Update: SB 810 Appropriations Hearing

The Senate Appropriations Committee hearing adjourned without a vote on Senate Bill 810.  It has been moved to suspense and will be voted on in Appropriations on Thursday, January 19th.  Senators Price, Pavley, Lieu and Alquist spoke in favor of Senate Bill 810. And thanks to all of your had work with letters, calls and meetings with Senator Price – he has signed on as a co-author for the bill! In addition Senator Alquist asked to step up her support to the next level as principal co-authors.

Steinberg was not present and Kehoe was noncommittal. 

It was a great Senate Appropriations hearing on SB 810 with a stellar panel of speakers and more than 150 supporters from a good representation of unions, community, single payer groups, faith, small business owners, schools and municipalities. Panelists included:

• Jim Kahn, MD, MPH, UCSF Professor and Physician who focusing on Single Payer financing and the fiscal benefits the state would realize through a single payer system.
• Mona Field, Board of Trustees for Los Angeles Community College District who spoke on the savings Community colleges, higher educations and K-12 would realize through a single payer system – focusing funding back towards the classroom.
• Roger Hicks, Small Business Clinic owner and Physician who told his compelling story of the struggles of his small business to cover their employees when costs continue to rise, while as a provider reimbursements stay stagnant year after year – all while his employees, is patients and his business suffer.
• DeAnn McEwen, Co-President California Nurses. A Registered Nurse of more than 37 years spoke of the nurses support and the moral imperative to move to a single payer system. 

And our very own:

• Dolores Duran-Flores, Legislative Advocate for the California School Employees Association shared members stories, some of whom actually sign over their check (or even write a check) at the end of the month to cover healthcare.

Therefore, today is the day (Wed.) to lobby Steinberg and Kehoe for their strong support of Senate Bill 810. Call or email Senators Kehoe and Steinberg and encourage them to support SB 810 and ask them to move the bill to the Senate floor so the full Senate can have a chance to decide if they will move Single Payer in California forward and help save our state’s budget.

Senator Christine Kehoe, San Diego Area (Appropriations Committee Chair)
Phone: (916) 651-4039
Fax:     (916) 327-2188
Email:  senator.kehoe@sen.ca.gov

Senator Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento Area (Senate Pro Tem, Appropriations Committee Member)
Phone:  (916) 651-4006
Fax:  (916) 323-2263
Email: Senator.Steinberg@senate.ca.gov

Your Senator needs to here from you as well. If you do not know who your Senator is click here to find out.

Here are some important points for contacting your Senator:

• Phone calls are brief and to the point
• Tell them your, name and that you live in their district, and you are calling as a supporter of SB 810 and you are asking that they support it as well

Talking points for calls and letters:

• If you are writing, tell a personal healthcare story if you have one
• Stories related to increases in healthcare costs, limited access, denied care, unaffordable, bankruptcy, children who cannot get insurance, etc. are important for educating legislators on the impact to Californians and very compelling.
• 1,000 Californians die every month due to lack of access to healthcare.
• Single Payer as a solution to the State’s current fiscal crisis by saving $9 billion in the first year and billions annually going forward. Currently $28 billion dollars annually, or one third of the state budget, is related to healthcare, and while family premiums have gone up 150% – the time for Single Payer is now.
• The $200 billion price tag for SB 810 is misleading – this is money already spent on healthcare – not a new expenditure, so there is no effect.

These are ideas for you to use to contact your Senator and Senators Kehoe and Steinberg. Please remember, SB 810 is a CSEA sponsored bill that would create a single payer universal health care system in California.

ACTION ALERT- SB 810 (Leno) Single Payer Universal Health Care

Your help is needed on SB 810.

While the battle for health care reform continues at the Federal level, Californian’s have the opportunity to secure true Health Care Reform here at home. California’s health care bill SB 810 (Leno) (formerly SB 840) will provide health care to all Californians.

California’s landmark single payer bill, SB 810, authored  by Senator Mark Leno, is now scheduled to be heard in the Senate Appropriations committee on January 17th in Sacramento. The bill must pass this committee and pass a Senate floor vote before the end of January in order to then be considered in the Assembly. You’re help is urgently needed to CALL, EMAIL, and/ or FAX your State Senator and urge him/her to vote for SB 810.

SB 810 is a CSEA sponsored bill that would create a single payer universal health care system in California.

PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:

Call and send a fax (if you can) to your State Senator’s Sacramento office, urging his/her  support of SB 810. If you do not know who your Senator is, find your district here. click to find out

When you call, you should personalize your message. Try this:

“Hello, My name is:__________I am a member of California School Employees Association and I am counting on your vote in favor of SB 810 (Leno). This is a very important vote for all Californians and we will be tracking the votes very closely on this issue. Thank you.”

Otherwise, you can use the following points:

• I am calling to urge the Senator to support SB 810 when it comes to be heard in the Senate Appropriations committee on January 17th

• I am a classified school employee. With the state budget cuts and furloughs we are experiencing, many of us are paying a larger percentage of our take home pay in health care costs. Some of us work just for the health care and sign over our paychecks at the end of the month to cover our families.

• SB 810 will finally control health care costs and make it more affordable for everyone. Also, everyone is covered under this bill and nobody is left out.

It is also very important that we keep this bill alive by contacting California State Senator Lou Correa and letting him know this is a very important issue to Classified employees.

Please take a minute to help secure health care for all by sending an email or making a call to Senator Correa.

Lou Correa (Santa Ana) – Phone: 916-651-4034/714-558-4400,
Email: senator.correa@sen.ca.gov

It is especially important to call and write your Senator if he or she is a member of the Senate Appropriations committee:

District 6	Darrell Steinberg	(916) 651-4006 Fax: (916) 323-2263
District 13	Elaine Alquist	(916) 651-4013 Fax: (916) 324-0283
District 17	Sharon Runner	(916) 651-4017  Fax: (916) 445-4662
District 23	Fran Pavley	(916) 651-4023  Fax: (916) 324-4823
District 26	Curren Price	(916) 651-4026  Fax: (916) 445-8899
District 28	Ted Lieu	(916) 651-4028  Fax: (916) 323-6056
District 33	Mimi Walters	(916) 651-4033  Fax: (916) 445-9754
District 37	Bill Emmerson	(916) 651-4037  Fax: (916) 327-2187
District 39	Christine Kehoe	(916) 651-4039  Fax: (916) 327-2188

Please tell your friends and family about the campaign and ask them to join you in this important call for a yes vote. These calls , emails and faxes are very important in securing a better future for us all.

Thank you.

buried in the fine print was the permanent elimination of…

Governor Brown’s new budget cuts school bus funding again:

Thursday, January 12, 2012

When Gov. Jerry Brown released his new budget last week, buried in the fine print was the permanent elimination of all state funding for school transportation. What began as a “temporary” mid-year cut that wiped out school bus funding for January through June of this year, could now become a permanent, ongoing cut continued into next year’s budget.

In other words, California is getting out of the school bus business — unless we take action to stop these cuts!

Temporary cut becomes permanent

Gov. Brown’s budget proposal confirms that the current-year reduction of $248 million for home-to-school transportation is now a permanent loss for school districts. They will never get that funding back if the governor’s budget is approved.

The governor also proposes a complete elimination of funding ($619 million) for the program in 2012-13. In addition, the bus replacement program that helps small school districts buy new school buses will be totally eliminated.

Take action now to fight these cuts!

However, the state Legislature has to approve the governor’s proposed budget, so we still have time to stop these devastating cuts. Call your legislators today and tell them you oppose these cuts, which will put the safety of public schoolchildren at risk.

Many legislators are not comfortable with the idea of ending school transportation in California, but they need to hear from us that we support their efforts to find an alternative solution. There is tremendous pressure on them to close California’s budget gap no matter what the cost. We must counter that pressure and ask them to stand up for California’s kids!

Call your legislators today! click here for link

Help parents speak up for their children

Parents are concerned about the loss of school transportation for their children, but most don’t know how to connect with their legislators. Help us reach out to these parents and give them a voice. CSEA has created a public website where parents can tell their stories about how the loss of the big, yellow school bus would affect their family. Please encourage parents you know to visit the website, where they can explain the impact on their family and also enter their Zip Code to get the contact information for their state legislators. We have also created a Facebook page that you can share with parents and others in your school community.

Web Site: SaveMySchoolBus
Facebook: SaveMySchoolBus

Together, we can send a loud and clear message to Sacramento that this is a cut California can’t afford!

If you wish to comment or would like additional information, please contact:

Do You Remember Your Job Interview? Come And Learn More About The Process

CSEA Chapter 293
Presents
Interview Committee Training

Would  you like to learn about the interview process? Do you think that you can help with the interview process?

Come and learn what the Interview Committee is about. You must be a Member to attend. Click here to find out how to become a Member.

Click for Flyer

When:
Thursday
January 26, 2012
5:00 – 7:00 pm

Where:
ESC
Educational Services Center
4999 Casa Loma Ave.
Yorba Linda 92886

Dinner will be served. Please RSVP to:

Chris Lawyer
714-615-0896
ctdk@sbcglobal.net

Start 2012 with CSEA Job Steward Training

Please join us for
Basic Job Steward Training

This eighteen hour workshop will give you the essential elements you need to begin representing other classified employees in your work place.  After completing this course you will be eligible to attend the advanced job steward retreat in 2012.

Click for PDF

When:
Saturday, January 21, 2012
(1^st Session)
 Saturday, January 28, 2012
(2^nd Session)
and
Saturday, February 4, 2012
(3rd Session)

Where:
Irvine Valley College - Map
5500 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92620

 Time:
8:30 am (registration)
9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Please RSVP to FOAS Julie Curran – 714/532-7122
or by e-mail to jcurran1@csea.com

♦Continental breakfast & Lunch Will Be Provided

Please don’t forget to RSVP by January 17th  check for extended enrollment

Thank You – See You There

Informative Training In February

Know Your Rights

 This training is designed to answer some basic questions regarding your rights in the workplace as a classified school employee in California. The training is a great way to learn how to protect your job and your benefits.

WHEN:    February 11, 2012
WHERE: Orange Field Office
                   326 W. Katell Ave., #E
                   Orange, 92867
TIME:      5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

( Dinner Provided )

Please RSVP to FOAS Julie Curran at 714-532-7122 or  jcurran1@csea.com