The radical right in this country wants nothing more than to make SEIU, grassroots community groups, and any individual who fights against the status quo their next casualty. They are seeking to silence the voices of those men and women who suffered the most under 8 years of extreme right-wing policies, and to smear anyone who stands up for those men and women. Right now, there are daily attacks from conservative radio and TV pundits on us for our work on healthcare, labor rights, immigration, and our working relationship with community and progressive organizations – most recently ACORN.

Click here to view the embedded video.

ACORN has come under fire for video footage recorded by undercover operatives posing as a prostitute and her companion seeking tax and housing advice at five ACORN offices across the country. The behaviors we’ve seen on these videos as well some past improper handling of voter registration materials by individuals are unacceptable and ACORN did the right thing by taking immediate action against the responsible individuals. While over the years SEIU has contracted with ACORN for voter registration, canvassing efforts, and organizing work, the union has suspended all active work with ACORN. SEIU President Andy Stern recently joined the Advisory Council of ACORN to provide guidance as they evaluate some recent troubles they have had. Along with John Podesta, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and other Advisory Council members, Andy Stern has encouraged ACORN to take dramatic steps to resolve their underlying organizational problems, and has supported a thorough, top-to-bottom review into ACORN’s systems and processes, led by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.

It should be noted that there are no ACORN offices or staff in Tennessee, nor has SEIU Local 205 worked with them in any official capacity.

At the same time, we must recognize the important need for services and organizations that address issues faced by low- and moderate-income families. ACORN’s challenge, if they want to continue to be a national organization that provides these services, is to immediately conduct an internal investigation to swiftly and completely root out their underlying problems and make sure these issues never come up again.

Our challenge – and that of the progressive community – is to make sure that the critical work of voter registration and campaigns for better housing, schools, neighborhood safety, healthcare, and job conditions continues so we can lift people out of poverty and help rebuild our economy. Furthermore, we refuse to let smear attempts from the radical right deter us from our own goals of passing affordable healthcare, fixing our broken immigration system, and building an economy that works for everyone.

The evidence?  Well, the latest example comes from Rush Limbaugh, the voice of the Republican Party, and his right-wing copycats as they denounce the President’s “Cash for Clunkers” program. The hugely popular program put money into the hands of local car dealerships, who are taking a beating in the never-ending Bush Recession.  Cash for Clunkers has allowed countless car dealers to stay in business and keep employees hired.  So therefore, by opposing the program, Republicans hurt businesses.

There’s also the right-wing outrage over healthcare reform, which would help the bottom line of small business owners as they try to afford health insurance for their employees.   On a larger scale, reforming healthcare would bring some 50 million new customers into the health insurance market to buy goods and services that would help doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, medical supply companies, and the thousands of small businesses and vendors who have contracts in the healthcare industry prosper.  Again, by opposing reform, the Republicans hurt businesses.

And of course, the so-called “Cap-And-Trade” bill, which Republicans opposed, had major incentives and tax credits available for new “pro-green” companies and industries that would create thousands of jobs and pump money into the economy (and the markets).  By opposing this legislation, Republicans hurt businesses.

We already knew that Conservatives hate working people.  After all, they have opposed nearly every program or effort over the last 80 years that has benefited working families and have created the middle class.   Social Security, Medicare, the minimum wage, and OSHA come to mind.  But not being content with beating up on workers, now they’re turning their sights on their own traditional allies – business.

Who knew Republicans were anti-capitalists?  Makes you wonder who will support them in the next election.  I mean, besides ultra right-wing extremists…

Chris and Becky Link, Imagination Branding, Nashville, Tennessee

“As a small business owner who knows I need to offer quality, affordable healthcare to all my employees in order to attract the best workers and to compete with larger businesses, I support H.R. 3200 and so should Rep. Cooper,” said Chris Link of Imagination Branding, which is based in Nashville. “I want to know why Rep. Cooper is standing in the way of sensible legislation that will help small business owners like me.” In the Fifth Congressional District, 16,000 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees, according to a recent report from the House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee.

“As the result of a billing error made by a hospital I went to, I was forced to declare medical bankruptcy”, says Lyle McLevain of Nashville. “Because of their mistakes, a lack of strong regulations of the health insurance industry, and an antiquated medical records and billing system, I had to declare bankruptcy – even though I had insurance. I want to strongly urge the support of sensible legislation that will protect people like me.” In the Fifth District, H.R. 3200 would cap annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year and it would restore fairness for residents by eliminating loopholes like the one that sent Ms. McLevain into bankruptcy.

The report from the Energy & Commerce Committee revealed critical ways the passage of H.R. 3200 would improve the healthcare of residents in the 5th District:

• Eliminating the Medicare Part D “donut hole” to help seniors. Each year, 7,800 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.
• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $82 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated saving residents with health insurance approximately $1,000 every year.
• Providing coverage for the uninsured. There are 97,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 14% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 76,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage and peace of mind.
• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient by eliminating waste and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 3,600 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 98.9% of taxpayers in the district.
• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 16,000 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.
• Health care and financial security. There were 2,060 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the healthcare costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and provides common sense limits on annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

“Jim Cooper has repeatedly said that he supports the President when it comes to healthcare reform, but then when it comes time to stand tall and vote to protect his residents from skyrocketing medical costs, he says ‘no’ to a bill that the President endorses” says Tony Cani, state director for Change That Works Tennessee. “Mr. Cooper also says he supports a public option plan, which would help cover nearly every American and would lower healthcare costs by increasing competition, but when it comes time to vote for H.R. 3200 – which has a strong public option plan – he says ‘no’. Maybe in Washington, ‘no’ means something different, but in Tennessee, Jim Cooper’s ‘no’ is going to mean that working families, small business owners, retired folks, and the uninsured may have to continue to suffer under the current system that is breaking family budgets and our nation’s economy. Tennesseans deserve the same peace of mind Representative Cooper gets from his generous and taxpayer-funded healthcare.”

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, which continues to be debated in the House of Representatives, has been endorsed by President Obama, the AARP, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Nurses, organized labor, and dozens of other groups and trade associations across the political and economic spectrum.

About Change That Works Tennessee

Change That Works is a project of the Service Employees International Union which is focused on building a grassroots network across the country in support of healthcare reform and other issues that affect working families.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The anti-reform “Teabaggers”, who numbered about seven people, were overwhelmed as over 60 healthcare supporters stormed the square in downtown Murfreesboro to urge Bart Gordon to support H.R. 3200. “They didn’t know what hit them,” said Tony Cani, the state director of Change That Works. “Rutherford County is ground zero for conservative politics in Tennessee and we went right into their house and took over their event. I think a couple messages were sent today at this rally. First, the Teabaggers and the other enemies of change are not going to keep going unchallenged in Tennessee. Second, Bart Gordon needs to do the right thing and vote for healthcare reform because it isn’t only conservatives who are watching his vote on H.R. 3200”.

“It was great to see people honking their horns in support of us,” said Cecelia Moss of Murfreesboro. “We don’t normally see a lot of progressives and pro-healthcare supporters out here being visible, but there were quite a few folks who were working nearby who came over to stand with us. That was very encouraging”.

Change That Works would like to thank its coalition partners for spreading the word about the rally, including the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Health Care for America Now, Organizing for America, and our friends in organized labor.

Remember, the time to pass legislation to provide quality, affordable healthcare for all is now.  Call Rep. Bart Gordon (615-896-1986) and tell him to VOTE YES on H.R. 3200.

“This study provides new insight into the opinions of small business owners across Tennessee and shows their preferences for health care reform issues,” says Craig Anne Heflinger, professor of human and organizational development in Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development and a coauthor of the report.

Key findings from the report include:

• 79% report they are “really struggling” to afford the cost of health coverage.
• 61% believe that reforming health care now is a step to getting the economy back on track
• 73% report everyone should have a choice between quality, affordable public and private plans
• 88% report that it will be a significant challenge in the future to offer health insurance coverage to employees
• 70% want more public oversight of private insurers
• 61% agree that the government should play a stronger role in guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care.

“Historically, small businesses lead the way out of recessions. But they can’t perform this vital function for our economy when they’re paying, on average, 18 percent more in healthcare premiums than large corporations,” said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, a national nonprofit organization that does extensive scientific research on small business owners’ perspectives on healthcare reform. “It will be almost impossible to provide relief to small businesses, and in the process dig our way out of this recession, without reforming the healthcare system first.”

Most Americans (59.3%) receive health insurance coverage through their employer. With the economic downturn taking a large toll on small businesses’ bottom line, many can’t afford to continue offering health insurance. Nashville small business owners Chris and Becky Link remain concerned that, if nothing is done, they will eventually have to drop all of their employees’ medical coverage due to rising costs. “We pride ourselves in taking care of our employees because we believe that it is the right things to do and because it helps us recruit and retain the best talent in Tennessee,” the couple said. “If we don’t see relief from ever-increasing health care costs it will be impossible for us to continue to provide health benefits.”

The report was released at a Nashville press conference that also served as the kickoff event for the Tennessee Small Business Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan coalition that was formed to give a voice to small business owners who are adversely impacted by America’s current health care system. “Some kind of reform legislation is going to pass by the end of this year,” said report co-author Lori Smith of the Tennessee Small Business Coalition. “We don’t have time to waste, because the impact of that legislation on our businesses and ultimately on all Tennesseans will be determined by how much we voice our opinions and preferences to our leaders.”

The survey was conducted by Craig Anne Heflinger, Marielle Lise Lovecchio, and Jill Robinson, of the Peabody Center for Community Studies, and Lori Smith of Tennessee Small Business Coalition. The research was funded by the Small Business Majority and “Consumer Voices for Coverage,” a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst.

A copy of the report is available online at:
http://www.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/Center_for_Community_Studies/CCS_Research_Project_Reports.xml

If you or someone you know is a small business owner who wants to speak up in favor of reform, contact the Change That Works campaign at 615-244-9791 or by email at .

On April 29, during one of the most contentious annual shareholder meetings in Bank of America’s history, shareholders called for new leadership and greater accountability as 50.3 percent voted in favor of a resolution forcing Chairman Ken Lewis to resign as Chairman of the Board.  “Today, we saw a vote of no confidence in Ken Lewis who has overseen record losses in stock value and whose short-sighted business plans have put personal gain ahead of shareholders and the long-term health of the company,” said SEIU Master Trust Chairman Andy Stern.

Andy Stern also happens to be the President of the Service Employees International Union, or “SEIU”, one of the largest labor unions in the world and arguably the most powerful politically in the U.S.  Stern and SEIU have developed a new strategy in combating large corporations who mistreat their workers or their customers.  They are using the power and resources of organized labor to become corporate shareholders who have a voice in how a company conducts business.  The SEIU Master Trust is a consortium of funds that has total assets of more than $1.3 billion and is an active proponent of sound corporate governance as a vital means to protect and enhance shareholder value.  The resignation of Ken Lewis follows more than three years of SEIU Master Trust advocacy and engagement with Bank of America to improve its corporate governance practices.  For the first time ever, shareholders have been able to amend the corporate by-laws in a proxy vote of an S&P 500 company and the SEIU Master Trust resolution required that the Board of Directors appoint an independent Chairman to its board.  “Bank of America investors are calling for swift, fundamental reform of a bank that has lost its way. Appointment of a new Chair is just the first step; in coming weeks, Bank of America must make fundamental changes to restore shareholder trust and to build a banking governance model that will succeed over the long term,” said Stern.

Ken Lewis’ resignation is only the latest in a series of victories for the SEIU Master Trust and this new way of doing business.  Last year, the Trust made a shareholder proposal to separate the combined positions of Chairman and CEO at Washington Mutual (“WaMu”).  That proposal received a majority vote by shareholders, resulting in a major corporate restructuring at one of Wall Street’s highest profile mortgage-lending firms.  And in 2004, the SEIU Master Trust asked the board of Intel to adopt a policy that made a significant portion of future stock option grants to senior executives performance-based.  That proposal won 40% approval, resulting in a non-binding resolution supporting the practice.

While the SEIU is the first major union to use these tactics successfully, they aren’t the only one.  In fact, what SEIU has accomplished so far may eventually pale in comparison to what the United Auto Workers may accomplish.  As part of a negotiated deal between the UAW and the failing American auto manufacturers, the UAW may end up owning 55% of Chrysler stock, 39% of GM, and a significant stake in Ford pending an agreement to trade stock shares for Ford’s pension obligations to the union.  According to the Financial Times, “the UAW has given no inkling of how it will behave as a shareholder.  But union watchers predict that it will be less confrontational at the boardroom table than at the bargaining table.  “I suspect that the union will find it a sobering responsibility”, says Peter Feuille, director of the Institute of Labour and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois.

Despite the success of SEIU and the UAW so far, only time will tell how if this 21^st century, free-market version of a picket line will be a sustainable model for empowering workers.  One thing’s for sure though – this isn’t your father’s labor movement anymore.

Jerry Callis, a truck driver from Trenton in Gibson County weighs in on the new realities he’s facing since he’s become unemployed:

At the present, I don’t have a job and I don’t qualify for any aid. If I have to go to the doctor, I have to pay full price for the service. If the charges went through an insurance carrier they would only have to pay the doctor a small fraction of what my charge would be. Where a doctor may charge me $100 for a service, they will only charge a provider about $25. Why should I have to pay $75 more just because it’s out of my pocket instead of the provider’s pocket?

My last visit to my cardiologist was about a 15 minute consultation for him to tell me that he thought I might have a blockage in an artery on the bottom of my heart and he wanted to schedule me for a stent; but he wasn’t sure that I would need one. That 15 minutes cost me $190. I had no insurance at the time to cover that. Two and a half years ago, I had open-heart surgery. After the dust settled, I was still over $3000 in debt and that’s with me paying a provider about $400 per month for coverage. Now I am out of work and I have no coverage. If I were to have another heart attack I would be stuck with the entire bill for services rendered and because of my history, it would be hard for me to even get the coverage that I need.

People die every day because they don’t have the coverage or the money to take care of an illness. People who have always had everything they need would never understand that. Come live my life for a year and survive on my income and see how long it will take them to change their minds about the current healthcare system.

Do you have a healthcare story to tell Tennessee about?  Click here to add your voice to the healthcare debate.

According to a new report released by the Service Employees International Union called The Value of Reform in Tennessee, the reality of the healthcare crisis is grim in Tennessee’s rural towns. In the current recession, the rural economy is losing jobs at a faster rate than the rest of the nation, and loss of jobs can lead to loss of health coverage. These hard-working folks – unemployed through no fault of their own – are forced to either go without insurance or pay out of pocket to get it. And people who have to buy insurance on their own tend to pay more for premiums, have higher deductibles, and have fewer procedures covered. One out of five rural residents spends more than $1,000 per year out of their own pocket on health services. Overall, rural residents pay 40% out of pocket for medical needs—a significantly bigger hit than other Americans absorb.

In a tough economy, those costs add up. It’s not surprising that 20% of farmers are carrying medical debts. Farmers aren’t the only rural residents dealing with this problem, either. The economic engine of small towns in rural areas is small business. Ask the owner of any small business and he or she will tell you just how hard it has become for them to find affordable coverage for employees. That means that rural residents who work at a small business have a very hard time getting health insurance through their jobs, which has traditionally been the way most Americans get their healthcare.

Getting access to healthcare—even if you have insurance—is another growing problem for all rural residents. The entire healthcare system is dealing with a shortage of nurses and other skilled workers. Hospitals and clinics in rural areas tend to have a harder time recruiting and retaining staff. There are also fewer primary care doctors and specialists in rural regions. The result can be that people in the small towns and in the country get less care than they should. For example, rural women are less likely get mammograms according to recommended guidelines and are less likely to have had a pap smear conducted during the last three years. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are more common among people in rural areas than in suburban and urban areas.

The good news is that this summer we have an historic opportunity to start fixing these problems by reforming the healthcare system by implementing a public option plan. The choice of a public option plan is a crucial part of comprehensive healthcare reform. It is needed to bring down costs, make coverage affordable, force private health insurance companies to compete, and guarantee that quality, affordable coverage will be there for people no matter what happens. Due to an aging population and higher out-of-pocket costs, rural communities are among those that would gain the most from a public insurance option.

By leveling the playing field and making sure everyone has an affordable option that provides real coverage, even rural Americans would get the advantages of a competitive, big city healthcare marketplace. With the choice of a public option plan, rural America’s farmers, ranchers, and small business owners on Main Street can get back to the job at hand – being the engine of our economy.

Case in point… Kathleen Sebelius, the President’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, was finally confirmed by the Senate only after being held up by Republicans for nearly two months. And it wasn’t just Sebelius who was stonewalled by the GOP. As of this writing, there are still 15 other top positions at HHS awaiting Senate confirmation, along with a director for the Center for Disease Control. You would think that an outbreak of swine flu – one which is suspected of killing 149 people and sickening some 1,600 others in Mexico and which has already killed a 2 year old child in Texas – would encourage the Party of No to say “yes” to confirming the President’s properly vetted public health officials. Right?

Not so fast. Indeed, the HHS and CDC stonewalling from the Republicans is only the latest in a series of political kamikaze moves that demonstrates that the Republican Party seems to be willing to risk public safety – and American lives – to score political points with their (rapidly dimishing) base of supporters.

One of the GOP’s more infamous political games that ultimately ended up costing thousands of American lives began in 1997 with the Gore Commission report. In the wake of the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, President Clinton asked Vice-President Gore to chair a bipartisan commission with the goal of improving air transportation safety. As a result, the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, commonly known as “The Gore Commission”, conducted an in-depth analysis of the U.S. commercial airlines’ safeguards against terrorist attacks. In its final report, the Gore Commission concluded, “the Commission believes that terrorist attacks on civil aviation are directed at the United States, and that there should be an ongoing federal commitment to reducing the threats that they pose.” To that end, the Commission proposed over 50 recommendations to improve security and protect America from terrorism. Enter the airline industry, which the year before had given major political contributions to eight of the nine Republicans on the Subcommittee that was in charge of reviewing and implementing the Commission’s regulations. You can guess the rest of the story. The Gore Commission’s recommendations were mocked by conservatives as “alarmist” and “reactionary” and were then promptly ignored. Four years later, on September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent civilians were killed as a result of major breaches in our aviation security grid.

Similar tactics and political game-playing by the GOP have also been a recurring theme in the debate over global warming – another legitimate threat to public safety that Republicans refuse to entirely take seriously. There is a pattern here. A pattern where elected Republican officials obstruct or play political games to appease either their radical supporters (in the case of Sebelius) or their corporate donors (in the case of aviation security and global warming)… even with the threat of mass casualties looming. It is important to keep this pattern in mind as the fight for healthcare reform starts to take shape in the halls of Congress. After all, if the modern Republican Party doesn’t take terrorist attacks, global warming, or a possible pandemic seriously enough to work with their opposition, what do you think they will do in their response to deal with our healthcare crisis?

Get ready for a long, bloody battle over healthcare. Now, more than ever, our elected officials are going to need to hear from us on the need for change. Whether you consider yourself a Democrat, an Independent, or a Republican, it is all of our duty as patriots to make sure that no more lives are lost while a political party tries to score points.

Unemployment has now reached 9.1% in Tennessee, with Perry County topping the list at 27%. Tax collections and state revenues are down, just as the need for government assistance and public services is skyrocketing. The number of people on food stamps, along with those losing their health insurance increases exponentially, while manufacturers and retailers from Memphis to Kingsport shut down their businesses – wiping out relatively good-paying jobs and whole regional economies.

Enter the Tennessee Republican Party, who declared victory upon taking the reins of leadership in the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction. The TNGOP, who barely eked out a win here in November, moved quickly to announce an agenda that would show all Tennesseans that the Republican Party was ready to handle the economic crisis.

Or not.

On November 10, 2008, just days after their election win, Republican leaders announced their agenda in the Memphis Commercial Appeal would include “allowing people with gun carry permits to take their firearms into places that serve alcohol“, “limits on… malpractice and other liability lawsuits”, “giving legislative leaders more control in the appointment of members of the judicial nominating commission”, “taxpayer funds for new [charter] schools, rather than [for] local school boards”, and their unflinching support for SJR-127, an anti-abortion bill that even its supporters admit does absolutely nothing to reduce the number of abortions in Tennessee.

But wait, there’s more. On February 23, 2009, TNGOP leaders announced a revised agenda for their legislative goals. Could it be that the Republicans decided that due to the economic crisis that they would focus more on checkbook issues? Or jobs? Not a chance. Instead, the Republicans added even more irrelevant, if not downright dangerous bills to their docket. More NRA bills, including ones to “reduce public and government access to gun owner information” a law that “would remove a requirement for gun dealers to thumbprint buyers,” and another that “would make handgun permit application information confidential”. Now, even state election laws are in the sights of Tennessee Republicans (who now happen to control every single county election commission in the state). For example, the “Voter Confidence Act” a bipartisan bill which passed last year and guaranteed an auditable paper trail for all voting machines, is in serious danger of being modified or killed. And there’s another Republican favorite – requiring a photo ID to vote – that they believe will stop hordes of illegal immigrants from voting, even though it is practically impossible for illegal immigrants to actually receive a voting card and there is zero evidence that this is actually happening. And lest we forget, the party of “family values” has decided that only straight, married people are fit to be parents, despite the fact that Tennessee sits at the top or near the top of the list among all states in divorce rate, domestic abuse, child abuse, and violent crime.

So there you have it. In the midst of one of the worst financial crises our state has seen since the Great Depression, the new Republican majority offers us Big Government on choice, adoption, and a living wage (by overturning the will of Memphis citizens who voted in favor of a living wage ordinance), the liberalization of our state gun laws, “judicial selection” (read: court-stacking) and “election reform” (read: voter suppression). Oh, and did I mention that about half of the Republican delegation actually believes that the President is not an American citizen?

In contrast, the Tennessee Democrats – by no means a poster child for liberalism – are nonetheless pushing a relevant agenda that is rooted in real-world solutions to real-world problems that affect nearly everyone in the state. According to a press release by the House Democratic Caucus, their agenda includes “providing quality education for all… increasing jobs and economic opportunities… promoting fiscal responsibility… providing affordable healthcare… supporting Tennessee’s ‘golden generation’… promoting equality and diversity… protecting Tennessee’s most vulnerable… improving safety and reducing crime… honoring patriotic service… investing in energy efficiency and protecting the environment”.

And despite now being the minority party that has a limited ability to move legislation, there are real bills by the Democrats that back up their agenda – bills that are struggling to get out of the Republican-controlled committee structure. Just a few worth mentioning include the “Pay Equity in the Workplace Act” which seeks equal pay for women doing the same work as men, “Helping Heroes” legislation that would expand education grant programs and funds to include current members of a reserve or National Guard unit, and “Crooks with Guns” legislation supported by district attorneys and law enforcement associations which would put tougher penalties on gun criminals. Democrats are also proposing a series of unexpectedly progressive environmental bills like HB2318, which among other things requires that statewide building construction safety standards include provisions for energy efficiency. And to his credit, Governor Phil Bredesen seems intent on closing a tax loophole that out-of-state businesses have been exploiting for years.

Time will tell whether Tennessee Democrats stand behind their new populist agenda. There is a long history in this state of Democrat appeasers who would rather just go along to get along then stand for something (the main reason the Democrats lost the election, by the way) and breaking that pattern entirely will take a long time. But when it comes to the issues, for those of you who still think that there’s little difference between the Democrats and Republicans in Tennessee, compare these two statements. Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory): “working families in Tennessee are hurting and desperately needing legislators to put them first.” And Tony Shipley (R-Kingsport): “they can do whatever they want out in California, with gays passing babies around, and violating God’s law, but when God drops California off into the sea, they will have to deal with the consequences of their actions.” With priorities like these, the Tennessee Republican Party won’t enjoy their majority status for very long.

Bob Corker

Many of us who have been paying attention to the economic crisis were somewhat amused when Senator Bob Corker proceeded to take the Big Three automakers to task as they appealed to Congress for a bailout late last year. Where was Bob Corker (or any Republican senators, for that matter) when the financial and banking industry came to Washington with its hand out? Was Corker as tough on them as he was on GM?

This is a rhetorical question, of course. Nobody with a passing familiarity with Bob Corker’s career in public office would ever accuse him of trying to tell business what to do (except, of course when it comes to companies who have unions).

Still, perhaps Senator Corker can teach us all a lesson in corporate responsibility. Let’s examine how another one of America’s corporate titans stands up to scrutiny after it extended its hand to receive a welfare check from Uncle Sam. Let’s take a look at Bank of America.

Bank of America Logo. (Used without permission)

Despite taking $25 billion in taxpayer dollars, Bank of America has not used their bailout funds to increase lending and revitalize the U.S. economy. Instead, BofA has cut credit to consumers and businesses, it has announced plans to lay off 35,000 workers, and has continued to displace families by foreclosing on homes.

We are now getting a picture of what Bank of America’s version of “economic recovery” looks like:

Less lending. A company spokesperson admitted at a November Senate hearing that BofA is “lending less than we were a year ago.” Recent reports indicate that the company has pulled back its consumer lending, raising rates on existing credit card balances and cutting lines of credit even for creditworthy borrowers.

Layoffs. Since 2004, Bank of America has cut more than 34,000 jobs. Now, after receiving its $25 billion in bailout money, it has recently announced plans to eliminate up to 35,000 jobs over the next three years—one of the largest rounds of layoffs in the history of the financial services industry.

Low wages and benefits. At its branches, Bank of America has a record of paying low wages to its tellers. According to a 2008 salary survey by PayScale.com, the median salary of BofA bank tellers was only $23,597. The bank is also letting taxpayers foot the bill for healthcare. In Massachusetts alone, more than 1,800 Bank of America workers received Medicaid at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $2.5 million.

Corporate excess. Major expenditures at BofA included foreign investments, dividends to shareholders, corporate jets, and even $10 million to Washington lobbyists who get to “talk business” with people like Bob Corker. Did I mention that Corker received $5,000 in campaign contributions last year from Bank of America – a year in which he was not even running for re-election?

Displacing homeowners and families. Bank of America is one of the leading banks opposing national legislation that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy laws and help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosures.

Looking at Bank of America’s behavior, even Senator Corker should agree that it’s time for them to shape up, just like the Big Three have had to. What should Corker and the rest of us be asking of Bank of America?

First, they must commit to providing affordable healthcare for their employees and their families so that taxpayers aren’t forced to subsidize its payroll costs because workers rely on state-funded healthcare programs.

Bank of America must try and help families hold on to their homes, if for no other reason than to protect their own (and now taxpayers’) investments. They should pledge to support legislation to relieve troubled mortgage owners from having their homes foreclosed.

Just as importantly, Bank of America needs to guarantee whistleblower protections in order to ensure greater accountability. Whistleblowers could have saved taxpayers billions of dollars in the current banking crisis and would have helped protect consumers.

The answer is simple: Bank of America must use its stimulus money to make the economy better and provide healthcare for its 247,000 workers—or they should give the bailout money back.

To find out more about how we can force Bank of America to be more responsible with taxpayer money, visit http://www.seiu.org/change-that-works/bank-of-america/.

Well to hear our conservative friends tell it… heck no. And they wouldn’t lie to us, right? Seriously, the conservatives’ lack of credibility aside, let’s take a look at the hard facts and do the math on the cost of doing nothing when it comes to health care reform.

• FACT: In the past eight years, healthcare premiums for family coverage have risen more than five times faster than wages. With 7.9% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage.
• FACT: If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, by next year, 384,425 people in Tennessee will be unemployed by 2010. 48.35% of insured Tennessee residents depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 69,259 Tennessee workers will lose their current health coverage, meaning that 28,684 more people will likely enroll in COBRA. That leaves 40,611 people who will have to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves in the private market, or become uninsured.
• FACT: In Tennessee, approximately 1,301,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 87% of those people have insurance, but are under insured. 1,133,000 Tennessee residents with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 333,000 spend more than 25% of their income. By 2016, projections show that Tennessee families will have to pay close to $19,400 for health care or over 44 percent of median household income. This would represent a 70 percent increase over 2008 levels.
• FACT: As of 2007 there were already 126,186 uninsured children in Tennessee, and more than 714,361 uninsured adults. 276,378 of uninsured adults in Tennessee also live below the Federal Poverty Line. Tennessee’s economy lost as much as $3.57 billion because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates to $4,000 per uninsured Tennessee resident.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that skyrocketing health care costs add to families’ already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. The message is clear that we cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system.

We can do better, but not without a fight against the big moneyed interests who support people like Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and their commitment to the status quo when it comes to America’s healthcare system. To find out how you can help in the fight to help solve our healthcare crisis, I encourage you to get involved with the Change That Works campaign here in Tennessee. Change That Works is a project of the Service Employees International Union and is committed to advocating at the grassroots level for quality, affordable healthcare for all. Contact their campaign office to find out to get involved at 615-244-9794 or visit online at www.changethatworks.net/tn.

What you need to know right now, while the debate unfolds in Congress on the Employee Free Choice Act, is how right-wing conservatives, funded by corporate America, are lying to you about it. The big problem with EFCA, the Right tells us, is that it “takes away secret ballot elections” when a group of workers is deciding whether or not to form a union. Despite their hatred for secret ballot elections in their own boardrooms and shareholder meetings, America’s CEO’s now suddenly have a new appreciation for the democratic process when it comes to this law and are demanding that the “secret ballot” be preserved in union organizing drives.

As you might imagine, EFCA’s anti-labor advocates are misrepresenting the bill. A key provision of the Employee Free Choice Act is that workers, (not Management) get to decide whether there will be an election at all or use what’s called “majority sign-up” (also known as “card-check”). The “secret ballot” isn’t going anywhere, it just allows for another option and that the workers, not the CEO’s get to make the decision on which method to use.

Now, you may ask yourself, “why would anybody not want to have a secret ballot election?” That’s a fair enough question. After all, free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But under the current company-dominated system, union elections are anything but free and fair. The key is the timeline. Right now, it’s the companies that get to decide when the election is held. They often decide to hold the election many months or years into the future, which gives them time to identify, harass, intimidate, and terminate workers who may want to form a union. Think of it this way. Imagine if George W. Bush – realizing that John McCain was going to lose on November 4, just decided to put the presidential election off for a year, hoping that the political winds would change, that the economy would improve, or that Barack Obama might get hit by a bus. Would that seem fair? That’s currently the system that exists under U.S. labor law. The companies get to set the rules and the timelines – the workers have no say. The Employee Free Choice Act threatens business’ control over the process and this is what truly horrifies them.

There is also the matter of whether an election is even needed at all. The other key provision of the Employee Free Choice Act is to recognize majority sign-up. What that means is that if a majority of workers at a company indicate their preference for forming a union by signing an authorization card, then the union must be recognized by all parties involved. What’s the difference between majority sign-up and an election? Not much. Both indicate the will of what the employees’ wishes are. Again we go back to the timeline. Majority sign-up denies Management the time they need to intimidate and fire pro-union employees. Currently an employer can demand a secret ballot election even if a majority of employees has signed authorization cards.

The Employee Free Choice Act in its current form will ultimately be one of the best pieces of pro-worker legislation in a half-century and is the single biggest threat to corporate dominance over working men and women. For that reason – not some bogus threat to a “secret ballot” – expect our well-financed adversaries to say anything to stop it.