McCain’s Health Care plan is too costly

29. September 2008 by Matthew Ford.

Under John McCain’s health care plan, he would make employer contributions to health insurance taxable income after the first $5000, this would cost the average Teamster $2400 more in taxes. Why should Union members be over taxed for negotiating superior Health Care in our collective bargaining agreements. Now, McCain states that he wants to deregulate the Health Care Industry ”just like we did the banking industry over the last ten years” . Now this deregulation of the financial industry is going to cost the taxpayers $700 billion (that’s BILLION with a B)in the form of the largest bailout in history. How much is the bailout of the Health Care industry going to cost in ten years if McCain gets elected?

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Employee Free Choice Act

1. July 2008 by Matthew Ford.

America’s workers are putting in more hours than ever and still struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, corporate CEOs enjoy salaries 180 times higher than their average employees.

So how do we level the playing field and get our economy back on track? Good union jobs are the place to start. The Employee Free Choice Act can help restore the American Dream by making it easier for workers to form unions. Support this bill and help us reach one million signatures! You also have the option of uploading your photo. We’ll share the photos we collect with lawmakers so they can see the faces of everyone who cares about this issue.

Take Action Now Sign the petition

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Ohio Healthy Family Campaign

18. June 2008 by Matthew Ford.

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America Votes volunteer opportunities

13. June 2008 by Matthew Ford.

America Votes is needs your help in spreading the word about upcoming volunteer opportunities to reach voters during this crucial year.  Join America Votes at their office Tuesday, June 17th and/or Thursday June, 19th form 5:50 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to call local activists and invite them to join us.  This is a great way to make a difference this year and meet likeminded folks.

When:  Tuesday June, 17th and June 19th between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Where: America Votes office, 1588 E. 40th St., Cleveland, Ohio

Call Pete at 216-431-0206 for more information or e-mail PDibiase@americavotes.org

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The TRADE Act

6. June 2008 by Matthew Ford.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) worked with an array of progressive leaders, including labor unions, environmental causes, and consumer, faith, and family farm activists to develop the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act of 2008 — a bill that would set a new course for a better trade policy in the 21st Century economy.

Take action Now  Tell your Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor the TRADE Act

The TRADE Act requires a review of existing trade deals, including NAFTA, CAFTA and other major pacts, and sets forth what must and must not be included in all future trade pacts. If reviews of existing trade agreements find they do not meet these new standards, the TRADE Act requires that they be renegotiated.

If passed into law, the TRADE Act would completely reinvent American trade policy, putting workers and the communities they live in on the same level of importance as corporations and their bottom line. Because of this, it faces fierce opposition from those who have profited under “free” trade at the expense of working men and women.

Help overcome that opposition by asking your Members of Congress to sign on today as co-sponsors of the TRADE Act. Every Member who signs on sends a powerful message to the opponents of fair trade — a message that the days of trade deals only benefiting corporate CEOs are over.

Use our easy online form to send e-mail to your Members of Congress asking them to sign on as co-sponsors of the TRADE Act:

Take Action Now Tell your Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor the TRADE Act

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Teamsters Blood Bank

12. May 2008 by Matthew Ford.

Teamsters Joint Council and Teamsters Local 507 C.E.R. Fund are sponsoring a Blood Drive in Brook Park, Ohio. The Blood Bank is being held at the Brook Park Recreations Center, 17400 Holland Road. All Members and Family are Welcome to Attend. Below are directions.

Monday - Friday May 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 2008 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday May 17, 2008 9a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Universal Health Care

6. May 2008 by Matthew Ford.

PBS’s Frontline has a documentary called “Sick Around The World” The documentary chronicles the different healthcare systems from around the world and gives a glimpse of how the U.S. can tackle the problem. Here is a transcript from the documentary.
It’s not all “socialized medicine” out there. Many countries provide universal coverage with private insurance, private doctors, private hospitals, using market ideas that might work for us.

But here’s the thing. These capitalist countries don’t trust health care entirely to the free market. They all impose limits.

Three basic elements for universal health care

  1. Insurance companies must accept everyone and can’t make a profit on basic care.

  2. Everyone is mandated to buy insurance. Government pays the premium for the poor.

  3. Doctors and hospitals have to accept one standard set of fix prices.

Can Americans accept ideas like that?

Well, the fact is these foreign health care ideas aren’t really so foreign to us. For American veterans, health care is just like Britain’s NHS. For seniors on Medicare, we’re Taiwan. For working Americans with insurance, we’re Germany. And for the tens of million without health insurance, we’re just another poor country.

But almost all of us can agree that this fragmented health care mess cannot be ignored. The longer we leave it, the sicker it becomes, and the more expensive the cure.

In this election year, we will hear a lot of promises of Universal Health Care. If the new President does not deliver on Universal Health Care, it is our obligation to elect someone else who will.

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Tell Congress to Hold the Line on the Colombia FTA!

6. May 2008 by Matthew Ford.

On April 10th, we scored a major victory against the Bush Administration and its eight years of flawed trade policy. On that day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate Fast Track rules for the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA), a job-killing trade agreement that President Bush and major corporations, such as Wal-Mart, Citigroup, and FedEx, are pressuring Congress to pass before the end of the year. What this means is that Congress is not forced to vote on the agreement within 90 days.

This buys us some time, but we must make sure we use that time wisely to reach out to members of Congress and tell them the truth about the Colombia FTA, such as its protections for multinational corporations, the job loss it will mean for Americans, and how it will reward a government that has done little to address the ongoing assassinations of trade union members in Colombia. Please click the below link to learn more and to ask your Representative and Senators to publicly oppose the Colombia FTA today!

take action

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America Votes. Cleveland Open House May 16, 2008

1. May 2008 by Matthew Ford.

Join the America Votes staff, our coalition partners and area progressive activists as we launch our new office in Cleveland!

  • Hear from America Votes and our Partners and learn more about the issues you care about: global warming, workers’ rights, women’s issues, civil rights, and more.

  • Learn what’s at stake in Northeast Ohio this year and ways you can get involved!

WHEN: Friday May 16th

5pm - 8pm

WHERE: 1588 East 40th Street, Suite 1F

Cleveland, OH 44103

RSVP: brianr@americavotes.org or (216) 905.8132

 

ACORN ▪ AFL-CIO ▪ AFSCME ▪ Alliance for Retired Americans ▪ American Association for Justice ▪ American Federation of Teachers ▪ Americans United for Change ▪ Association of Trial Lawyers of America ▪ Ballot Initiative Strategy Center ▪ Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March ▪ Campaign for America’s Future ▪ Change to Win ▪ Clean Water Action ▪ Communities for Quality Education ▪ Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund ▪ Democracy for America ▪ EMILY’s List ▪ Equality Cincinnati ▪ Equality Ohio ▪ The Human Rights Campaign ▪ IBEW 212 ▪ IBEW 683 ▪ INDN’s List ▪ IUPAT DC 12 ▪ Laborers 265 ▪ Laborers 310 ▪ League of Conservation Voters ▪ League of Young Voters ▪ LULAC ▪ MoveOn.org Political Action ▪ Music for America ▪ My Rural America ▪ NAACP National Voter Fund ▪ NARAL Pro-Choice America ▪ NDN ▪ National Education Association ▪ National Jewish Democratic Council ▪ People For the American Way ▪ Planned Parenthood Action Fund ▪ Progressive Majority ▪ ProgressNow Action ▪ ProgressOhio ▪ SEIU ▪ Sierra Club ▪ UFCW 1059 ▪ UFCW 1099 ▪ US Action ▪ Voices for Working Families ▪ Women’s Campaign Forum ▪ Women’s Voices. Women Vote ▪ Working America ▪ Young Democrats of America ▪ 21st Century Democrats

More information at www.americavotes.org/oh.

Snacks and drinks will be provided!

Paid for by America Votes. Not Authorized by Any Candidate or Candidates Committee

Printed in House. Labor Donated.

Open House flier for distribution

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John McCain (Bush 2.0) coming to Cleveland

30. April 2008 by Matthew Ford.

Regardless of whether you favor Obama or Clinton we can all agree they are both better than John McCain. John McCain is appearing in Cleveland probably to explain why the policies of Bush and McCain were actually good for Ohio despite the job losses, foreclosures, and now food rationing. I mean who needs food and shelter anyway. So the party is having anti-Bush/McCain event. Details below:

Hope all is well. This Thursday John McCain is coming to Cleveland and
speaking at the Intercontinental Hotel. We will be holding an anti-McCain
press conference at 310 Laborers Hall, 3250 Euclid Ave.

Doors open at 8:30am, press conference starts at 9:00am.

After the press conference there will be an anti-McCain rally in the
vicinity.

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