Washington State

Josh Caple, from ElderHealth Northwest, Named to Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities

Friday, May 7

Josh Caple - ElderHealth Northwest SEIU Healthcare 775NW member Josh Caple was formally appointed to the City of Seattle’s newly-created Commission for People with Disabilities Thursday.

Caple is a case manager and lead staff for ElderHealth Northwest’s adult day health program in Seattle. He applied to serve on the commission in March after his wife and a friend told him about the opportunity on the same day.

“I feel like people with disabilities are underrepresented and we need people who will speak up for them,” Caple said.

The Seattle City Council approved the appointment of 14 people to the commission, and a fifteenth member will be appointed later. Caple said he is the only commission member who works directly with people who have disabilities.

» Read more

Debbie Moore Shares Sen. Adam Kline's Outrage at Moneytree's Lending Practices

Friday, April 30

In a press release issued this week, Sen. Adam Kline (D-Seattle) announced that he is exploring ways to ensure that Moneytree is not violating a law that prevents payday lenders from giving out more than eight loans a year.

They appear to be repackaging small loans into a single large loan so that they can skirt the law.

Debbie Moore, a home care worker from Yelm shared Kline's outrage and was quoted in the release.

“I was outraged to hear what Moneytree is doing. I know from personal experience that payday loan companies go after the most vulnerable people,” said Debbie Moore, a low-income home care worker from Yelm. “Moneytree is trying to make a profit by skirting the law and trapping people like me into a debt cycle. We worked hard to pass the law last year, and I think Moneytree should follow the law.”

Kline added, “I’m working with advocates, DFI and other legislators to determine what actions must be taken to ensure this practice does not reoccur,” Kline said.

Click here to read the full press release issued by Senator Kline

Joint Statement by SEIU Washington State Local Union Presidents Regarding the Retirement of SEIU President Andy Stern

Andy Stern - Health Care Town Hall in Seattle SEIU WA Local Union Presidents thank President Andy Stern for his years of service and wish him well in his next endeavors. President Stern’s bold, fearless and innovative leadership has drastically improved the lives of the 2 million janitors, nurses, educational employees, child care providers, security guards and long-term care workers we represent -- and, for all working Americans.

His tenure began in the midst of a declining labor movement and President Stern set out to accomplish nothing less than radical reforms for America’s workers. We are proud of SEIU’s accomplishments over the last 14 years including organizing 1 million new workers, electing Barack Obama as President, and passing historic health insurance reform.

» Read more

Update from Olympia #13

Tuesday, April 13

Washington State Legislature Late on Monday night, the legislature concluded the special session and passed a budget and revenue proposal to send to the Governor. This will be the last update from Olympia for this special session.

IN THIS ISSUE
Final Budget Shows Significant Improvement * Revenue Package Passes * SEIU Healthcare 775NW Press Release on Budget

» Read more

Home Care Workers Applaud Legislators For Largely Protecting Home Care Services For Seniors and People with Disabilities, But Democratic Budget Leaves Lowest-Paid Workers Without Funding for Health Care

Tuesday, April 13

The union representing home care workers today applauded legislators for rejecting major cuts to home care services. The state budget makes only a small overall reduction in hours of care for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities, as well as a small reduction in reimbursement rates for home care agencies – rejecting much larger cuts proposed earlier in the legislative session. The budget also largely protects adult day health services from further budget cuts.

“Last year the legislature cut millions of hours of care for vulnerable residents who rely on these services to be able to live in their own homes,” said SEIU Healthcare 775NW President David Rolf. “We’re pleased that the legislature rejected proposals to further undermine these services and instead largely protected home care and adult day health services for seniors and people with disabilities.”

» Read more

Almost 200 SEIU Members Join Thousands in Support of Immigration Reform at Rally in Seattle

Immigration Reform Rally in Seattle (April 10, 2010)

Monday, April 12

On Saturday, April 10, About 200 SEIU members from several Washington-state locals joined between 7,000 and 8,000 immigration reform advocates in Seattle as part of a national day of action.

The rally was organized by the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition (WIRC) FOR America, an umbrella group of about 60 organizations, which brought together elected officials, labor, faith, and community leaders, business owners, high tech and agricultural workers, students, and others for a boisterous event with one overriding goal - to urge Congress to introduce a Comprehensive immigration Reform Bill by May 1, 2010.

» Read more

Five Local SEIU Unions, Representing over 100,000 Workers, Urge Legislators to Support Governor Gregoire’s Compromise Revenue Proposal

Friday, April 9

The clock is winding down on the Special session. Legislators in both the House and Senate are busy rounding up the final votes in favor of the Governor’s compromise revenue proposal. And who do you think is standing up for working families in Washington state, urging them to “Finish the Job”?

SEIU. Specifically, the five local SEIU unions representing over 100,000 long-term care workers, nurses, public school employees, child care and university workers, janitors and security officers: SEIU Healthcare 775NW, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, SEIU Local 925, PSE/SEIU 1948 and SEIU Local 6.

» Read more

Tell Legislators to Finish the Job! Save Long-Term Care!

Thursday, April 8

Home care hours, health insurance for home care workers, nursing home funding, and Adult Day Health services. Governor Chris Gregoire has a reasonable budget compromise that will help fund these and other essential services. The House and Senate just need to vote on the package and finish the job.

Click here to send your legislators an email. Tell them to back Governor Gregoire's budget proposal and fund long-term care and other essential services.

After weeks of intense negotiations, the state House and the Senate leadership have agreed to a compromise budget proposal that will prevent devastating cuts to education, health care and other essential services - including long-term care.

» Read more

Op-ed: Washington Legislature should ensure home-care workers have health care

Wednesday, April 7

WHEN President Obama signed the health-care bill, he committed to providing health-care coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

Valerie Anderson-Webb, a 43-year-old home-care aide in Spokane, is celebrating this victory because she knows that home-care workers like her have a lot to gain from this legislation. A cancer survivor, Valerie knows what it is like to be one of those 32 million Americans without coverage. "It's like a roller-coaster ride that you don't want to get on," she says.

Tens of thousands of workers like Valerie provide support to low-income seniors and people with disabilities — providing dignity to individuals at the end of life and preventing more expensive institutionalization. For this physically and emotionally demanding work, home-care workers earn just over minimum wage and only receive health benefits if they work at least half time. And even then, they receive benefits only for themselves, not for their families.

But just as the promise of health-care reform and affordable health care is on the horizon, home-care workers like Valerie face losing what little they currently have.

Click here to read the full op-ed on the Seattle Times' web site.

Update from Olympia #12

Monday, April 5

Washington State Legislature This is the beginning of the 4th week of special session. The 30-day special session started on March 15 and runs through April 13. If the legislature has not finished their work by Tuesday, April 13, the Governor will have to do one of the following:

Call the legislature back for another special session;
Send the legislature home until they reach agreement and then call them back for a very short special session; or
Start implementing an all-cuts budget by making reductions in programs...

» Read more

Don't Let Attorney General Rob McKenna Block Health Care Reform

Thursday, March 25

Just thirty minutes after President Obama signed health care reform into law, Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a lawsuit to block it. Click here to sign a petition telling him NOT to sacrifice our health for partisan politics.

Passing Health Care Reform will:

Make insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history;
Give tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress have;
Bring greater accountability to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care;
End discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions; and
Allow children to remain on their parent's coverage - up to age 26.

So far, 10,000 people statewide have signed a petition urging him to drop the lawsuit. Click here to add your name to the petition. We need to send a powerful message to McKenna and the state that he should drop the suit - and that he doesn't represent the people of Washington in this matter - when we deliver the signatures on Friday.

Rob McKenna is abusing the resources and authority of his elected office to pursue a partisan political agenda that traps all of us in a broken health care system.

Governor Gregoire Signs Career Pathway Bill

Wednesday, March 24

Governor Chris Gregoire signed legislation yesterday - SB 6582 - creating a career pathway for home care workers, making it easier for them to move into other high-demand healthcare fields.

According to the language in the bill, “Certified Home Care Aides and medical assistants are a valuable potential source of nursing assistants who will be needed to meet the care needs of the state’s growing aging population.” The legislation recognizes prior training in home care if a home care worker wants to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.

» Read more

Grassroots Legislative Organizer's Blog #9

Cathy Byrd, Grassroots Legislative Organizer

Sunday, March 7

Delivering 14,000 Names On Monday, we delivered the names of 14,000 caregivers who called on the legislature this session to raise revenue and prevent cuts to home care and other critical long-term care services. Because we don’t have a common work place, we took everyone that tried to call their legislator or who signed the petition online/over the phone and delivered them to key budget decision makers.

» Read more

Proposed Budgets – Especially Senate’s – Fail To Protect Quality Care For Seniors and People with Disabilities

Tuesday, February 23

Tens of thousands of low-income seniors and people with disabilities are able to live in their own homes thanks to in-home care services. And tens of thousands more live in nursing homes.

But the proposed Senate budget today fails to adequately protect quality care for seniors and people with disabilities. “The Senate may be increasing revenue, but not much if it is going to protect key services for seniors and people with disabilities,” said SEIU Healthcare 775NW Vice President Adam Glickman. “These budgets threaten the quality of care for the most vulnerable, kill thousands of jobs, and reduce income for low-wage worker and their communities.” The House budget makes key improvements, though still makes deep cuts to hours of care for vulnerable home care clients.

» Click Here for More Details

Governor Takes a Step in the Right Direction with New Revenue Proposals But More Is Needed to Stop Devastating Cuts

Wednesday, February 17

The Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition, representing more than 130 organizations concerned about proposed cuts to the state budget - including SEIU Healthcare 775NW - issued the following statement today in response to revenue proposals put forward this afternoon by Governor Gregoire:

“The choice we face as a state is clear: either the state will raise significant new revenue this session, or will face devastating cuts to the services that support our quality of life and upon which we all rely."

» Read more

Working Together with (Almost All) of Our Home Care Employers in Olympia

Tuesday, February 16

We held our most successful home care quarterly employers meeting to date on February 16th. Eight of our nine Washington home care agencies attended, with the anti-union management of Korean Women’s Association being the only exception.

Employer representatives were particularly engaged in discussions around Legislative strategy, our home and community-based services provider tax bill, rule making around home care certification and testing fees. Many also committed to weighing in the Department of Health rulemaking process to create a fair certification and exam system for the new training standards that are set to begin in 2011.

Workers Deliver Their Message: Don’t Cut Nursing Home Funding

Thursday, February 11

A lunch-time shower at the Capitol Thursday was no match for 24 determined SEIU Healthcare 775NW nursing home workers. While state workers, legislators and everyone else scurried between buildings over a rain-soaked lunch hour, they couldn’t help but notice the nursing home workers who made their point – Don’t Cut Nursing Home Funding.

» Read more

775NW Member Chris Hardin and His Client Featured on King 5 News

Saturday, February 13

Click here for the written story on the King 5 News Web site.

Save Long-Term Care Day a HUGE Success

Monday, January 25

Hundreds of Caregivers came to Olympia on Monday, January 25, for Save Long-Term Care Day.

We marched on the Capitol, met with dozens of senators and representatives and asked lawmakers to close tax loopholes and look for other sources of revenue to balance the state budget. in order to avoid devastating cuts to long-term care.

Because of budget cuts in 2009, the state eliminated 227,045 hours of care each month for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who receive home care services. Long-term care can’t take more cuts!

Watch The Movie

See Some of the Pictures