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California Budget: the Year of Reckoning

California Budget

The Latest on the Budget Campaign:  May Revise a Missed Opportunity

On May 14, the Governor unveiled his revised budget and proposed deeper cuts, a power grab, and more borrowing, not real solutions. In other words, he missed an opportunity to fix our chronic budget problems. Now, legislators must take responsibility. Read SEIU’s reaction to the proposed budget and our latest update and analysis of the cuts.

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June Primary Election Results

Election Update: SEIU Wins Major Victories, Defeating Prop. 98 and Helping Scores of Working-Family-Friendly Candidates Advance

In the June primary election, SEIU helped defeat the dangerous and deceptive Prop. 98, which would have gutted rent control and environmental laws and made it nearly impossible to build public works, by a 61% (No) - 39% (Yes) margin. We also helped pass real homeowner protection, Prop. 99, in a 62.5% (Yes) - 37.5% (No) vote.

For the California Assembly races – in a remarkable sweep – in every district where we endorsed a candidate, we won, and a 2/3 majority of SEIU-backed candidates won their Senate seats as well. In Congress, we helped Mike Lumpkin (D, CD 52) win his primary in the only district without an incumbent running. And in a closely watched, key local race, SEIU and labor allies helped lift longtime champion of working people Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas above the crowd in his L.A. County Supervisor bid, positioning him well for a November run-off.  

Click here for a complete list of SEIU endorsements and results.



Progress on Healthcare: A Three-Year Plan

Healthcare Reform Bills Make Progress

While our primary healthcare goal this year must be to stop the devastating budget cuts that would add a million Californians to the rolls of the uninsured, SEIU continues to push for components of the healthcare reform package we fought for in 2007. Working with our allies from last year’s “It’s OUR Healthcare!” campaign, we continue to lay the groundwork for comprehensive reform by tackling a range of critical healthcare issues. Some of the key reform components have made legislative progress in recent weeks, including:
• Giving consumers more information about healthcare costs and quality, so that consumers have real choices and can shape the healthcare market by avoiding costly and ineffective care AB2967 (Lieber)
• Prohibiting junk insurance and standardizing the insurance market SB1522 (Steinberg)

Read the latest update as these bills continue to make progress through the legislature from ally Health Access.

Link to this update:

http://www.health-access.org/labels/YearOfReform.htm

Members Are Speaking Out!

David Green
 
"As a children’s social worker, our primary responsibility is to protectchildren and make sure they have safe, permanent homes. Our systemfunctions as the children’s parents while we help their parentsrecover, or find a family member or foster parents. We’re fighting for the children and families we serve. The children aren’t voters. They have no voice. They’re the most vulnerable membersof our society. That’s why I became a social worker, and that’s why I’m fighting the budget cuts." SEIU Local 721 David Green - Adoption Social Worker, County of Los Angeles

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