News
Reclaim Wisconsin Bus Tour Dates
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and community partners are fueling up The Recall Express and hitting the road to talk with Wisconsinites across the state about the local effect of Gov. Walker’s disastrous agenda.
The “Reclaim Wisconsin Tour” will discuss the impact of Gov. Walker’s policies on working people including the loss of family-sustaining jobs, the loss of employment protections and benefits, the continual transfer of wealth to Wisconsin’s 1% and the hammering of quality public services and education. The Tour will be making stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse, Wausau, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Racine and Madison (see schedule below for dates).
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The “Reclaim Wisconsin” Tour will culminate with statewide candlelight vigils on March 9 and a “Reclaim Wisconsin March” in Madison on Saturday, March 10. These events will mark the one year anniversary of when Gov. Walker and Senate Republicans rammed through the collective bargaining bill illegally in the dead of night. (more…)
Hands Off BadgerCare! Rally
Scott “1%” Walker and the head of the Department of Health Services, Dennis Smith, have proposed cutting over half a billion dollars from Medicaid and Badgercare. These cuts would result in the state to denying 64,000 people – most of them children – from getting the healthcare they need. And why? To line the pockets of the wealthiest 1%.
Kicking people off of BadgerCare to make the rich richer!?!
Enough is Enough.
Walker and Smith are working overtime to dismantle Wisconsin’s award-winning and cost efficient healthcare system. We cannot let this travesty happen. Attend a kickoff rally to support restoring funding to BadgerCare:
WHAT: Hands Off BadgerCare! Kickoff Rally
WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 2012 — 11 AM rally
WHERE: Rally at 12th & Kilbourn, SEIU members meet-up at 9:30 AM at HCWI office (260 E. Highland Ave, Milwaukee.)
RSVP here: http://action.wisconsinjobsnow.org/page/signup/badgercare-rally
Winning Wisconsin in 2012: Finding Our Champion.
When we started the Recall Walker campaign, our goal was to restore fairness and balance to our state. We didn’t need another politician; we need a champion, a tireless advocate who will stand up for our rights and livelihoods.
It wasn’t enough to find someone who would commit to restoring collective bargaining, we needed a leader to repair the damage Scott Walker has inflicted on our schools, communities, and state.
Kathleen Falk is the only potential candidate who has pledged not to sign a budget without restoring collective bargaining in 2013, and will fight for the 99% agenda. Kathleen Falk supports vital healthcare programs like BadgerCare, and is a proven leader in expanding innovative programs for the disabled, elderly, and the healthcare workers who provide the care. She understands that our families are hurting, and will ensure that millionaires and corporations pay their fair share. In this economy, we don’t need tax breaks for the wealthy; we need a jobs agenda that will move Wisconsin forward.
Take Back Wisconsin In 2012.
One million.
That’s the number of signatures we collected to recall Governor Walker. This is a historic time for Wisconsin, and a remarkable display of unity and determination.
But this is just beginning. In the next few weeks, we need to endorse a candidate to run against (and defeat) Governor Walker. This is not the time for politics as usual. This is the time for a champion.
We need a champion who doesn’t just campaign on workers’ rights, but has a proven track record of standing up for working people. We need a champion who will not only commit to fully restoring collective bargaining, but refusing to sign any budget without it.
Politicians must make tough decisions, but we need a champion that puts middle class values over corporate interest. In tough economic times, programs like Medicaid and BadgerCare are more important than ever. Our champion must not only support vital healthcare programs, but be a proven leader in expanding innovative programs for the disabled, elderly, and the healthcare workers who provide the care. (more…)
President Palmer: New ACA Rule Protects Women
President Dian Palmer
As a registered nurse for more than twenty-five years, I applaud President Obama and Secretary Sebelius for standing strong to make sure all women — no matter where they work — will have access to affordable birth control. Too often, working women are unable to afford the family planning help they need.
Birth control is a monthly expense that is significant for any working family, and it is among the most common medications taken by women of childbearing age. This new rule allows any woman choosing to prevent pregnancy to do so without endangering the economic well-being of their own families. (more…)
New Report Details Walker’s Failed Policies
With over a million signatures filed to recall Governor Walker, the people of Wisconsin have accomplished a historic task. But let’s remind ourselves why recalling Walker is so important for our state.
Despite Walker’s promises to create over 250,000 new jobs, Wisconsin is failing under almost every measurable metric. Everywhere you look, Wisconsinites are hurting. The Journal Sentinel reported that the number of jobs in Wisconsin has declined for the sixth straight month. Governor Walker’s solution? Give money to corporations and tax breaks to CEOs, both enjoying on record profits, and creating no timelines or deadlines for job creation.
According to the new report from The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, Walker’s policies have put us 33,800 jobs short of matching the national pace of job creation. It’s time we have a governor who puts jobs and middle-class values before corporate interest.
Union Advocate: Latest News from UWHC
A Voice for Quality Work and Care: Why I’m Active in My Union
Brita Kipper Nurse Clinician, AFCH P5
Like so many others living in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, I am enraged about the attack on collective bargaining rights and what it could mean for my wages, retirement, healthcare coverage, and working conditions. I also fear what changes are in store for my patients, because over the years we’ve fought to improve the quality of patient care at the bargaining table.
As a nurse in the UW hospital system I consider myself lucky. Because of my union I have had more available resources, and our staffing protections allow me to spend more time listening and personalizing care for my patients. Sadly, I know this may be changing soon with the looming possibility of increased nurse-patient ratios, fewer ancillary staff, and less collaboration with nurses on policies affecting patient care. In the past I worked at a non-unionized community hospital and it was a rare occasion not to leave work feeling overworked and burned out, but regardless of this I still went in giving my patients the best I had to offer.
In response to these attacks, many of my friends and coworkers have become more active in our community, state, and workplace governing bodies since last February. For me this meant marching at the capitol, writing letters to my elected legislators, attending locally hosted listening sessions, collecting petition signatures, and, most recently, becoming more involved with SEIU. It hasn’t always been easy, either—who really has extra time with a 40-hour work week, raising a family, and going to school? But talking to others and working towards change has made me feel hopeful that we can win back what’s been taken from us. (more…)
SEIU HCWI Endorses Kevin Gundlach for SCFL President
SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin is proud to endorse Kevin Gundlach for president of the South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL). As president of AFSCME Local 705, Gundlach has a proven commitment of promoting issues important to working Wisconsin families.
Throughout his fifteen years in leadership positions, Kevin has developed strong relationships with union members, elected officials, community leaders, established organizations, grassroots organizations, and volunteers throughout our communities. As the 2nd CD Chair, Kevin has worked collectively to help elect pro-labor candidates for School Board, City Council, County Board, and the state of Wisconsin. (more…)
New Licensing Requirement for Wisconsin RNs
All Registered Nurses (RNs) in Wisconsin renewing their licenses from January 5, 2012 to March 1, 2012 will be required to complete a confidential survey. The state will use the data from the survey to identify areas of need in the nursing profession. Completion of this survey is required by law for each RN and renewed licenses will not be issued until the online survey, or a paper survey, is completed.
Current RNs can expect to receive a postcard early in January with information on how to renew their licenses and take the required workforce survey online. Completing the survey online, regardless of whether you renew your license online, will be the most efficient way to meet the requirement and get your license issued with the least delay. You may also choose to complete the workforce survey online even if you use the paper invoice for renewal. All that is needed to complete the survey online is your credential number. The credential number is used to verify on your record that you have completed the survey – but the credential number will not in any way be tied to your responses. No e-mail address or payment information is required to complete the survey online. (more…)
Recall Walker Important Dates
In the past twelve months, we’ve witnessed unprecedented and undemocratic attacks on our rights and livelihoods by Governor Walker and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Their policies have eradicated 50 years of labor peace, slashed funding for healthcare and education, and lead to the largest increase in unemployment in the country.
That’s why for the past two months, we’ve been working hard to recall Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch. We are submitting petitions on Tuesday, January 17. Before that happens, we have some information to share with you. Please take note of the important dates below.
Important Dates & Deadlines
- Tuesday, January 10: The last day to submit recall petitions via mail so they are received on time and able to be processed. Petitions should be mailed to: P.O. Box 2569, Madison, WI, 53701.
- Friday, January 13: The final day to sign and deliver recall petitions to most recall offices as they will close on that day. It will also be final day to download recall petitions from www.UnitedWisconsin.com.
- Tuesday, January 17: Recall petitions will be submitted to the Government Accountability Board followed by a celebration in Madison. Please stay tuned for more information.
If you, or someone you know has not had a chance to sign the petition, now is the time to do it! Download the petition here.