Update From Olympia #2

Update From Olympia #2

Monday, January 18

Today is the start of Week 2 of the 8-week legislative session. It’s going to be another busy week – with hearings on hundreds of bills, more public testimony on the Governor’s budget, and several big lobby days, including a big anti-poverty lobby day on Monday.

IN THIS ISSUE
Delivering Petitions * The Gov's "New" Budget * 11,000 Calls to the Governor * Tanika Thompson and Phil Bradford * Meetings with 12 Legislators * GLO Blog

COMING UP THIS WEEK
MLK March * Susie Young and Sharon Kitchel-Perdue * NH Conference Calls * Purple Power at the Capitol

REMINDERS
Jan. 25: Save Long-Term Care Day * Feb. 15: Revenue Rally

Delivering Petition Signatures
On Monday, we joined with the Rebuilding our Economic Future Coalition to deliver 20,000 signatures to Governor Gregoire, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Speaker Frank Chopp asking them to raise revenue instead of cutting vital services. Almost 600 of our members signed our online petition.

Click on the video below to see the signatures being delivered.

The Governor's "Book 2" Budget
On Tuesday, Governor Gregoire released a list of priorities she wants the legislature to protect. (Some call this her “Book 2” budget). Included on her list of priorities is protecting agency parity, health insurance for agency home care workers, and hours of in-home care. It’s a big victory for us that these items are included as priorities for the Governor. However, the fight is just beginning.

There are many other cuts still being proposed by the Governor – including eliminating Medicaid personal care for 1,400 seniors and people with disabilities, cutting adult day health for 600 people, and cutting almost a million hours of in-home care. We need to keep up the fight to save long-term care and stop the cuts.

11,000 Members Overload Capitol Phone System
On Wednesday, over 11,000 members tried to call the Governor over a six hour period. The goal was to thank her for reducing some of the cuts but encourage her to raise revenue. These numbers were off the charts. It overloaded the phone system at the Capitol and unfortunately most people got a busy signal. Almost 600 members did successfully email the governor, giving her the same message.

Tanika and Phil Speak up for Caregivers

On Wednesday and Thursday respectively, Phil Bradford and Tanika Thompson spoke out for thousands of caregivers in front of the House budget committees. Each told compelling stories about the impact of the cuts.

Phil’s testimony focused on the impact that cuts to home care is having on the community and the local recession. Picturing his “Four Corners” neighborhood on Portland Avenue in Tacoma helped keep him grounded.

Click below for Phil's testimony (although the cameras were pointed at the legislators...)

Tanika closed her testimony by saying, “This is my career. It’s my job. It’s my way of living. At the end of the day, any decision that you make is really going to affect me and decide whether I have food on my table and a roof over my head.”

Click below for the audio of Tanika's testimony:

Meetings with 12 Legislators
Several members attended for the first time – including Lynda DeSha from the 22nd Legislative District and Bertena Robertson from the 29th Legislative District. Other members who attended were Cathy Elegan, Sheryl Wood, Jolene Woodruff, June Conklin, Ivy Williams, Earlene Webster, Tanika Thompson, Phil Bradford and Dawn Forks.

Click below to see pictures:

We delivered some of the 3,400 postcards that members filled out over the past two months and attended two committee hearings. We also met with Sen. Dan Swecker, Rep. Gary Alexander, Rep. Zack Hudgins, Sen. Margarita Prentice, Rep. Steve Kirby, Rep. Steve Conway, Rep. Tina Orwall, Rep. Dave Upthegrove, Rep. Bob Hasegawa, Sen. Adam Kline, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Rep. Brendan Williams.

Grassroots Legislative Organizer (GLO) Blog
Cathy Byrd, our Grassroots Legislative Organizer has started a weekly blog. Read her perspective on the first week of the legislative session. Click here to read her blog.

Here’s what’s coming up this week

Monday: MLK Day March
Caregivers will be attending the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day People’s Summit & March on the Capitol. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will also be meeting to hear public testimony on the Governor’s proposed budget. We’ll be talking about the impact of the proposed cuts on long-term care workers, vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities.

Tuesday: Susie Young and Sharon Kitchel-Perdue
Susie Young, and Sharon Kitchel-Perdue will participate in a work session in the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. educating legislators about the long-term care safety net and the impact of last year’s budget reductions and this year’s proposed additional reductions. (Work sessions, as opposed to hearings, are a chance for legislators to get more details on a specific subject.)

Nursing Home Conference Calls
We will hold our first Nursing Home conference calls of the 2010 Legislative Session. Nursing Home workers from across the state will call in to get an update on the legislative session.

Thursday: Purple Power at the Capitol
Every Thursday, small groups of long-term care workers will come to Olympia to meet with legislators. It’s our way of staying visible throughout the session (not just on Save Long-Term Care Day – Monday, January 25).

This week, members from the 1st, 21st, 23rd, 24th, 34th, 36th and 43rd legislative districts will be coming down to Olympia.

Click on this website or call our Member Resource Center toll-free at 1 (866) 371-3200 to find out when members from your district are coming to the Capitol. If you don’t know which district you live in, you can find out by clicking on this website.

Reminders

Jan. 25: Save Long-Term Care Day
Don’t forget about Save Long-Term Care Day on Monday, January 25. Hundreds of caregivers will be coming to Olympia to help save long-term care and stop the cuts. If you’ve already registered, you’ll be getting your bus information and other details in the mail this week. If you haven’t registered, call our Member Resource Center toll-free at 1 (866) 371-3200 today!

Feb. 15: Revenue Rally
The Rebuilding our Economic Future coalition is organizing a Revenue Rally at 12pm on Monday, February 15th on the steps of the Capitol Building. It will be an opportunity for us to flex our collective muscle and show that there is broad based support for a balanced approach to our budget problems.

Update from Olympia 2010 Archives
Update from Olympia #1 (January 11, 2010)