dan Frankel
Rep. Robert Freeman
Rep. Michael Gerber
Babette Josephs
Rep. Michael O'Brien
Rep. Cherelle Parker
Rep. James Roebuck
Rep. Steven Santarsiero
Rep. Michael Sturla
Rep. Curtis Thomas
Rep. Greg Vitali
Rep. Jewell Williams
Rep. Rosita Youngblood

Thank them by clicking here: http://keystoneprogress.pnstate.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=1719

All of these legislators voted with our position on all 11 of the following votes. Our position is in CAPS:
HB40 FP on 4/12 (Castle doctrine) OPPOSE
HB 574 A 1894 on 5/10 (Choice) SUPPORT
HB 916 2nd Cons. On 5/24 (Unemp Comp) OPPOSE
HB 934 on 6/23 (Voter ID) OPPOSE
SB 1131 on 6/27 (Tort) OPPOSE
SB 330 FP on 6/30 (Education) OPPOSE
HB 1950 FP on 11/17 (Natural Gas Impact Fee) OPPOSE
HB 1977 A 7021 on 12/7 (Choice) SUPPORT
SB 732 A 4485 on 12/12 (Choice) SUPPORT
SB 732 FP on 12/13 (Choice) OPPOSE
SB 560 A 7732 on 12/14 (Education Voucher) OPPOSE

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick refuses to allow vote on payroll tax cut

2011-12-23T02:22:00.001-08:00

Even the right wing is now accusing Corbett of inaction in Sandusky case

2011-12-21T06:08:00.001-08:00

http://www.newsmax.com/Freind/Corbett-Penn-State-Case/2011/12/19/id/421500

Did Corbett slow-walk the Sandusky prosecution?

2011-12-21T06:04:00.000-08:00

Finally, someone in the mainstream press is raising questions about Corbett protecting Sandusky for over three years. http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/12/20/tom-corbetts-jerry-sandusky-problem/

The wealthy protest in Harrisburg, "Don't tax my jet!"

2011-12-17T08:32:00.001-08:00

Keystone Progress organized a great mock news conference about HB 1100, the Private Jet Sales Tax Exemption Bill. At a time when they say we can't afford public schools, healthcare for the poor or nursing home assistance, they're giving tax breaks to the wealthy for their corporate jets. This is not a joke. They're serious.

http://www.abc27.com/story/16342772/proposed-tax-cut-on-private-planes-creates-turbulance-at-capital?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6556103

Another Corporate Attack on Our Rights

2011-12-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year again. Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s Day. Oh, and the annual “report” on courts by the Big Tobacco front group American Tort Reform Association (ATRA). Their so-called “report” allegedly ranks the worst courts in the United States. And despite its lack of credibility or objectivity, it gets media coverage every year.

ATRA identifies the courts that it believes are “judicial hellholes.” Their definition of a hellhole is a place “where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits.”[i]

What they really mean is a “Judicial Hellhole” is a place where working people have a fair chance against corporations with products that have harmed consumers.

In truth, this is part of a campaign to limit our ability to sue big corporations.

The release of an annual “report” is part of that campaign, and the mainstream media eat up this propaganda as if it were an objective study. But ATRA’s Judicial Hellhole propaganda has been repeatedly debunked.

In 2007, the New York Times published this damning paragraph:

“The question is whether the report’s arguments make sense, are supported by evidence and are applied evenhandedly. Here the report often falls short. It is, for starters, a collection of anecdotes based largely on newspaper accounts. It has no apparent methodology. There is no way to tell why South Florida is the top hellhole while West Virginia is hellhole No. 4.”[ii]

Indeed, even ATRA admits they just make things up. “’We have never claimed to be an empirical study,’ said Darren McKinney, a spokesman for the association.”[iii]

ATRA called Philadelphia their #1 hellhole this year, in part because it allows cases against Big Pharma and asbestos to be tried collectively. Cases involving corporate liability are expensive to litigate, and unless working people can join together in what’s called “mass tort,” lawyers won’t be able to build a winnable case against corporations like Bayer with their untold billions of dollars in resources.

Bayer is the manufacturer of the birth control pill Yasmin, or Yaz, that has been shown to cause blood clots in blood vessels that can lead to death.[iv] According to recent studies, Yaz carries triple the risk over traditional birth control pills.[v]

So what is the response of Bayer, the manufacturer of Yaz? They are trying to prevent women from being able to sue for damages by changing the rules by which plaintiffs can pool their efforts to sue when there is a large number of claims of damages against a product.

There are already approximately 2,000 cases filed against Bayer, with many more to come. Bayer wants to change the rules, effectively separating the cases, requiring 2,000 individual trials in courts across the country. The ATRA “report” is part of the campaign to change those rules and squelch our ability to sue them.

If ATRA and Bayer win, it will effectively end the possibility of a fair trial for women who are making claims that they were injured or killed by Yaz. And it will mean that other corporations, including tobacco and asbestos, will have a new way to avoid responsibility by manipulating our courts.

TAKE ACTION:

1) Tell Bayer to play fair. Sign our petition demanding that they stop their attempt to change the rules.

http://signon.org/sign/dont-let-bayer-avoid-2?source=s.em.cr&r_by=101730&mailing_id=1354

2) And if you see this “report” in any media outlets, please do two things. First, write a letter to the editor telling them the truth about this “report.” Second, write to us and let us know who covered it.

[i] “Judicial Hellholes,” American Tort Reform Association, December, 2011

[ii] New York Times, December 24, 2007, “The Worst Courts for Businesses? It’s a Matter of Opinion” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24bar.html?pagewanted=all

[iii] ibid

[iv] British Medical Journal http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7383/257.full

[v] Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/idUS87382+22-Apr-2011+PRN20110422

Anti-Obamacare Activist Sees The Light, Changes Sides And Apologizes To Obama

2011-12-15T06:02:00.001-08:00

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/14/anti-obamacare-activist-sees-the-light-changes-sides-and-apologizes-to-obama/2/
By Rick Ungar
12/14/2011 @ 11:23AM

It’s all fun and games, politics and ideology until someone gets…sick.

If you don’t believe it, just ask Spike Dolomite Ward, a California progressive and non-profit activist who campaigned in support of the Obama election effort in 2008 only to turn against the President, as many progressives have done, when he disappointed her by not going far enough with the Affordable Care Act.

But that was before Spike was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer and found out how just how much the President had, in fact, come through for her and the many others in her difficult position. …

Aside from the obvious good news in this story, there is a message that one can only hope that progressive writers who havehammered Obamacare because they did not get all that they wanted – and you know who you are - will finally begin to understand.

By focusing on the failure to succeed with the public option – an idea that was doomed to failure in the Congress from the beginning – and a few other unfulfilled wishes, these people have failed to let people know the important things the law did accomplish. There are a lot ofSpikes out there who do not know that the Affordable Care Act solved the pressing problem Spike was facing and these people may not have a Becky in their life to discover that there may now be a solution to avoid a potentially disastrous circumstance.

As I said, it’s all fun and games, ideology and politics until you or someone in your family gets cancer and can’t pay for treatment.

That’s when the politics end and real life steps in. We would do well to keep that in mind.

New PA House districts finalized

2011-12-13T07:26:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to the new PA house districts as finalized yesterday:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75501916/Description-of-House-districts

The plan can be appealed to the Supreme Court, but it's unlikely given the 4-1 vote by the panel.

Take action to stop the privatization of PA's public schools

2011-12-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

From our friends at the Keystone State Education Coalition

VOUCHER ALERT:

A voucher bill may move in the House as early as Monday.

The Students First PAC which bankrolled SB 1 in the Senate, is targeting House Republican leadership for phone calls today for a last ditch push for vouchers before the end of the year.

Please consider taking these three actions ASAP:

1. Contact your State Representative’s office.

Ask them to oppose any voucher bill.

Ask them to contact House leadership and tell them not to bring a voucher bill to the floor.

2. Pass this legislative alert on to any and all public education stakeholders today.

3. Please take 10 minutes and call as many of these House Leaders as time permits.

If you are a constituent please let them know that.

If you voted for them or worked for their election let them know that.

Simple message:

Please oppose vouchers in any form. We don’t need a pilot – Milwaukee has had one for 20 years and it has not resulted in improved student achievement. Pennsylvania education policy should focus on helping all of our students, not on creating a new entitlement program for unaccountable private and religious schools.

Samuel H. Smith (717) 787-3845
Mike Turzai (717) 772-9943
Stan Saylor (717) 783-6426
Sandra Major (717) 783-2910
Mike Vereb (717) 705-7164
William F. Adolph Jr. (717) 787-1248
Richard R. Stevenson (717) 783-6438
Dave Reed (717) 705-7173

Pass real protections for insurance ratepayers

2011-11-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

From our friends at PHAN:

Yesterday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that for the first time, under rate review provisions of the Affordable Care Act, HHS has deemed a premium increase unreasonably high.

Everence Insurance, which sells policies to small businesses and has a presence in Pennsylvania, received a letter on Monday from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services scolding the company for a 12 percent increase for its small business clients that went into effect October 1.

"We're calling on the insurance company to immediately withdraw this rate and provide refunds or credits to any beneficiaries who have already paid the unreasonable amount," said the HHS Secretary.

But we need more than just a call. Take action to help protect small business owners from excessive health insurance premium increases.

Call your state legislators in Harrisburg and tell them to vote NO on HB 1983 and SB 1336 and to pass real rate protections for consumers instead! Click here to look up the number for your State Representative and State Senator.

The legislation being considered now should better protect consumers, but instead it takes away the few transparency protections that exist - such as requiring that health insurance companies post their proposed rate hike in the PA Bulletin. The bill even allows the Insurance Department to take away your right to have your voice heard through public comments on rate hikes.

Tell your legislators they can and should do better for Pennsylvania.

Rob Stuart passes away, Keystone Progress Education Fund Board Member

2011-10-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

We'll miss you. More infromation will be posted later.

Virginia Organizing says Eric Cantor breaks promises at home and in Philly

2011-10-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

LADELLE MCWHORTER, VIRGINIA ORGANIZING BOARD MEMBER

I am a board member of Virginia Organizing, a statewide, nonpartisan grassroots organization that works on social and economic justice issues.

We have a lot of members who are concerned that Rep. Cantor is not representing the 7^th district or the state of Virginia well.

Lately it seems that Rep. Cantor has gone out of his way to embarrass Virginia to the rest of the nation and has become a lightning rod for good reason. He has obstructed the American Jobs Act. His unwillingness to negotiate helped lead to the Standard and Poors credit downgrade. And when natural disaster struck Joplin and his own district twice, he heartlessly announced that we must counter any disaster aid with spending cuts.

Recent earthquakes and hurricanes aside, many Virginians feel that Eric Cantor is the biggest recent disaster to hit Virginia.

Rep. Cantor’s cancellation of his Philadelphia income inequality speech is part of a pattern of behavior that indicates that he is not interested in hearing from the other 99 percent, or working on the one issue almost everyone cares about: jobs.

Rep. Cantor promised to work on jobs just like he promised to speak at the University of Pennsylvania last week. Well, Philadelphia has unfortunately learned what Virginia already knew: Eric Cantor has no problem breaking promises.

Virginia needs jobs and we need all of our representatives in Washington fighting for the unemployed. Virginia has fared better than other states like Pennsylvania, due to our high concentration of government and military jobs. But as massive cuts continue, we find our unemployment rate rising.

I am a professor at the University of Richmond, which is in the middle of Rep. Cantor’s district. There is no question that the number one priority of the graduating students and the community surrounding the university is jobs. Rep. Cantor represents some rural districts as well that have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Cantor’s constituents need a Jobs Champion in Washington, not a Jobs Obstructer.

Rep. Cantor has spent the last several weeks killing the American Jobs Act, which would create thousands of jobs in Virginia and 2.6 million jobs nationwide. Instead of working on jobs, Cantor is attacking the Occupy Wall Street protesters, restricting women's reproductive rights and working to deny disaster aid to his own district.

And instead of facing his constituents to explain why he is not fighting for jobs, he is scheduling speeches in Philadelphia only to cancel at the last minute because he is scared of the other 99 percent.

Virginia Organizing members traveled 300 miles to Philadelphia last Friday just to see their congressman. Representative Cantor rarely holds public meetings in his district and does not put out a public schedule. The closest thing Rep. Cantor has had to a recent town hall was an invite-only event on August 31, publicized only on the local tea party website. Hundreds of his constituents showed up anyway and were kept away by the police. It’s clear that Representative Cantor wants to keep his distance from the poor, middle class, unemployed and just about anyone else who doesn’t agree with him.

Rep. Cantor is much more comfortable surrounded by his wealthy donors and corporate CEOs. Well, in order to move our country forward, we might have to take Rep. Cantor out of his comfort zone for a moment, so that he can understand the struggles of the other 99 percent.

New Report Shows That Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid Work for Pennsylvania and America

2011-10-27T06:10:00.001-07:00

Programs provide benefits to 1 in 5 residents, contribute $79 billion per year to state’s economy

A new report issued today (http://bit.ly/samlK2) outlines the importance of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to people in Pennsylvania and the state’s economy.

The report comes out just as Pennsylvania’s Senator Pat Toomey finishes his work on the congressional Super Committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit. The Committee must recommend at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November 23. The full Congress must approve these recommendations by the end of the year, or it will trigger automatic deficit reduction.

At an event today, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans and the Strengthen Social Security campaign unveiled the report detailing the number of state residents who rely on these programs as well as the economic impact and number of jobs the programs support.

Although programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are widely scapegoated in federal deficit discussions, today’s report points out that they are not the true cause of the deficit. The report notes the large recent run-up in federal deficits resulted largely from 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; unpaid costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Great Recession which dramatically reduced tax collections, and the Wall Street bank bailout. Correspondingly, in seeking solutions to the federal deficit, the Super Committee should be looking at its causes and should not be cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which are absolutely vital to the economic security of this nation.

Highlights from the new report:

ü Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spend a total of about $79 billion a year in Pennsylvania, providing benefits to an average of 1 out of every 5 residents for each program.

ü Social Security provided benefits to more than 1 in 5 (20.3 percent) residents in 2010, with an average benefit of $13,508 per year.

ü Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in Pennsylvania would increase from 1 out of 11 (8.7 percent) to nearly half (47.7) residents.

ü Social Security never has and will never contribute to federal budget deficits because, by law, it does not have borrowing authority.

ü Medicare spending generally rises less than private health insurance. From 1997 - 2009, Medicare’s annual costs per beneficiary rose far less than those of private health insurance. Cutting Medicare’s benefits simply shifts costs to the sickest and oldest among us, forcing some seniors and people with disabilities to forego treatment, living shorter, less healthy – and more medically costly – lives as a result.

ü Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a lifeline for residents of Pennsylvania and the lifeblood of many small businesses, hospitals and nursing homes and home caregivers. Most of the jobs they create stay in America. Cutting these programs would threaten our families’ economic security and health and deepen our jobs crisis.

ü Two-thirds of all Medicaid spending is for seniors and people with disabilities. One out of every four (16 million) seniors and people with disabilities depended on Medicaid in 2010.

Pennsylvania resident Maxine Yancey worked as a nurse for 43 years. She is now retired and gets by with help for Social Security and Medicare.She said, “For me, it’s a matter of survival. Without the help of my four adult children and these supports, I would not be able to survive.”

“Too often political and media elites talk about these programs as just cold, unfeeling facts and figures, as if they are divorced from the people whose lives they touch,” said Eric Kingson, co-director of Social Security Works. “Too often, the programs are talked about as ‘problems’ when in fact they really are ‘solutions’ – solutions that provide benefits that have been earned through the hard work of Americans.”

Jean Friday President of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans said, “I worry about the future of retirement in this country. People used to work until the day they died. Seniors often lived in extreme poverty and bad health. We’ve come a long way, and we can’t go back. … We call upon Senator Toomey to support retirees and all residents in Pennsylvania by safeguarding these programs.”

View the full report here: http://bit.ly/samlK2.

Thanks ObamaCare

2011-10-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

The right is disparaging Healthcare Reform by calling it "Obamacare." There's now a movement to reclaim the name. Check out this video:

September Pennsylvania Jobs Report: Employment and Unemployment Moving In The Wrong Direction

2011-10-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, the Keystone Research Center published a summary of the employment situation in Pennsylvania. With the release of September's jobs data, which included a loss of just over 15,000 jobs, a picture is emerging of a job market in Pennsylvania that is shrinking. The continued loss of public-sector jobs and relatively slow growth in private-sector jobs is the main source of weakness in the labor market. The bottom line is that although Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 of states in terms of job growth early in this recovery, the Commonwealth has moved to the bottom 10 in the last five months.

To read the full report click here.

Our Eric Cantor Protest makes the Daily Show

2011-10-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Talker, Texas Deranger & Scared Speechless

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Another bizarre Herman Cain Video

2011-10-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

PA Opposes Vouchers

2011-10-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

View this simple and clear chart to see what Pennsylvanians want for solutions in our our schools. Hint: It's not vouchers.

UNEMPLOYED WORKERS, CONCERNED VOTERS OCCUPY SENATOR TOOMEY’S OFFICE

2011-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvanians Pledge to Occupy Office until Senator Toomey Supports Job Creation Policies and Stops Siding with CEOs and Wall Street Bankers over Middle Class Families

ALLENTOWN, PA –Angered by months of unanswered calls to address joblessness, an increase in Pennsylvania’s unemployment and news of an influx of donations to Senator Toomey from the banking industry, unemployed workers and concerned voters marched to Senator Toomey’s Allentown office this morning to call on him to support real job creation efforts, including the American Jobs Act. Refusing to leave the office until Senator Toomey changes his position on critical job creation programs, the demonstrators pledge to continue daily protests during the Senate recess.

“Senator Toomey has turned his back on Pennsylvania’s middle class,” said Shawn Wygant, who has been looking for work since the laundry facility he worked at closed down in May. “Our families are hurting. While we struggle just to keep a roof over our heads, Senator Toomey is working to give more tax breaks to companies that are sending our jobs overseas and taking donations from the greedy CEOs and banks that put us in this mess.”

The unemployed workers and community members are demanding that Senator Toomey:

1. Support the American Jobs Act;

2. Stop making job-killing cuts to Medicare and other services Pennsylvania families need;

3. Make big banks and corporations pay their fair share.

“I’ve been looking for work for months, and there’s nothing out there,” said Dan Haney, who has been out of work since his job and those of 650 of his co-workers were outsourced in February. “Senator Toomey is trying to make it easier for corporations to send jobs overseas when my family needs him to help create jobs here in Pennsylvania. Senator Toomey is siding with the rich CEOs and Wall Street bankers, the 1% that he spends his time with, and has forgotten about the hard-working Pennsylvanians who put him in office.”

The demonstrators are angry about Senator Toomey’s opposition to the American Jobs Act, which would create jobs in Pennsylvania, and his recent proposals to the budget Super Committee, including a territorial tax system which gives tax cuts to corporations that ship American jobs overseas, and his proposal to institute a voucher system for Medicare.

Pennsylvanians have been calling on Senator Toomey to stop siding with CEOs and Wall Street bankers at protests in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Allentown,Scranton and Harrisburg. Protests outside of Senator Toomey’s Allentown office will continue throughout the Senate recess with faith leaders and local elected officials adding their support to the unemployed workers.

Education Voters Video Project

2011-10-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Gov. Corbett and the state legislature recently passed a budget containing nearly $1 BILLION in cuts to our public schools! This is already having a negative impact on students and communities throughout the state. We need to tell our (or the) story of how these cuts are hurting our communities and why publiceducation is so critical to the success of the entire state.

Education Voters Institute of Pennsylvania (EVI) is conducting a video project to highlight both the impact of cuts to critical programs that serve kids, and the importance of education to our communities and our economy. Tell us about how a program has affected you, or what the schools are like in your community, or who was the first person in your family to go to college. It can be a video short, or just a personal story told directed into the camera. Across Pennsylvania, students, parents, community leaders are speaking up about how we are affected by these choices.

What happened with this year’s budget was a travesty, and it didn’t need to happen. If we’re going to overcome the same obstacles next year we need make our voices heard and start laying the groundwork for change NOW!

CLICK HERE for full details: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/video-contest/

Deadline October 30th

Eric Cantor tells Tea Party to "take to streets," but calls Occupiers a "mob"

2011-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

Check out this great video from Jon Stewart about the hypocrisy of GOP leaders deriding people who are standing up for the 99%.

And join us on Friday, October 21 in Philadelphia to greet Eric Cantor. He's speaking on economic inequality in the United States, but he opposes anything that seriously addresses that issue.

Join us:
Tell Eric Cantor "We are America!"
Friday, October 21
3:30- 6:00 PM
Walnut and 38th Sts.
Philadelphia

The Gas Boom Comes to the Forest

2011-10-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.alleghenyfront.org/story.html?storyid=201110112107130.972775

Educators urge Gov. Corbett to provide resources for all students, not just a few

2011-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

HARRISBURG (Oct. 11, 2011) – Teachers, taxpayers and parents want real education reforms that are proven to work for all of Pennsylvania’s students, not initiatives to drain more tax dollars from public schools, the president of Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union said today. Michael J. Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said research-backed education reforms, coupled with adequate and equitable resources, will do more to improve student achievement than the initiatives outlined by Gov. Tom Corbett at a news conference today in York.

“The governor didn’t provide many details,” Crossey said. “But I know for certain that the $860 million in state funding cuts have forced the public schools to increase class sizes and cut programs. We need to restore those cuts, not spend more money on initiatives that don’t work.”

Crossey noted that the public supports education initiatives proven to work in Pennsylvania’s schools. A recent public opinion poll from Terry Madonna Opinion Research showed extraordinarily strong support for programs that provide more individualized attention and tutoring (89 percent), reduced class sizes (88 percent), safety initiatives (85 percent), full-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten (83 percent).

None of those popular and effective ideas were included in Corbett’s reform outline.

“Tutoring programs, small class sizes, and full-day kindergarten are programs that we know work for Pennsylvania’s students,” Crossey said. “People across the state know it, too. These are the reform ideas that Pennsylvanians want and that our students need.”

The programs supported by the respondents to the Madonna poll are all included in PSEA’s school reform agenda, “Solutions That Work.” Read more about “Solutions That Work” at

www.solutionsthatwork.org.

The same public opinion poll noted that support for tuition voucher plans has eroded further in the past six months. Sixty-five percent of Pennsylvanians oppose voucher plans. When asked if they supported using any education funding restorations for vouchers, 59 percent opposed it.

This marks the third public opinion poll in less than 12 months in which Pennsylvanians expressed their opposition to vouchers.

“I think Pennsylvanians oppose vouchers because they know voucher programs don’t work and they know that the public schools are hurting because of these unprecedented funding cuts,” Crossey said. “It looks like the only person who really wants vouchers is the governor.”

The governor’s focus on rapid expansion of Pennsylvania’s charter schools, with little accountability or oversight, also makes no sense, Crossey said.

“At a time when Pennsylvania’s public schools are forced to cope with unprecedented cuts in state aid, rapid expansion of charter schools without even considering the fiscal impact is irresponsible,” Crossey said.

“Quality charter schools can be a valuable component of the Commonwealth’s education system, but significant questions about accountability and funding should be addressed in a careful manner,” Crossey said. “Creation of a statewide commission to approve charter schools would also take away the decision-making and voices of local taxpayers.”

A study released by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes in April 2011 shows that students in Pennsylvania charter schools on average make smaller learning gains in reading and math than their traditional public school counterparts. The Stanford study notes that strong examples of quality charters do exist in the state, but policymakers need to "drive quality throughout the sector.”

Crossey responded to the governor’s comments on teacher evaluations. "We agree with the governor that teacher evaluations need to be improved," Crossey said. "We support use of multiple objective measures of performance, and a streamlined dismissal procedure for teachers who fail to meet performance standards."

Crossey added that policymakers who suggest that Pennsylvania’s public schools are failing are wrong.

Students who took the state's standardized tests in the spring delivered improved scores in math, science, writing and reading tests over last year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The percentage of students who tested as advanced or proficient increased in all four categories on the state-administered Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests.

Public schools are an investment in the future of our nation, our state, and our communities,” Crossey added. “If we want our students to continue to succeed, we need to continue to make these investments, not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that don’t work.”

What is the Occupy Movement about? Alan Grayson summarizes in 1 1/2 minutes

2011-10-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Take action here. Tell Congress you unerstdand--and support--the Occupy Movement.

Buidling Change event in Pittsburgh, October 13-15

2011-10-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

Convergence Highlights:

Development of an Action Plan for Building Social Justice in Southwestern Pennsylvania
A major Youth Leading Change event for 350 young people on Thursday, October 13
Keynote address by renowned environmental, social justice, and Native American rights activist Winona LaDuke
The five-day, multi-theater Building Change Film Festival
The 7 Pathways of Change Arts Show
A Regional Champions of Change Awards presentation and ceremony
An eclectic mix of entertainment
Region-wide Internship Fair
Grassroots Grantees Recognition event

Additional activities include workshops, panel discussions, roundtable discussions, keynote speakers, and plenary sessions on a wide range of issues such as Labor; Disability Rights; Economic Empowerment; Environmental Sustainability; LGBTQ Advocacy; Peace/Human Rights; Racial Equity; and Women, Youth and Families.

To make this event as accessible as possible for people of all means, we have kept the price very low at $5-$10. And, we have a limited number of free "scholarships" for which people with limited budgets can apply. Also, we are arranging bus and van transportation from the nine outlying counties in the region. Convergence attendees are free to tour the History Center and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum after attending their chosen workshop(s) ($12 value).

People will take part in this Convergence in several ways, including participating on an appropriate forum panel, co-presenting in a workshop, co-sponsoring in return for a range of benefits and premiums, tabling at the event to distribute information about their services and work, attending the workshops and panels of their choice, and engaging with the many young people who will be signing up for community service projects and internships.

This event presents many opportunities for networking and involvement, including tabling, sponsorship, presenting, serving on a discussion panel, and participating in relevant workshops and skill building sessions.

For more information or to reserve your space, please e-mail trcf@trcfwpa.org or call 412-243-9250. Complete details are available on the event website, www.buildingchangewpa.org.

What's the opposite of the "Buffet Rule?" The "Romney Rule!"

2011-10-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Millionaire Mitt thinks he should pay a lower tax than a maid or a master sergeant.

Tell Congress to support the Buffet Rule by clicking on this link.

(The following is from Talking Points Memo)

President Obama is having a field day dinging Republicans with his Buffett Rule — the principle that the super-rich shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than middle income Americans.

Now, someone who hopes to see Obama reelected says he’s found a similarly snappy line to attack the man emerging as Obama’s main rival: Mitt Romney.

Presenting The Romney Rule: the bumper sticker-friendly way Democrats are saying Romney favors exactly the opposite of what Buffett prescribes.

Greg Sargent first noticed the early green shoots of the idea:

The other day, Time magazine’s Michael Scherer weighed in with a great post reporting that one of the wealthy individuals who would be impacted by Obama’s push for the “Buffett Rule” is none other than Mitt Romney.
As Scherer noted, much of Romney’s income comes from investments, making him exactly the sort of “millionaire and billionaire” that Obama has been talking about — those who pay a lower tax rate than many middle class taxpayers.

Sargent noted that the idea of Romney as Buffett Rule millionaire had caught on with PrioritiesUSA Action, a pro-Obama fundraising group hoping to counter big money coming from American Crossroads and the like. In a follow-up post, PrioitiesUSA’s Paul Begala first floated the “Romney Rule” as a summary of the position.

Begala, who knows a thing or two about sexy one-liners that can grab an electorate, told TPM Wednesday that “Romney Rule” could be catching.

“It does kind of roll off the tongue, doesn’t it?” he said in an interview.

Citizens for Tax Justice, a progressive-leaning group, estimated Romney’s 2010 tax rate at 14%, based on public records of his income (read the reporting on all that in the Time piece here.) Begala cited the CTJ figure and said it shows a huge weakness for Romney in a political climate where many Americans are clamoring for a more balanced tax burden on the wealthiest.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Occupy Wall Street has captured the imagination and passion of millions of Americans who have lost hope that our nation’s policymakers are speaking for them. We support the protesters in their determination to hold Wall Street accountable and create good jobs. We are proud thattoday on Wall Street, bus drivers, painters, nurses and utility workers are joining students and homeowners, the unemployed and the underemployed to call for fundamental change. Across America, working people are turning out with their friends and neighbors in parks, congregations and union halls to express their frustration – and anger -- about our country’s staggering wealth gap, the lack of work for people who want to work and the corrupting of our politics by business and financial elites. The people who do the work to keep our great country running are being robbed not only of income, but of a voice. It is time for all of us—the 99 percent—to be heard.

As we did when we marched on Wall Street last year, working people call on corporations, big banks, and the financial industry to do their part to create good jobs, stop foreclosures and pay their fair share of taxes.

· Wall Street and corporate America must invest in America: Big corporations should invest some of the $2 trillion in cash they have on hand, and use it to create good jobs. And the banks themselves should be making credit more accessible to small businesses, instead of parking almost $1 trillion at the Federal Reserve.
· Stop foreclosures: Banks should write down the 14 million mortgages that are underwater and stop the more than 10 million pending foreclosures to stop the downward spiral of our housing markets and inject more than $70 billion into our economy.

· Fund education and jobs by taxing financial speculation: A tiny tax on financial transactions could raise hundreds of billions in revenue that could fund education and create jobs rebuilding our country. And it would discourage speculation and encourage long term investment.

We will open our union halls and community centers as well as our arms and our hearts to those with the courage to stand up and demand a better America.

Support the Occupy Movement: Demand a Presidential Commission on the Influence of Money on our Democracy

2011-10-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

https://secure3.convio.net/pn/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1469

Tell Washington: We've had enough of big money buying our democracy

There is a worldwide movement emerging that is calling for real representative democracy. It has changed the Middle East forever and has brought people together in nations around the world.

In recent weeks, the movement came to the United States in the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Now, people in hundreds of cities in the U.S. are taking to the streets to say that we’ve had enough of the influence of big money interests. Our elected officials should be working to protect the interests of working families.

Keystone Progress supports the efforts of the people occupying Wall Street and other cities across the U.S. And we are asking our subscribers to sign a petition backing their demand:

We demand that President Barack Obama establish a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington.

It’s a simple demand, but it can change the way our nation works. An overwhelming majority of Americans agrees that that money plays too much of a role in the way decisions are made in Washington, and in our state capitols. A commission to find ways to limit that influence can have profound impact on our economy and our democracy.

As the folks at AdBusters wrote, “This could be the beginning of a whole new social dynamic in America, a step beyond the Tea Party movement, where, instead of being caught helpless by the current power structure, we the people start getting what we want… Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America.”

We can do this if we stand together, and stand firm. We’re asking you to do two things today:

1) Send an email directly to President Obama, and your Members of Congress demanding the Presidential Commission; and

2) Send this to all of your friends, family and co-workers. Use email, Facebook, Twitter and every other resource you have.

If you join our efforts, we’ll send you updates when there are Occupy events happening in your area and when there are other significant related actions happening.

It's time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY, we're doomed without it.

In Solidarity:
The Keystone Progress Team

Poll Shows PA Doesn't Want Vouchers or Corbett's Education Cuts

2011-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

PUBLIC OPINION POLL FINDS WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR PROVEN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES, OPPOSITION TO STATE FUNDING CUTS FOR PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

HARRISBURG (Oct. 5, 2011) – By a wide margin, Pennsylvanians oppose recent state funding cuts to public education and support investments in programs that work, according to a new public opinion poll.

Pennsylvanians strongly support investing in tutoring students, reducing class sizes and making schools safer. By a similarly wide margin, Pennsylvanians oppose creating a taxpayer-funded voucher system for private and religious schools.

Those are the findings of the latest Terry Madonna Opinion Research survey, released today by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). The results are available today on PSEA’s website, www.psea.org.

“By a nearly two-to-one margin, Pennsylvanians oppose the recent funding cuts to the Commonwealth’s public schools,” said PSEA President Michael J. Crossey. “They overwhelmingly support recommendations in Solutions That Work, PSEA’s blueprint for education reform. And it is clear they don’t support tuition vouchers.”

The Madonna poll asked Pennsylvanians for their views regarding the $860 million cut from public schools as part of the state budget Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law last June. Sixty-nine percent said they oppose or strongly oppose these cuts, while only 27 percent said they favor or strongly favor the action.

The Madonna poll then asked survey respondents to give their opinion on how state funds for education should be used if the cuts were restored.

The respondents favored or strongly favored “more individualized student attention and tutoring” (89 percent),reduced class sizes (88 percent), and “programs to help make schools safer” (85 percent). They also favored: alternative placement for disruptive/violent students (85 percent); “pre- and full-day kindergarten” (73 percent); and “programs to coordinate school, community and law enforcement programs”(79 percent).At the same time, the poll results establish Pennsylvanians oppose “a voucher plan to send students to private, religious and parochial schools.” Fifty-nine percent said they were “strongly opposed or somewhat opposed” to vouchers, while only 38 percent were in favor of such plans.

The programs supported by the respondents, tutoring, smaller classes, safe school and alternative student placement pre- and full-day kindergarten, and coordinated school/community strategies are all included in PSEA’s school reform agenda, “Solutions That Work.” Read more about “Solutions That Work” at www.solutionsthatwork.org.

Crossey said, “These findings show the public backs common-sense, research-based strategies to improve education, and providing schools with adequate, equitable resources.”

A report released last month from two groups representing school administrators and business managers detailed how state funding cuts to Pennsylvania’s public schools have resulted in larger classes, reduced course offerings and tutoring opportunities, as the school year began this fall.

“The Madonna poll is yet the latest indication that Pennsylvanians believe the governor and state lawmakers need to change direction when it comes to education priorities,” said Crossey.

The poll presents the findings of a survey of 801 Pennsylvania adults designed by Terry Madonna Opinion Research and conducted September 2011. The sample error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. A state affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents approximately 193,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

Who's the "socialist?"

2011-10-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Fox Harrisburg covers our demonstration

2011-09-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

We joined with SEIU and unemployed workers in Harrisburg yesterday to say "No way!" to Pat Toomey's plan to give tax breaks to corporations who ship jobs overseas.

What will PA look like when the drillers are done?

2011-09-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

An aerial view of drilling field in Wyoming, from Damascus (PA) Citizens http://www.damascuscitizens.org/photos.html

Romney & Perry Doth Protest Too Much

2011-09-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sep 28, 2011 | from www.thinkprogress.org

They Can Run, But They Can’t Hide Their Stimulus-Loving Pasts

Just as we were crawling out of bed this morning, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign eagerly blasted out a new video attacking President Obama on the stimulus. Shortly thereafter, however, Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry became engaged in a nasty fight over who had flip-flopped harder on their past support for the Obama stimulus plan.

Here’s a rundown of how the action unfolded today and, more importantly, how both Romney and Perry are forever entangled with the Recovery Act, as much as they’d both like to pretend otherwise now.

Round 1: Romney Tries to Edit Away His Pro-Stimulus Comments, Calls Perry A Liar

Though Romney was also critical of the Recovery Act in his book, he at least initially offered an undeniably positive comment:

Mitt Romney in the 2010 hard cover edition of his book No Apology:

The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery.

Mitt Romney in the 2011 soft cover edition of his book No Apology:

The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus passed in early 2009 has been a failure.

Romney, who is apparently unaware of the existence of “the google,” also excised another passage from his book in which he suggested that Romneycare and its individual mandate could serve as a model for the entire nation.

The Romney campaign responded to the attacks by calling Perry a liar, saying he has “a problem with truth.”

Round 2: Romney Reminds Everyone That Perry Extensively Relied on the Stimulus

As ThinkProgress has been reporting since way back in March 2009 and the Romney campaign reminded reporters today, Perry is all hat and no cattle when it comes to his opposition to the Recovery Act:

Perry relied the most heavily of any state on stimulus funds to balance his budgets.
Perry said the stimulus didn’t create any jobs at all, when in fact it saved or created as many as 3.6 MILLION jobs — including in Texas.
After showily rejecting stimulus funds to cover unemployment benefits, Perry later reversed course and requested hundreds of millions of dollars— even more than he initially rejected.

Round 3: Romney’s Pro-Fed and Fiscal Stimulus Past Further Exposed

While these days Republican leaders are practically begging the Fed to keep unemployment high, it wasn’t always so. Back in December 2008, Romney eagerly supported action by the Fed and clearly said a stimulus plan was necessary:

So this is surely the time for economic stimulus. But — and this is the crucial point — the government can’t just make itself bigger and more oppressive in the guise of stimulating the economy. That would make matters worse. Nor should we forget that fiscal stimulus is but one part of the solution. As Christina Romer, Barack Obama’s designee as chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisors concluded from her study of the Great Depression, bad monetary policy was its greatest cause and good monetary policy was its most effective cure. The Fed should continue to expand the money supply. And, it should confirm that it will not tolerate deflation — the pain of inflation pales in comparison.

That being said, a stimulus plan is needed without further delay, and there are some things that Republicans should insist on.

The Romney campaign once again attempted to dispatch this latest round of attacks from Perry by calling him a liar with a “Pinocchio problem.”

IN ONE SENTENCE: Mitt Romney and Rick Perry will do nearly anything to appease the Tea Party extremists in their party, whether it’s running from their pasts or attacking President Obama’s plan to make sure that no millionaires are paying a lower tax rate than working families — a commonsense rule that even two-thirds of Republicans say they support.

NEA TV ad urges Congress to pass American Jobs Act

2011-09-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ad draws attention to the consequences of Congressional inaction

WASHINGTON—The National Education Association today launched a multi-state television ad campaign urging Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. The legislation, if passed, will get more Americans working again, modernizing the nation’s aging schools and putting teachers and support staff back to work.

“The American Jobs Act is a win-win for the American people,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “Congress can choose to put students ahead of political gridlock by supporting a bill that puts Americans back to work, modernizes our schools, and puts educators in classrooms instead of on the unemployment lines.”

The 30-second ad is airing in select media markets in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas and the District of Columbia. These are states that have been feeling the economic pinch caused by severe budget cuts and painful policy decisions.

Teachers, education support professionals, parents and others in local communities are rallying behind President Barack Obama’s bold proposal to get the economy moving in the right direction again. His proposal would put up to 280,000 educators back to work and modernize 35,000 of our nation’s aging public schools.

“The fact is that educators know firsthand the devastating impact the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression is having on our communities, our schools and students,” noted Van Roekel. “Children can’t learn if they’re hungry. They can’t learn if their family can’t afford to see a dentist or a doctor. They can’t learn if they’re anxious, nervous or have low self-esteem due to living in poverty. Unemployment isn’t just an economic issue – it’s an education issue.”

One such unemployed teacher from Florida visited Washington to urge her Congressional delegation to pass the American Jobs Act. Cherine Akbari, a history teacher from Northeast High School in Oakland Park, FL, was fired the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week and five days after she moved into her new house. The American Jobs Act would put people like Cherine back in the classroom with her students again. There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed educators like Cherine who are willing and eager to get back to schools and classrooms with help from Congress.

To view the 30-second ad, visit http://tinyurl.com/4x2thmt

Visit Education Votes to learn more about school budget cuts: www.educationvotes.nea.org

1,000 march in PA against Hershey’s corporate greed, for good jobs

2011-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Marchers defy thunderstorm, police helicopter at rally for justice and living wage jobs

Hershey, PA, Sep. 23, 2011—Today, after six weeks of mounting national pressure on Hershey’s for exploiting J-1 student workers and depriving local workers of living wage jobs, former student workers at the Hershey’s packing plant and working people from PA held a 1,000-strong march in Hershey for justice and jobs. (Video, photos)

Under pouring rain and with a police helicopter circling overhead, dozens of students marched up Chocolate Avenue with the head of a column of 1,000 supporters from the AFL-CIO and SEIU. The crowd bore signs reading “Justice at Hershey’s” and “Exploitation Is Wrong in Any Language,” and chanted, “Hey Hershey’s, can’t you see / What good jobs mean to me?”

“I paid $3,000 to become a captive worker at the Hershey’s packing plant. They threatened me with deportation if I didn’t work fast enough. Is this the real America?” Hershey’s J-1 student worker Malwina Siegien told the crowd, drawing a shout of, “No!”

“Hershey’s held us in its factory, but you let us into our homes. Hershey’s refused to speak with us, but over 1,000 American workers are marching with us today. You are the real America,” Siegien said. “This fight is not over!”

SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry said, “These students came to America to learn about our country, but instead they taught us all what it means to take a stand against injustice. They are heroes to us all. It’s time for Hershey's to treat these students with dignity and do right by the community they’ve called home for over a century by bringing good jobs back to central Pennsylvania.”

The students—who paid $3,000-6,000 each to come to the U.S. for a cultural exchange and instead became captive labors in the Hershey’s packing plant—organized and became members of the National Guestworker Alliance. With support from Central PA residents and organized labor, the students held a sit-down strike and walkout from the Hershey’s plant on Aug. 17.

Said National Guestworker Alliance executive director Saket Soni, “On Aug 17, hundreds of workers conducted a sit-down strike in the Hershey’s packing plant. Why did they do it? Because they believe in an America based on people not profit. They believe in an America based on human need, not corporate greed. And we are asking Hershey to show us that America.”

Other rally speakers included AFL-CIO PA state president Rick Bloomingdale and SEIU Healthcare PA president Neil Bisno, both of whom were arrested during an act of civil disobedience outside the Hershey’s packing plant on Aug. 17 in support of the student’s strike.

“Hershey’s has hunkered down in their corporate headquarters in the hopes this would all blow over when the students were home, but it is so important to keep this fight alive,” Bloomingdale said. “Now we see how Hershey’s acts when workers don’t have the protection of a union—they go right back to the old corporate town concept of a hundred years ago. We will not stand for it.”

Four federal agencies launched investigations into the exploitation of J-1 student workers at the Hershey’s plant, and nearly 70,000 Americans signed a petition in support of the students’ demands: 1) return the $3,000-6,000 students paid for false promises of a cultural exchange, and 2) turn the 400 jobs they filled in the Hershey’s packing plant into living wage jobs for local workers.

Hershey’s has maintained a wall of silence, hoping that when the students returned to their home countries at the end of the summer, the pressure would end. Instead, Friday’s 1,000-strong march demonstrated that the students’ solidarity with local workers has inspired a local fight for living wage jobs that won’t go away.

On the eve of the march, Hershey’s launched a PR campaign to attempt to discredit the students, and hired Blank Rome Government Relations to lobby Congress on “government affairs issues related to labor practices.”

The Hershey’s story goes to the heart of the current debate over the sources of America's jobs crisis. Decades of downsizing, outsourcing, and subcontracting by corporations like Hershey’s has robbed local workers of living wage jobs, while locking immigrant workers—and even cultural exchange students on J-1 visas—into situations of captive labor.

LOCAL CENSUS DATA: Poverty Rises Sharply in Most Parts of Pennsylvania

2011-09-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Nearly one in five Pennsylvania children live in poverty

View a table with poverty rates by metropolitan/micropolitan region

HARRISBURG, PA (September 22, 2011) — Poverty has risen sharply in most regions of Pennsylvania, highlighting the widespread impact of the recession and the need for policymakers to protect struggling families and invest in building a stronger economy.

In urban areas of Pennsylvania, poverty rose to 14.7 percent in 2010 with 1,360,202 urban residents currently living in poverty, according to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. That is up from 12.7 percent in 2007, before the recession started. The picture is similarly bleak in rural Pennsylvania where 9.5 percent of residents (287,982 people) lived in poverty in 2010, up from 8.1 percent in 2007.

“Many families in all parts of Pennsylvania are feeling the worst effects of this economy,” said Mark Price, PhD, Labor Economist for the Keystone Research Center. “Our state leaders have responded by cutting our kids’ education and affordable health care for working Pennsylvanians. That is making life harder for struggling families and undermining economic growth.”

Overall poverty in Pennsylvania rose by a statistically significant margin, going from 11.6 percent in 2007 to 13.4 percent in 2010. Most Pennsylvania metro areas also saw statistically significant increases in poverty from 2007 to 2010.

The number of Pennsylvania children living in poverty continued to increase last year amid the recession, according to the Census data. In 2010, 18.8 percent of Pennsylvania kids lived in families that fell below the poverty line, up from 15.9 percent in 2007. The Pennsylvania rate was lower than the national child poverty rate of 21.2 percent.

As poverty increases nationwide, African Americans and Latinos have been hit particularly hard by the recession, with 28.4% of African Americans and 33.5% of Latinos living in poverty in Pennsylvania last year. Just under one in ten non-Hispanic whites in Pennsylvania lived in poverty in 2010.

Pennsylvania’s recently enacted budget contained deep cuts to education, health care and other services that support struggling families, as well as investments that are the foundations of job creation and long-term economic growth.

Policymakers will continue to face tough fiscal choices next year and beyond. Taking a balanced approach that includes revenue and budget reserves instead of a cuts-only approach will be crucial to keeping more families from falling through the cracks and building a stronger economy.

“Relying heavily on cuts will make it more difficult for working and struggling families to keep a roof over their head and food on the table,” said Michael Wood, Research Director for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. “We need to take a balanced approach to budgeting so that we can invest in our state’s economy and provide help for those who need it most.”

View a table with poverty rates by metropolitan/micropolitan region

The Keystone Research Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that promotes a more prosperous and equitable Pennsylvania economy. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is a non-partisan policy research project that provides independent, credible analysis on state tax, budget and related policy matters, with attention to the impact of current or proposed policies on working families.

New Video Exposes PENNSYLVANIA GOP “Millionaire Politicians” Who Oppose Buffett Rule

2011-09-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

PA Reps. Barletta, Cong. Kelly, Cong. Shuster, and Sen. Toomey slammed in new video

****See Video Here****

(Philadelphia)—A group of Patriotic Millionaires released a video challenging several of Pennsylvania’s prominent politicians for their opposition to the “Buffett Rule.” The Buffett Rule refers to billionaire Warren buffet’s call for Congress to raise taxes on people like him who earn over $1 million per year.

The video – PENNSYLVANIA’S MILLIONAIRE POLITICIANS – charges that the Pennsylvania Millionaire Politicians are opposing the Buffett Rule to benefit themselves rather than the country.

Pennsylvania Reps. Louis Barletta, Mike Kelly, Bill Shuster, and Sen. Pat Toomey are prominently featured in the video.

Here is a list of the Pennsylvania Millionaire Politicians featured in the video.
Here is a complete list of 136 Millionaire Politicians opposing the Buffett Rule.

Some facts about millionaires in Congress:

48 percent of Congress members are millionaires while only 1 percent of all Americans are millionaires
55 members of Congress have an average wealth of $10 million and 8 members have an average wealth of $100+ million
During the worst part of the recession 2008-2009, the median wealth of a congressional member rose $125K
The median wealth of a House member is $700,000+, while the median wealth for a senator was over $2 million
5 of the 6 Republican members of the new Super Committee for the Budget are millionaires.

Why do Pennsylvania Millionaire Politicians oppose the Buffett Rule? Oh. That’s Why.

Patriotic Millionaires include: more than a dozen current and former Google employees, actress Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie); Susie Buell, Founder of Esprit; John Katzman, the founder of the Princeton Review; legendary philanthropist Michael Steinhardt; famed economist Nouriel Roubini; financial guru Andrew Tobias, top executives from Warburg, Pincus and other major financial firms, Dennis Mehiel, Chairman and Founder, U.S. Corrugated, Inc.; Ron Garret, Venture Capitalist – Former Google employee; Abigail Disney, Filmmaker, philanthropist; Peter Norvig, Computer Scientist; David Brown, Investor / Entrepreneur; Dal LaMagna, Co-Managing Partner IceStone; Leo Hindery, Managing Partner, InterMedia Partners; Frank Jernigan, Former Senior Software Engineer at Google; Michael Barr, Small Business Owner; Charlie Fink, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist; Daniel Berger, Attorney; Linda Gottlieb, Film / TV Producer; David Watson, Music Producer; Josh Kanter, Attorney; Garrett Gruener, Co-Founder / Director; and Dr. Robert Johnson, Executive Director – Institute for New Economic Thinking among others.

For more information about the Patriotic Millionaires, please visit www.patrioticmillionaires.org.

Williamsport Citizens Marcellus Shale Hearing

2011-09-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

Last night's Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission hearing in Williamsport is online here. It's about 2 hours long, but the testimony is compelling.

Video streaming by Ustream

1,000 to march in PA against Hershey’s corporate greed, for good jobs

2011-09-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hershey’s launches panicked PR and lobbying effort as march nears

Hershey, PA—After six weeks of mounting national pressure on Hershey’s for exploiting J-1 student workers and depriving local workers of living wage jobs, former student workers at the Hershey’s packing plant have organized a 1,000-strong march in Hershey for justice and jobs on Friday, Sep. 23 at 12:45 p.m.

The students—who paid $3,000-6,000 each to come to the U.S. for a cultural exchange and instead became captive labors at Hershey’s packing plant—organized and became members of the National Guestworker Alliance. With support from Central PA residents and organized labor, the students held a walk-out and strike from the Hershey’s plant on Aug. 17.

Hershey’s maintained a wall of silence, hoping that when the students returned to their home countries at the end of the summer, the pressure would end. Instead, the students organized hundreds of local workers and labor leaders into a growing fight for living wage jobs—including Friday’s 1,000-strong march.

As the march neared, Hershey’s launched a PR campaign to attempt to discredit the students, and hired Blank Rome Government Relations to lobby Congress on “government affairs issues related to labor practices.”

The National Guestworker Alliance is a membership organization of guestworkers engaging in workplace fights across many industries to win dignified conditions, just migration policy, and new rights and protections for all workers.

WHEN: Friday, Sep. 23 at 12:45 p.m.

WHERE: Corner of Homestead Rd. and Chocolate Ave. (Rt. 422), Hershey, PA 17033

Really? Let the uninsured die?

2011-09-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

From our friends at MoveOn.org:

Did you catch that moment in the GOP debate when the crowd cheered for letting uninsured patients die?

Susan Grigsby did, and she's recorded an incredibly powerful rejoinder that's on the verge of going viral online. We posted it Friday and already, there are tens of thousands of views, Facebook shares, and comments.

Don't let them shut down abortion access in PA!

2011-09-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

It's shocking, but this is really happening.

When legislators return to Harrisburg this month, they will be considering legislation that would drastically chip away at access to safe, legal abortion in Pennsylvania. We need YOU to stand with us against their full-scale attack on women's health! Mark your calendar to join hundreds of women's health supporters at a historic rally in Harrisburg on September 27.

Need a ride to the rally? TODAY is the deadline to register for a spot on a bus. Click here to sign up today!

These dangerous bills could cause a public health crisis in Pennsylvania by making abortion care inaccessible in the state. We have seen this sort of dangerous legislation pass in other states - and we cannot let it happen here in Pennsylvania! Let's join together as a strong and unified voice, declaring to Pennsylvania - and the Nation - that we will not allow these attacks to continue.

Add your voice and join us in Harrisburg on September 27!

This IS really happening. Let's do everything we can in the precious little time we have to tell our legislators to STOP their dangerous attacks on women's health and rights. Let's let them know: We've had enough!

Today is the deadline to register for a ride on the bus to Harrisburg. Please, click here to join us.

We hope to see you there!

Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates
Keystone Progress

Text of the American Jobs Act

2011-09-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Looking for the text of the American Jobs Act? Here it is:

American Jobs Act -- Final

2011-09-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

Affordable Care Act in Action: Fewer Uninsured Young Adults in America

We all know that our broken health care system failed to serve the needs of many American citizens. That is why the passage of reform legislation was so vital to the health of many Americans. But few people understood how necessary that change was to young adults.

In 2010, the number of uninsured young Americans climbed to 21 million people, accounting for approximately one third of the total uninsured population.

That is why the following announcement made today by Kathleen Sebelius HHS Secretary is so important…

“We know that young adults are the age group most likely to be uninsured and before health reform was enacted, many young Americans lost their health insurance when they left home or graduated from school. This meant that your sons or daughters – who might be college students or in their first job, are often forced to go without health insurance. A policy in the Affordable Care Act changed this, by allowing young adults to remain on their parents plan until age 26.

Today, a new report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working. According to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey released today, there was a significant increase in the number of 18-24 year olds with health insurance in the U.S. over the past year.

The report showed that the percentage of young adults with insurance increased from 70.7% in 2009 to 72.8% in 2010. That translates into 500,000 more young people with insurance. We expect even more will gain coverage in 2011 when the policy is fully phased in.

Young people sometimes think they’re invincible, but it’s important for everyone to have insurance. One car accident, one slip in a shower, or one sudden illness can result in months or even years of health care bills that can bankrupt the average family if that son or daughter is uninsured.

This 2% increase in coverage for young people came as the number of Americans under 65 with insurance went down slightly. The Affordable Care Act will help provide coverage at a decent price for millions of uninsured Americans starting in 2014, when millions of Americans will have access to affordable insurance options.”

For more information, click here

Perhaps the Most Bizarre Campaign Ad Ever

2011-09-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

This is not a joke. It's from the Herman Cain campaign.

PA Groups Express Concerns over Fracking Fluids in Flood Water

2011-09-10T05:15:00.001-07:00

Demand Disclosure of Chemicals and Number of Well Pads in Floodplains

Harrisburg, PA—As tropical storm Lee continues to dump massive amounts of rain throughout Pennsylvania, concerns are growing over natural gas drilling pits overflowing and spilling their toxic contents into flooded creeks, streams and rivers. There are no currently safeguards in place by the State of Pennsylvania to prevent natural gas drilling and the placing of open pits containing toxic fracking fluids in flood plains. The groups call on the DEP to immediately disclose to the public and emergency response professionals how many wells are located within the floodplain, how many may have potentially leaked into our waterways, and what types of chemicals residents and emergency responders may have come in contact with.

Pennsylvania Environmental groups released the following statements in reaction to the heavy rainfall and potential for contaminated flood regions:

“Given the significant flooding over the past several days, there is much concern over how many well pads, open pits and chemical storage tank fields have been inundated with toxic chemicals washing into our waterways and flooded communities,” states Jeff Schmidt, Director with the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “It is imperative that the PA DEP not allow natural gas wells and infrastructure to be located in floodplains.”

"The human devastation experienced by flooding is largely the result of bad decision making - building in the wrong place and the wrong way,” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper. “Because we have once again put the priorities of industry above the health, safety and protection of people, which includes protecting the environment that feeds and sustains them. We have created a catastrophic situation - and the damage we see here will far surpass what we are able to see with our eyes, the chemical slurry of the drillers will spread its poison, becoming an insidious and unseen threat that will cause sickness and harm for years to come."

"We can only assume that the runoff from gas well sites during this terrible flooding is a toxic flood,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director of DRN. “PA should shut down all drilling now and must immediately revise its regulations to prohibit any gas well development within the floodplains adjacent riparian areas, for the sake of public health and safety."

B. Arrindell, Director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, said, "We have verified that there is a spreading oil slick in the Wyalusing area along the flooding Susquehanna River. This is indicative of not just oils, but also all the chemicals being used and released materials brought to the surface by the drilling that are now being spread everywhere the flood waters travel. This has profound ongoing health implications for everyone living, working, farming or visiting the area. Pennsylvanians are being denied their constitutional right to a clean environment"

"While the industry mouths rhetoric about 'safe and responsible' drilling, they do the absolute opposite in fact, storing hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic flowback fluid in open frack pits, now flowing into floodwaters," said Iris Marie Bloom, director of Protecting Our Waters. "Fracking fluid chemicals, and even worse, the radioactive materials, arsenic and other deadly contaminants brought up from the deep shale, should never come into contact with air, water or earth. But here they are flowing with flood waters irreversibly into our ecosystem. This is a public health disaster in the making. Not one more fracking permit should be issued. All open frack pits must be permanently abolished and life-cycle cumulative impact studies done."

Nature Abounds President Melinda Hughes-Wert commented on the situation, “Prior to the epic flooding, we already knew that toxic water from the wells was seeping into our waterways through inefficient containment ponds placed in mountainous topography. Now with the epic flooding, we have even more toxic chemicals in our ground and surface waters. This is truly a significant problem for the commonwealth and it should be addressed by our officials with urgency. Anything less, is an insult to the intelligence of the citizens of Pennsylvania.”

"The devastating flooding occurring in Pennsylvania is just another chilling reminder that we are all downstream of poorly regulated, poorly understood, and inherently dangerous natural gas drilling operations. Natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania needs to stop," said Karen Feridun, Founder of Berks Gas Truth.

1000 Women Leaders say "We've had enough!"

2011-08-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

We need your help.

The Pennsylvania legislature is on the verge of passing new abortion regulations that are so burdensome that many safe, compassionate and pro-women providers are expected to close.
Another bill that would prevent women from using their health insurance to cover abortion care is one step away from final passage.
Another bill to force doctors to ask women to look at their ultrasound image and listen to a fetal heartbeat before abortion is waiting in the wings.

In the meantime, women are suffering from a failing economy and a sluggish recovery that has not produced jobs for women; from widespread wage discrimination; from harassment, violence, and abuse; from hunger and poverty; from lack of health care; from a lack of affordable housing and transportation; and from inadequate support for their family responsibilities.

Our state government’s answer to these real problems is, Let’s pass another abortion restriction!In fact, in the first six months of this year, the Pennsylvania legislature acted on anti-abortion legislation on fully one-third of its voting session days.

Had enough?

As a leader in your community, we are asking you to join the 1000 Women Leaders campaign to send a message to the Pennsylvania legislature that we’ve had enough. 1000 Women Leaders is a shared initiative of the Women’s Law Project and Pennsylvanians for Choice, a statewide coalition of reproductive health advocates and providers. Our goal is to shift the focus of our state government away from restricting abortion and toward solving the problems of real women in communities across the Commonwealth.

How to participate:

All we ask is that you add your name to the rapidly growing list of women leaders (see below) who think the Pennsylvania legislature should stop passing new abortion restrictions and start solving women’s real problems. We will share the list with these leaders at a rally at the state capitol scheduled for Tuesday, September 27^th. We hope you’ll be there. Yes, please add my name to the 1000 Women Leaders List!

If, in addition to lending the force of your name, you are also in a position to make a contribution, we will put all funds raised from the 1000 Women Leaders initiative into a paid media campaign to publicize our message. Contributions are tax-deductable.

And if you’d like to spread the word to another woman whose name is missing from the 1000 Women Leaders list, please pass this message along through your networks.

Also, if you would like to participate in our social media campaign and learn more about the rally on September 27th, visit www.wevehadenoughpa.org. The We’ve Had Enough campaign is also a project of Pennsylvanians for Choice and is committed to planning the September rally and educating Pennsylvanians about this dangerous legislation.

1000 Women Leaders
(affiliations are listed for identification purposes only)

Amanda S. Aronoff, Executive Director
WOMEN'S WAY

Suzanne Sheehan Becker

Jessica Beckett-McWalter, Esq.

Kathy Black, President
Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union women

Jen Boulanger
Allentown Women's Center

Jeanne K.C. Clark, Chair
Shadyside Dems, Democratic Committee Seventh Ward, City of Pittsburgh

Jennifer R. Clarke, Executive Director
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia

Melissa M. Craig

Gerianne Tringali DiPiano, President & CEO
FemmePharma Global Healthcare, Inc.

Barbara Burgos DiTullio
WomenVote PA

Anna Doering
AD Consulting

Julie Drendall

JoAnne A. Epps

Nancy O'Mara Ezold, Esq.

Sara K. Faisetty
Allentown Women's Center

Kristyn Felman, MPH, LSW

Cynthia Figueroa

Alma Speed Fox

Susan Frietsche, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney
Women's Law Project

Terry Gillen

Carol Goertzel, President & CEO
Pathways PA

Nancy Bregstein Gordon

Brenda Green
CHOICE PA

Wendy Grube, Ph.D., CRNP

Barbara Hafer
Hafer and Associates, LLC

Honorable Babette Josephs
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Carol Ann Kell

Eve Biskind Klothen

Vicki W. Kramer
V. Kramer & Associates

Judith N. Lasker, Ph.D.
Dept. Sociology & Anthropology, Lehigh University

Roberta D. Liebenberg, Esq.

Gail Lopez-Henriques, Esq.

Carol A. Mager, Esq.

Dorothy Mann

Lynn A. Marks

Tara Marks

La'Tasha D. Mayes
New Voices Pennsylvania: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice

Kate Michelman, Former President
NARAL Pro-Choice America

Leslie Anne Miller, Esq., LLC

Diane Mohney, Recording Secretary
Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women

Dr. Lynne Ann Molter, Professor & Chair
Dept. of Engineering, Swarthmore College

Kimberly C. Oxholm

Nancy Reese, Chief Creative Officer
Akoya

Sarah Ricks, Board of Trustees
Women's Law Project

Mary Catherine Roper, Staff Attorney
American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania

Judith A. Ruszkowski

Margaret Sadler

Susan Schewel, Executive Director
Women's Medical Fund

Carolyn Scott

Dayle Steinberg, President & CEO
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Sylvia Stengle

Martha Swartz, Esq.

Stella M. Tsai, Esq.

Carol E. Tracy, Esq., Executive Director
Women's Law Project

Deborah A. Williq, Esq.

Kathleen J. Wilson, Vice President
Pennsylvania NOW

New Commission to Gather Citizen Input on Gas Drilling

2011-08-30T03:16:00.001-07:00

HARRISBURG, PA (August 30, 2011) — A new commission launching this week will give the citizens of Pennsylvania an opportunity to tell their side of the story about drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Former state Representatives Carole Rubley and Dan Surra will co-chair the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission, which will hold hearings across Pennsylvania to gather citizen perspectives on the Marcellus Shale and produce a final report for policymakers. The first of five hearings will take place Wednesday in Southwestern Pennsylvania (see full schedule of hearings below).

“Marcellus Shale development will have a huge impact on our Commonwealth and it is critical that we get it right,” Surra said. “This commission will give citizens an opportunity to add their voice and bring some necessary balance to this critical debate.”

“The Commission will give the people of Pennsylvania an opportunity to weigh in on this important issue,” said Rubley. “Their input should inform state policies to ensure gas drilling is conducted in a responsible manner.”

The Citizens Commission was formed by eight leading civic and environmental organizations to give Pennsylvanians living with drilling in their backyard a place to speak out and recommend action.

Earlier this year, Governor Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, heavy with industry representatives, produced a report and recommendations on shale drilling. The Citizens Commission is intended to supplement that work and delve deeper into a variety of issues, including water and air quality, social impacts of gas drilling, the drilling tax, and impacts outside Marcellus communities.

“The Governor’s commission told part of the story,” said Thomas Au, of the Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter. “The citizens of Pennsylvania have a different story to tell.”

The Commission will hold five hearings across Pennsylvania in August and September. Each hearing will be held from 6-9 p.m., with the first hour reserved for expert testimony and the remaining two for public input.

In early October, the Commission will produce a report documenting the opinions and concerns of citizens to be delivered to Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The hearing schedule is:

Southwestern Pennsylvania
Aug. 31, 2011, 6-9 pm: South Fayette Middle School, 3640 Old Oakdale Rd., McDonald, Pa

Southeastern Pennsylvania
Sept. 6, 2011, 6-9 pm: The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Northeastern Pennsylvania
Sept. 13, 2011, 6-9 pm: Lycoming College, Academic Center on Mulberry Street, Room D001, Lower Level, Williamsport, Pa.

Sept. 14, 2011, 6-9 pm: Wysox Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 2, Lake Rd., Wysox, Pa.

Central Pennsylvania
Week of Sept. 18, 2011, Harrisburg, Pa. (Details TBA)

Citizens can sign up to participate at these hearings at the Commission’s web site: http://citizensmarcellusshale.com or by calling Stephanie Frank at 717-255-7181

Follow on Twitter: @CitiznMarcellus

Follow on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-Marcellus-Shale-Commission/167473073330059

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS: Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Clean Water Action, Keystone Progress, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Penn Environment, Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter, and the CLEAR Coalition.

The Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission was formed by eight civic and environmental organizations in Pennsylvania to assess the impacts, both positive and negative, of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale and to identify the steps needed to ensure drilling occurs in a responsible manner. Learn more: http://citizensmarcellusshale.com.

PA Public Sector Earnings on Par with Private Sector

2011-08-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

New study provides apples-to-apples comparison of compensation

Full-time state and local government employees in Pennsylvania earn about the same or less in wages and benefits as their private-sector counterparts, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), co-released with the Keystone Research Center.

Controlling for other factors that influence compensation—most importantly, education—this study provides an “apples-to-apples” comparison showing that the hourly compensation costs of Pennsylvania public-sector employees are a statistically insignificant 2.1% lower than that of private-sector employees. When compared on an annual basis, full-time state and local employees are undercompensated by a statistically-significant 5.4%.

The analysis, Public Versus Private Employee Costs in Pennsylvania: Comparing Apples to Apples, by Labor and Employment Relations Professor Jeffrey Keefe of Rutgers University controls for education, experience, organizational size, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship and disability. The study uses data collected primarily from a comprehensive database that is updated monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics. In accordance with standard survey practice, the study focuses on year-round, full-time public and private-sector employees.

Other major findings of the study include:

Pennsylvania public-sector workers are more highly educated than private-sector workers: 53% of full-time Pennsylvania public-sector workers hold at least a four-year college degree, compared to 32% of full-time private-sector workers.
Pennsylvania state and local governments and school districts pay college-educated workers on average 21% less than do private employers.
Public-sector compensation is a model for the private sector, not the reverse, when it comes to promoting American values and improving productivity.

Pennsylvania public employees—like most other American workers—have in fact been victims of the worst national recession since the Great Depression. Severe financial problems as a result of the Great Recession have forced state, county and municipal elected officials in Pennsylvania and other states to make large cuts in spending. As a result, public-sector employment has been slashed by 3,400 jobs in Pennsylvania in the last year, with thousands more workers at risk of job loss in the years ahead.

Want to learn more?

Read the full EPI report

Read a two-page fact sheet

After students trigger four federal investigations into exploitation at Hershey’s plant, Hershey’s offers students paid vacations

2011-08-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

HERSHEY, PA, August 24, 2011—Just hours after four federal government agencies launched investigations into the exploitation of J-1 student workers in the Hershey’s packing plant—including a surprise inspection of the plant Tuesday by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)—Hershey’s directed its subcontractors to offer the students paid vacations.

Early morning Tuesday, OSHA began a surprise inspection of the Hershey’s packing plant in Palmyra, which it continued all day Tuesday and was set to resume Wednesday morning. OSHA also confirmed Tuesday that it had opened a Whistleblower Protection Program investigation into the case.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division launched its own investigation into the exploitation of J-1 student workers at the Hershey’s plant, and the U.S. State Department scheduled interviews with the students for Thursday, August 25, as part of its own investigation.

Hours after learning of the four investigations, Hershey’s abandoned its claims that it bore no responsibility for the exploitation of J-1 students at its packing plant, and directed its subcontractors to offer the students paid vacations.

Hershey’s offer to the students comes one day before State Department officials were scheduled to interview students about the months of exploitation at the Hershey’s plant that the students spoke out to end.

“For five full days after the students exposed the exploitation at the Hershey’s packing plant and stood up for American workers, Hershey’s played dumb and passed the buck,” said Saket Soni, executive director of the National Guestworker Alliance, which helped the students organize. “Then Hershey's learned of four federal investigations into the exploitation of J-1 students at its plant, and within hours, it was offering the students paid vacations.”

“There’s nothing wrong with paid vacations, but a paid vacation won’t cover up the truth: Hershey’s knew, condoned, and benefited from the year-round exploitation of J-1 student workers at its packing plant for years,” Soni said.

“Pennsylvanians know that Hershey’s has pursued a deliberate strategy of outsourcing, downsizing, and subcontracting for the cheapest, most exploitable workers for decades,” Soni said. “Hershey’s has left Pennsylvania workers locked out of living wage jobs, and has left students on a cultural exchange program locked in their plant as captive laborers. That’s Hershey’s record of brutal corporate greed, and no eleventh-hour offer can cover it up.”

CONTACT: NGA Communications Director Stephen Boykewich

Stephen@guestworkeralliance.org, Tel. 718-791-9162

New Policy Gives Consumers Clear and Understandable Information on Health Benefits and Coverage

2011-08-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

New Policy Gives Consumers Clear and Understandable Information on Health Benefits and Coverage

Keystone Progress Education Fund released the following statement on the new Affordable Care Act rule proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury to make health coverage more consumer-friendly.

This new policy finally means that real people will be able to read and understand their health benefits and coverage so that they can make educated decisions when they are buying health insurance. By simplifying the language and ensuring that information is clear and understandable, this policy eliminates much of the existing confusion surrounding health care.

Workers and employers both win with this new rule, which ensures that Americans better understand their choices in health care. With clear choices between plans and benefits, the 180 million health insurance consumers with private health insurance coverage will now be able to make informed decisions about their health coverage.

The rules will ensure that consumers have access to a Summary of Benefits and Coverage and to a uniform glossary of terms commonly used in health insurance coverage upon request and before they buy coverage.

Consumers win with choice and information, and this rule promotes both.

More information about the proposed regulation is available at: http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/labels08172011a.html.

To view the proposed template for the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, visit: http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/labels08172011b.pdf

To view the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or learn how to submit public comment, visit: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/

Other technical information is available at: http://cciio.cms.gov/

Not so sweet: Hershey’s exploits student workers to avoid paying living wages in Pennsylvania

2011-08-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Godwin is a Nigerian student who heard about a great opportunity to learn about American culture and hone his English skills in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was excited when he learned he was accepted to part of a special U.S. State Department approved visa program designed to promote cultural exchange and international understanding. He was so thrilled that he would be meeting American people as a guestworker with the Hershey Company that he was willing to pay $4,000 to be part of the program.

Once he arrived in Hershey, his excitement quickly faded as he found himself forced to work long hours packing chocolates instead of working in a public position. Godwin, and hundreds of other international students, found that they not only had to work long hours, but Hershey forced them to live in company housing, after paying $3,000-6,000 for the “opportunity” to work for Hershey. Hershey also charged them other expenses, leaving most of the students with $40 to $140 per week after 40 hours of work with serious health and safety problems at the worksite. (You can see a video of their story here.)

When they complained about their working conditions, the students were threatened with deportation.

But Hershey’s exploitation doesn’t end with the students. Jobs like these used to be living wage jobs with a union contract, earning about $18 an hour.

The students understand that they are being exploited, and they understand that they are being used to hurt working families in the United States. Today, they are courageously risking deportation to stand up for themselves and American workers by organizing a sit down strike inside the plant. They were joined in the sit down strike by community, religious and labor leaders, three of him were arrested.

They have two simple demands:

1) Hershey Company must return the $3000-$6000 that the student-workers paid to participate in a bogus cultural exchange program;

2) Hershey must make these jobs living wage jobs for Pennsylvania workers.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to an employer who legally controls every aspect of your life. We need you to help the students in their efforts to expose this fraudulent program and get justice for themselves and American workers.

Please send a message to Hershey’s CEO in support of the students by clicking here. Join the brave international students in their fight against this injustice.

You can learn more by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

Michael Morrill
Keystone Progress

Toomey agrees to town hall meetings after avoiding unemployed all year

2011-08-17T09:52:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, August 17, 2011

SENATOR TOOMEY AGREES TO TOWN HALL MEETINGS, UNEMPLOYED WANT THEIR VOICES HEARD

“You’ve met with the CEO’s and lobbyists, now meet with real unemployed workers.”

PENNSYLVANIA – After receiving repeated requests to hold a town hall meeting with unemployed workers before the end of the August recess, Senator Pat Toomey’s office announced that he will be holding “open forums” at the end of the month.

The announcement, which was reported in the Morning Call, comes just days after Toomey verbally agreed to meeting with unemployed workers at the request of Dan Haney and Shawn Wygant. Both men have lost their jobs recently and are struggling to provide for their families.

“I’m happy that Senator Toomey has finally honored his promise to hold open forums,” said Haney of Philadelphia, who worked as a pharmacy technician until February of this year when his job, along with approximately 600 of his co-worker’s jobs, was sent overseas. “So far, he has spent the August recess meting with CEO’s and lobbyists. I sincerely hope that he fulfills his promise to include unemployed workers in his open forums. He needs to hear how the policies he supports are only making our situation worse.”

Haney and Wygant, an unemployed worker from Pittsburgh, have been traveling the state asking Toomey to hold a town hall meeting with unemployed workers. They will continue to visit his offices until he agrees that the unemployed will be a large part of his audience at the “open forums.”

“I can’t afford to pay $1,000 to have access to my Senator, like the lobbyists and corporate CEO’s,” said Wygant. “Senator Toomey has spent his time in Washington protecting tax breaks for CEOs and corporations that ship jobs overseas and doing nothing to create jobs for regular people here in Pennsylvania. I want to be able to tell him face-to-face, like he said I would be able to, how his policies are hurting middle class families like mine.”

A link to the Morning Call story can be found by clicking here. A copy of a letter sent to Toomey from Haney and Wygant just yesterday is also attached to this release. The correspondence was in response to the Senator's failure to publicly announce that he had decided to hold a town hall meeting. This was also reported on in the Morning Call as well, and can be read here.

CONTACT: Jessica Walls-Lavelle, 717-724-7570, toomeywatch@gmail.com

Today'sNews Clips, August 17, 2011

2011-08-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

News Clips from America Votes

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

News Clips

Colorado: Tancredo forms “super PAC” to raise unlimited money for 2012

From Allison Sherry for the Denver Post

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo filed paperwork to form a new “super” Political Action Committee called the American Legacy Alliance that will raise unlimited funds around the cause of illegal immigration.

Tancredo, a one-time GOP presidential and Colorado gubernatorial candidate, filed the paperwork last week.

Florida: Voting record undermines Dems credibility on redistricting, claims GOP

From The Staff for the St. Petersburg Times

We told you on Tuesday that Republicans were targeting Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith for taking a different position on redistricting as a party boss than when he was helping draw district boundaries in the state Senate.

Today, the Florida Republican Party of Florida issued another press release showing that four Democrats joined Smith in voting for the 2002 plan and "to support current legislative lines they now criticize." To be fair, all four Democrats — Skip Campbell, Steve Geller, Al Lawson, and Tom Rossin — are out of office and we haven't heard any of the four publicly criticize the current process. But that's beside the point, Republicans say.

"Florida Democrats have proven they have no credibility when they criticize the redistricting process,” RPOF spokesman Brian Hughes said. "Republicans in Florida have offered a bipartisan process for redistricting; one that respects the law and will include a diversity of representation that reflects the population of our great state."

Pennsylvania: Eyes turn to former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel as his former aides plan guilty pleas

From Charles Thompson for the Patriot News

Just a few weeks before former House Speaker John Perzel and former House Republican staffers are slated to go to trial, three of Perzel’s former aides plan to plead guilty.

Could Perzel follow suit?

While Perzel said in one published report Tuesday that he doesn’t intend to plead guilty, the possibility of a deal might be greater than ever.

Wisconsin: Wirch, Holperin win Senate recalls; GOP retains 17-16 majority

From Tom Tolan, Lee Bergquist and Georgia Pabst for the Journal Sentinel

The six-month saga that was Wisconsin's state Senate recall movement ended Tuesday with Democrats retaining two seats - and Republicans still in possession of a week-old, razor-thin 17-16 majority.

On the fourth election day of the summer, two Democratic incumbents were victorious. Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) beat challenger and tea party activist Kim Simac of Eagle River, and Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) easily topped Republican lawyer Jonathan Steitz.

Bottom line: Republicans will continue to control the agenda in the Capitol, but it will be difficult for Gov. Scott Walker and other GOP leaders to get everything they want.

Holperin said he believes his win and that of Wirch showed that voters in both districts supported the move by the 14 Senate Democrats to leave the state earlier this year to delay a vote on the budget-repair bill that limited collective bargaining for public employees. "Maybe it shows that voters indicated they deserved more time to let their voice be heard on such an important piece of legislation," he said.

Aide disputes report, says Ryan still isn't running for president

From Craig Gilbert for the Journal Sentinel

Paul Ryan's office denied a media report Tuesday that the Janesville congressman is actively considering a presidential run.

"His mind hasn't changed," said Ryan aide Kevin Seifert. "He's not planning to run for president . . . There's nothing new to this."

The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine and website, wrote Tuesday that Ryan was "strongly considering" a run and has been discussing the possibility with political strategists in recent months.

Montana: Schweitzer denies interest in presidency in 2016 as he gives out-of-state speeches

From Charles Johnson for the Billings Gazette

HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer is off to speak at Governor's Day at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday, the latest in a series of out-of-state speeches, but he pooh-poohed a national magazine report that he's gearing up to run for president in 2016.

U.S. News & World Report columnist Paul Bedard wrote an article last week headlined, "Buzz Building for Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer in 2016."

The author compared Schweitzer, who "brought down the house" at the 2008 Democratic nominating convention, with Barack Obama, who did likewise at the 2004 convention, and Bill Clinton, who bored the audience in nominating Mike Dukakis in 1988.

Oregon: Oregon congressional candidate Rob Cornilles missed voting in third of elections since 1998

From Jeff Mapes for the Oregonian

Republican congressional candidate Rob Cornilles has missed voting in nine of the 27 elections held since 1998, according to the Washington County elections office.

That puts Cornilles in stark contrast with the three major Democrats running in the special congressional election for the seat vacated by the resignation of Democrat David Wu.

Election records show that Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici of Beaverton and state Rep. Brad Witt of Clatskanie have not skipped an election

Maine: Monaghan-Derrig wins Maine House seat in Cape Elizabeth

From Tervor Maxwell for the Portland Press Herald

CAPE ELIZABETH — Democrat Kimberly Monaghan-Derrig defeated Republican Nancy Thompson in a special election Tuesday to win the District 121 seat in the Maine House of Representatives.

Monaghan-Derrig beat out Thompson in a tight race between political newcomers.

The unofficial results, posted by the town shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, showed 1,340 for Monaghan-Derrig and 1,164 for Thompson.

Michigan: Durant to enter primary to challenge Stabenow

From Ed Brayton for the Michigan Messenger

Clark Durant, founder of a Detroit charter school, is set to announce that he will run against former Rep. Pete Hoekstra in the Republican primary for the chance to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow for her seat next year.

MLive.com reports:

Detroit charter school co-founder Clark Durant confirmed Tuesday that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

Rep. Matthew Baker Threatens Citizen Activists for Exposing His Ties to Corporate Lobbyists

2011-08-10T07:53:00.001-07:00

(HARRISBURG)—Rep. Matthew Baker (R, Bradford, Tioga) has threatened legal action against Keystone Progress for exposing his ties to corporate lobbyists. Baker told one of his constituents that he has discussed legal action with his “legal council [sic].”

Last week Keystone Progress released a report detailing the relationship between many PA legislators and a shadowy corporate lobbying organization known as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In that report (available online here), Keystone Progress revealed how some legislators were using ALEC’s model Bills verbatim, not even bothering to disguise the fact that they were copying what the lobbyists wrote for them.

Baker was one of the legislators whose copying was highlighted in the report.

“This is a dangerous attempt to stifle the truth,” said Keystone Progress Executive Director Michael Morrill. “We expected that legislators would not like our report, but we never expected that they would use their power to try to silence the voices of citizens.”

The following is the entire email from Baker:

Thank you for your email [Name deleted for confidentiality]. I am fully aware of the left wing liberal agenda to both demean ALEC and those who consider model legislation or proposals by this reputable and more conservative thinking national organization. Notwithstanding this groups liberal bias against ALEC I will say I have never attended any of their national conferences but do value their expertise in researching what other states have done in terms of legislative proposals. By the way, I am well aware of the misrepresentations of the liberal Progressive group that has taken shots at me and others and hence have referred their self serving ploy and tactics to raise money to our legal council to ascertain if this is a potential ethics or libel issue and if so if it is actionable from a legal standpoint. [Entire email as sent to Keystone Progress member]

Small Businesses Benefit from the Affordable Care Act

2011-08-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Small businesses have benefited from the Affordable Care Act since it was signed in March 2010.

With the help of tax credits in the Affordable Care Act, small businesses like Matt's bagel shop can now offer health insurance to their employees. In Iowa, 57,000 small businesses are now eligible for job-creating tax credits.

Watch the "Bagel" ad and sign up with Know Your Care to learn more.

Many PA bills being written by secretive group of corporate lobbyists

2011-08-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

American Legislative Exchange Council writes bills and then gives them to PA legislators who pass them off as their own work

(HARRISBURG,PA)—A new report released today reveals a disturbing level of influence by corporate lobbyists in Pennsylvania. A secretive organization known as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been writing legislation which PA legislators have been passing off as their own work. The bills written by ALEC cover virtually every area of public policy, including healthcare, budgeting and tax policy. The report was written by Keystone Progress, a progressive advocacy group based in Harrisburg.

“We are not talking about legislators following a corporate agenda, there is nothing new in that.” said Eileen Connelly, chair of Keystone Progress. “This is legislation which is used verbatim by legislators who pretend that they wrote these bills.”

Among the bills copied from ALEC’s “Model Bills” website are:

HB 42, the “Freedom of choice in Healthcare Act,” introduced by Rep. Matthew Baker (R, Bradford, Tioga)
HB 250, the “Council on Efficient Government Act, “ introduced by Rep. Rep. Seth Grove (R, York)
HB 1349, the “Regulatory Review Act,” introduced by Rep. Tina Pickett (R, Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna)

The report identifies 23 legislators who are ALEC members, including much of the GOP leadership in the General Assembly. Twenty-two of the 23 are GOP legislators. Only one is a Democrat.

Until now it has been difficult to show the connection between ALEC and corporate takeover of democracy. Last week The Center for Media and De mocracy uncovered 800 bills and resolutions that were voted on by ALEC members, showing how its unelected corporate members are given a direct voice on the creation of bills that affect the lives of American citizens every day. The agenda embedded in these bills is about tilting the system into favoring those with money and power. Through de-regulation of industry, voter suppression and setting up barriers to direct democracy ALEC legislation has greatly influenced the political landscape in many states, including Pennsylvania.

These bills align closely with the agenda of the Republican leadership in both chambers. With over 800 bills, it is impossible to compare each to the bills introduced in the PA House and Senate this year without reviewing each ALEC bill and comparing it to similar legislation in PA.

The report may be obtained electronically here or by contacting Michael Morrill (KP Executive Director) at mike@keystoneprogress.org, or Jamie Mondics (KP Healthcare Communiaction Coordinator) at jamie@keystoneprogress.org)

-END-

—
Michael Morrill, Executive Director
Keystone Progress
1500 N. 2nd St., Ste. 11
Harrisburg, PA 17102
www.keystoneprogress.org

Environmental Groups Respond to Corbett Marcellus Commission

2011-07-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

(Harrisburg) – A number of environmental and community organizations gathered outside Governor Corbett’s office in the state capitol today to respond to the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Groups universally criticized the Commission’s final report, issued last Friday, as a product of its industry make-up and decried the secrecy employed to generate the final product.

"The Commission recognized the need for regulatory improvements, but in effect gave barely a nod to the serious and accelerating health and environmental problems in Pennsylvania's gas patch," said Nadia Steinzor, Marcellus Regional Organizer with Earthworks. "With strong incentives for the expansion of drilling, limited protections, and a willingness to violate the rights of landowners through forced pooling and municipalities by overriding zoning rights, the recommendations are yet another way to favor industry over citizens."

“While the Commission held their secret deliberations, the state gave out 1,720 permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale. Even though some of the recommendations recognize that residents lack the proper protections from drilling, when, if ever, will the state take action? We need a halt to the mad rush to give out permits when even industry agrees that the rules are currently lacking,” stated Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action.

Many of the environmental recommendations in the Commission report have been proposed in legislation for several years with no action taken to date. None of the drilling companies on the Commission have offered to abide by the recommendations in their own report.

“We have had information about the deleterious effects of Marcellus Shale gas drilling on our environment, health, and safety for years,” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “To delay implementing much-needed policy in order to regurgitate facts we already had at our fingertips is an abomination. It’s critical our state legislators to act swiftly to make meaningful progress to protect our drinking water, clean air, public lands and public health from the dangers of drilling.”

The environmental groups also noted a list of critical issues that the Commission ignored in making their final recommendations including: lack of a moratorium and a requirement to conduct a cumulative impact analysis, no recommendations to address the need to test drinking water supplies, nothing to address the impacts of pipelines being built throughout the state, and a complete lack of attention to the air quality impacts from gas drilling and production.

"The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission has ignored the serious air pollution problems associated with Marcellus-related development. Well pads, compressor stations, and processing facilities are all going in largely without air pollution controls," said Jeff Schmidt, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. "The pollution from these facilities are felt by the public. According the DEP, during the last week we have been experiencing public health-threatening "Code Orange" ozone action days over nearly all of Pennsylvania. The pollution from gas drilling facilities will only make our air quality more dangerous. We must require the best available pollution controls at all of these facilities, in order to protect public health", Schmidt concluded.

The environmental organizations also noted the lack of real public participation in the process of drafting the report. “Gov. Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission operated at a level of secrecy that evoked memories of Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force. We’re very disappointed that there is no opportunity for Pennsylvanians to formally comment on the final report now that it has been made available to the public. They deserve to have a real voice in matters as important as unconventional natural gas drilling,” stated Karen Feridun from Berks Gas Truth.

www.pacleanwatercampaign.org

The next time someone says Democrats spend too much, show them this:

2011-07-25T11:43:00.001-07:00

PA #2 with most toxic air pollution from Power Plants

2011-07-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida Lead List of “Toxic 20” States with Most Toxic Air Pollution from Power PlantsWorst States: OH, PA, FL, KY, MD, IN, MI, WV, GA, NC, SC, AL, TX, VA, TN, MO, IL, WI, NH, IA

WASHINGTON (July 20, 2011) — Residents of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida live in states with the most toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The study used publicly-available data in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The analysis, entitled “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States” was jointly released today by NRDC and Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR).

Among the key findings:

Nearly half of all the toxic air pollution reported from industrial sources in the United States comes from coal- and oil-fired power plants.
Power plants are the single largest industrial source of toxic air pollution in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

“Power plants are the biggest industrial toxic air polluters in our country, putting children and families at risk by dumping deadly and dangerous poisons into the air we breathe,” said Dan Lashof, Climate Center Director at NRDC. “Tougher standards are long overdue. Members of Congress who consider blocking toxic pollution safeguards should understand that this literally will cost American children and families their health and lives.”

Despite the health benefits of reducing toxic pollution from power plants, some polluters and members of Congress are seeking to block EPA’s efforts to update public health protections. Last week, two House Committees voted for amendments by Ed Whitfield (R-KY)/Mike Ross (D-AR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) to block for at least a year the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics standard. These amendments could move to the House floor as early as this week.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton (R-MI) has vowed to block EPA’s clean air safeguards. One of the nation’s biggest polluters, American Electric Power (AEP) based in Columbus, Ohio has drafted legislation to block the EPA and has argued against EPA’s current efforts.

The states on the “Toxic 20” list (from worst to best) are:

Ohio
Pennsylvania
Florida
Kentucky
Maryland
Indiana
Michigan
West Virginia
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Alabama
Texas
Virginia
Tennessee
Missouri
Illinois
Wisconsin
New Hampshire
Iowa

The EPA estimates that the reductions of toxic pollution required by the pending “Mercury and Air Toxics” standard would save as many as 17,000 lives every year by 2015 and prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms. The safeguards also would avoid more than 12,000 emergency room and hospital visits and prevent 850,000 lost work days every year. These standards are expected to be finalized in November; the agency is taking public comments on its proposal until Aug. 4, 2011.

“Coal pollution is killing Americans,” said Lynn Ringenberg, MD, of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “It is America’s biggest source of toxic air pollution. Air toxics from coal-fired power plants cause cancer, birth defects, and respiratory illness. Just one of those air toxics, mercury, damages the developing brains of fetuses, infants, and small children. It robs our children of healthy neurological development and native intelligence.

“Poisonous power threatens the health of our kids and families. As a pediatrician for over thirty years, I urge us absolutely to support the EPA’s efforts to reduce the health threat from coal.”

The 28 states in which power plants are the leading source of toxic air pollution reported to the TRI are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

ABOUT THE DATA

The EPA’s Toxic Release inventory, known as the TRI, is a national database of toxic emissions self-reported by industrial sources. This analysis compared TRI emissions from the electric utilities sector to those from other sectors and ranked sources by total emissions by sector. Releases are calculated and self-reported by covered entities. Emissions of key power plant pollutants are reported to the TRI, including mercury, hydrochloric acid, and other hazardous metals.

Top emitting power plants were identified based on toxic emissions reported to TRI. Power plant ownership information was drawn from “Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States (2010).” Data on pollution control systems at specific plants was obtained from EPA’s National Electric Energy Data System Database v.4.10 (2010).

For the full methodology, see the analysis “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States,” which can be found here: http://docs.nrdc.org/air/air_11072001.asp.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org

Members of Congress Stop in Pittsburgh for the “Speakout for Good Jobs Now! Rebuild the American Dream” Tour

2011-07-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Andrew@

ProgressiveCongress.org and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Host Event to Hear From Middle Class Workers and Unemployed

More Information at: www.SpeakOutTour.com

While the debate in Washington is all about deficit reduction, Americans outside the Beltway want to hear about the creation of good jobs. It is time for Congress to get the message.

We need a plan to put people to work and action to make the economy work for the Middle Class once more. That will only happen if the voices of America’s working families are heard in a Washington dominated by entrenched corporate interests and big money politics.

It’s time for Congress to listen to the challenges the middle class faces in rebuilding the American Dream. Deficit reduction cannot come at the expense of good jobs and hope for the future. Now more than ever, Americans are struggling to make ends meet while CEOs are being rewarded for shipping American jobs overseas.

On Monday, July 18 from 6-8 p.m. EST members of Congress and hundreds of workers will start a conversation in Pittsburgh as part of a nationwide summer tour to promote good jobs and rebuild the American Dream.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WHO: Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

WHAT: Speakout for Good Jobs Now! A nationwide Summer Tour.

WHERE The Kinsley Association: 645 Frankstown Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15206

WHEN: Monday, July 18, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST

Tell Pocono Medical Center to Reinstate Rafelina Now!

2011-07-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Tell Pocono Medical Center to Reinstate Rafelina Now!

For over a year, Pocono Medical Center (PMC) in East Stroudsburg, PA, has been illegally intimidating and harassing frontline caregivers for standing up for quality health care and good jobs in our community.

PMC’s unlawful campaign against caregivers reached a new low when the hospital illegally fired employee Rafelina Caraballo for speaking up about favoritism and mistreatment from management.

Tell PMC to reinstate Rafelina now!

Rafelina has worked at Pocono Medical Center for seven years, drawing blood for patients. A dedicated caregiver, Rafelina brings gifts to her patients on the holidays, and she was even nominated for Employee of the Month.

“Why would PMC fire someone who cares about the patients and does her job well,” Rafelina asked at a recent press conference. “What message does that send to the people in this community who depend on us?”

Rafelina Caraballo stands in front of Pocono Medical Center with her sons, from left, Albert, John, and Jeremy. PMC illegally fired Rafelina in March, when she spoke up about favoritism and mistreatment from management.

Tell PMC CEO Kathy Kuck what you think of the hospital’s unlawful actions.

The National Labor Relations Board is prosecuting PMC for more than two dozen violations of federal law, including surveillance of employees and unlawful threats. Yet PMC continues to break the law and refuses to settle a fair contract with employees.

Hospital management needs to know that our community won’t accept PMC’s mistreatment of caregivers.

Send a postcard to Kathy Kuck.

Tell her to immediately reinstate Rafelina, stop breaking the law, and work with us to settle a fair contract that ensures quality care and good jobs for the Poconos.

Thank you,

Gloria Shupp, Registration Representative
PMC Chapter President
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania

Protect Your Care Ad to Protect Medicare

2011-07-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

Julie doesn’t like the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it. Their vision is to turn it into a “voucher” program and tell seniors “good luck.”

Julie asks if Republicans are looking for cuts, why are they looking at seniors?