HELP FILL A STADIUM The AFL-CIO and the NFLPA are hosting a special football game in San Antonio. Can you make a small donation to help fill the stadium with unemployed workers, military veterans and children? Donate a ticket for just $10 and the NFLPA will match that donation—so you’ll make it possible for TWO unemployed workers, military members or children to attend the game. If you can make it to the game in San Antonio on Feb. 5, even better. Learn more and buy tickets. Share this on Facebook

Dear S,

When the NFL Players Association (NFLPA)—the AFL-CIO union that represents all professional football players, past and present—suggested a plan for the labor movement to fill a football stadium with unemployed workers, members of the military and children, I got really excited and pledged our support right away.

What could be better than giving the gift of football to folks who may not be able to afford to go to a game while times are tough?

We’d like your help to fill a football stadium with unemployed workers, members of the military and children for the NFLPA Texas vs. The Nation game.

This very special game attracts hundreds of NFL scouts and personnel. It features draft-eligible college seniors who are poised to be our next professional players.

Each ticket to the game costs $10 to buy. But the NFLPA has generously agreed to match 100 percent of our donations. Thanks to this match, every $10 you donate will buy TWO tickets for unemployed workers, military veterans and children.

Please pitch in $10, $20 or $40—and give the gift of two, four or eight football tickets to unemployed workers, members of the armed services and children.

If you can make it to San Antonio, for the game, you also can buy tickets to attend the game yourself.

This is going to be a great game featuring the football stars of tomorrow. Top college seniors with ties to the state of Texas will take on top seniors from across the nation. The five-year-old all-star game is making its debut in San Antonio this year, after previous games in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

We’ve been talking to local nonprofits—and they’re really excited about your support. Military bases are already on board, too. But we need you. If the union movement is going to fill the stadium in San Antonio, it’s going to take thousands of small donations.

It takes only 30 seconds of your time and as little as $10 to help.

Please donate a ticket or two—and have your donation doubled—so San Antonio football fans who are unemployed, and others who can’t afford to come, can attend.

In solidarity,

Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
3219 W. Central
Wichita, KS 67203
316-941-4061

P.S. If you’re interested in attending the game yourself, click here to learn more and click here to buy a ticket.

If you can’t attend yourself, please pitch in $10, $20 or $40—and give the gift of two, four or eight football tickets to unemployed workers, members of the armed services and children.

I was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in ’05. I was laid off in '08 and had no health care. With treatment, which consists of taking by-mouth medication, I live a perfectly normal, active life. Without it, my days are numbered. I could not find coverage for myself due to my “pre-existing condition.” Ironically, my illness only becomes serious without treatment. If the insurance companies had their way, I would die. Thanks to health care reform, I look forward to a long life of fulfilling work, joyous family life and an active role in society.
 
— Rebecca, a CWA member from California

Dear S,

Republicans now set the agenda in the U.S. House of Representatives. With so much that needs to be done to fix our economy, why of all things is their very first bill a repeal of health care reform?

According to Friday’s Washington Post, House Republicans are promising a “sober, issue-oriented debate” before voting on repeal this week. In that case, let’s get the facts straight: Repealing the Affordable Care Act would threaten the lives of 30,000 people who could die needlessly without it, and it would add $230 billion to the deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Please join in solidarity with the millions of working families, children and seniors who already are benefiting from health care reform. Write your representative opposing health care repeal now.

We have no illusions that the Affordable Care Act solves all the problems with health care. But like the original Social Security bill and virtually every other major legislative gain in our history, it’s a crucial first step to build upon—not something to pull back from.

Now is a time to be honest with the American people, not pursue repeal while parroting the tired talking points of the insurance industry and others that would benefit from going back to our old, broken health care system. It’s time for our new lawmakers to focus on real people—their constituents—and find ways to fix our economy and address our jobs crisis.

>> Tell your representative: Preserve the progress we’ve made for working people with health care reform.

>> Then, read stories about how health care reform is helping real people and share your own story.

Thanks for fighting to make our vision of a better, stronger economy a reality.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. If you’re wondering just how the Affordable Care Act is making a difference right now, you don’t have to ask us—we asked our activists last week for their real stories. Here’s what just a few of them had to say:

As an emergency physician, I am face to face with the unspeakable suffering of the uninsured and underinsured every day. Whille the PPACA is not far-reaching enough, it will bring the security and safety of insurance to millions of working folks.
— Brad Cotton, MD, Circleville, Ohio

I’m a 24-year-old college graduate. Unfortunately, I am also underemployed. However, because of the new law, I was able to get back on my parents’ insurance plan. I can stay on that plan until I am 26. Thank you, President Obama and the Democratic Party, for passing this legislation.
— Matt, Moorhead, Minn.

My brother suffered a head injury that has rendered him disabled. His care brought him very close to the cap on his insurance. The HCR bill allows him continued coverage because the caps have been lifted.
— Barbara from Wisconsin

...We lived with the fear that if [my cancer] came back, no [insurance company] would take me, or my husband would lose the house trying to save me. Thank God for the new law. I now have insurance that I can pay for—NO free handout. We are working-class people, [and] all we wanted was what our representatives in Congress have, for a fair price.
— Patricia from Pennsylvania

... My father went to school and recevied a degree in architecture. He work hard. I remember many nights when he stayed awake all night to finish a project. They saved money for retirement. They invested the money. They did not spend recklessly. Then the stock market crashed, and they lost a good percentage of the money they worked so hard for. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s approximately three years ago. The disease is slowly robbing him of his ability to perform tasks without medication. The medications he must take to function on a daily basis are so expensive, and he takes enough that he ends up in the donut hole. Thanks to the new health care bill, affording the medication will be easier and maybe they can enjoy their retirement a little more.
— Tauni, Wichita, Kan.

>> Tell your representative to preserve the progress we’ve made for working people with health care reform.

>> Then, read more stories about how health care reform is helping real people.

DearS,

Brownback Leaves State Workers Out in the Cold

The Importance of our State Services left Absent from State of the State Address.
Most Saddening is How Thousands of State Workers May Lose their Jobs
KOSE Executive Director Jane Carter Responds to Kansas State of the State

"In Governor Brownback's State of the State address the services of the state of Kansas and the employees who provide them were left in the cold, which is harsh considering these single digit temperatures!

"Governor Brownback spoke about hope and opportunity for all Kansans, but then disparages the very services which pull Kansas through good times and bad, and that give many of our citizens hope and opportunity every day. Waste in state government was addressed in the State of the State and KOSE has worked in a bi-partisan fashion to flush out waste and fraud. However, eliminating unfilled positions is a slippery slope that jeopardizes our state hospitals, correctional facilities, and state agencies.

MORE

Wichita Martin Luther King Celebration

The Kansas African American Museum's (TKAAM) Annual Martin Luther King Celebration is one of the largest King celebrations in the region, with a tradition of over 30 years of honoring the work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Over the years this celebration has reached thousands and continues to grow each year in its impact on the Wichita community.

Performances By:

Martin Luther King Symphony Orchestra Langston University Concert Choir Martin Luther King Youth Choir & Much More

January 16th, 2011  Time: 8:00 PM   Location: Century II Concert Hall

Candlelight March to Save Collective Bargaining to Highlight King Day Celebration

James Parks reports on the AFL-CIO Now Blog

More than 400 union and civil rights activists will march to Cincinnati’s City Hall Jan. 14 to condemn the plan recently elected Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) has to strip Ohio child care and home health care workers of their right to bargain for a better life.

The march is part of the annual AFL-CIO King Day celebration Jan. 13-17 in Cincinnati. Through the march and throughout the conference, activists will send a message that Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of social and economic justice is not dead even in this tough political climate. Workers who provide vital services to the Cincinnati area—including home and child care providers and transit workers—will share their stories and concerns about Kasich and his allies’ attempts to blame and punish low-income workers for the state of the economy. The activists will focus on developing strategies to advance the issues of good job creation, immigration reform and economic equality.

MORE

Martin Luther King, Economic Justice, Workers’ Rights, and Multiracial Democracy

Political scientist Thomas F. Jackson writes on the Martin Luther King commitment to economic justice.

Almost 40 years ago, a united black community in Memphis stepped forward to support 1,300 municipal  sanitation workers as they demanded higher wages, union  recognition, and respect for black personhood embodied in the slogan “I Am a Man!” Memphis’s black women organized tenant and welfare unions, discovering pervasive  hunger among the city’s poor and black children. They demanded rights to food and medical care from a city and  medical establishment blind to their existence. That same  month, March 1968, 100 grassroots organizations met in  Atlanta to support Martin Luther King’s dream of a poor  people’s march on Washington. They pressed concrete  demands for economic justice under the slogan “Jobs or  Income Now!” King celebrated the “determination by poor  people of all colors” to win their human rights. “Established  powers of rich America have deliberately exploited poor  people by isolating them in ethnic, nationality, religious and  racial groups,” the delegates declared.

So when King came to Memphis to support the strike,  a local labor and community struggle became intertwined  with his dream of mobilizing a national coalition strong  enough to reorient national priorities from imperial war in  Vietnam to domestic reconstruction, especially in America’s  riot-torn cities. To non-poor Americans, King called for a  “revolution of values,” a move from self-seeking to service,  from property rights to human rights.

MORE

Made in Dagenham: pro-union movie showing in Wichita

A rare movie about unions is showing at the 13^th Warren Theater this weekend.

The film is a dramatization of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination and the desire for equal pay. The walkout was instrumental in the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Maclean's, in a review for the film's 2010 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, called it a "combination of Milk and Mad Men....It’s a film that blatantly condemns sexism and shows, despite its mostly light tone, the real cost of fighting for civil rights. The bee-hived and bobbed characters are fully fleshed and well-rounded even though they fit into ’60s archetypes, and the period piece balances optimism and realism in a way that’s both compelling and fun to watch." 

Roger Ebert gave it 3 ½ stars out of four.

To see a trailer for Made in Dagenham visit the movie website.

Save the Date: Kansas AFL-CIO Community Service Conference

Mario Cervantes, labor's United Way liaison, say to save May 11-13 for the Kansas AFL-CIO Community Service conference which will be held in Topeka, Kansas.

Volunteer Tax Preparation

With your help, millions of dollars can be returned to our community and into the hands of hard-working individuals and families. Volunteers are
needed to prepare and electronically file tax returns for those who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. No experience necessary and
training is provided. Training is scheduled for January 2011. There are sites throughout the city with daytime, evening and weekend times
available to volunteer. Call 2-1-1 or visit the United Way of the Plains  website  for more information on this and other ways you can help with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

In union solidarity,

Stuart Elliott
Webmaster
Kansas Workbeat
Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
3219 W. Central
Wichita, Kansas 67203
316-941-4061

Dear S,

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of Saturday’s shooting in Arizona. We mourn the dead and pray for a speedy and full recovery for those who were injured. It is especially heartbreaking that this brutal attack took place while Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with her constituents. Coming together to discuss, peacefully debate and learn from one another is what our democracy is all about.

This tragedy serves as a terrible reminder to all of our political and civic leaders about the need to end the use of appeals to violence in our political rhetoric. We must find ways to passionately debate—and even disagree with each other—without using words that can give unstable individuals an incitement to engage in violent acts.

Over the past couple of years, violence in political dialogue has gotten out of control. We do not know why the shooter targeted Rep. Giffords, or if he was influenced—directly or indirectly—by the outrageous rhetoric that’s become all too common in our politics.

Here’s what we do know: Threats against members of Congress surged more than 300 percent in 2010, according to Politico.com. As Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, who is investigating this terrible tragedy, notes:

When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.

Too much vitriolic, hate-filled rhetoric that we hear on radio and television has demonized public servants and candidates as “enemies” and has made them sound less than human. In the short run, it may inspire passions and votes. But in the long run, it’s toxic to the survival of rational discussion in our democracy. And it’s not worthy of our great nation.

Before Saturday’s brutal attack, Rep. Giffords had been targeted. Windows were smashed at her district office last March, just a few hours after the House vote on health care reform. At a town hall event in August 2009, a man attending the event dropped the handgun he had been hiding under his arm.

When things heat up like this, our leaders have a responsibility to come together, denounce the violence on the fringes of our politics and do whatever we can to tone things down and bring back respectful debate. When there’s talk of “target lists” illustrated by gun sights, when there’s talk of “Second Amendment remedies” for political problems, when vitriol has gone as far as it did in the recent election season, it must be condemned as dangerous and unacceptable by leaders and citizens across the political spectrum.

As Rep. Giffords said after the vandalism of her office, we all—Democrats, Republicans and other leaders—have a responsibility to reject appeals to violence wherever they occur in our politics.

She was right. It’s up to all of us.

Today, working people have every right to be angry. Our economy has betrayed them. But all of us must work to keep that anger from turning into hatred, to keep it from turning us against one another and to channel it in a positive direction toward change rather than toward hatred and violence.

I hope that from this tragedy, all of our leaders and media learn that we must find ways to debate passionately with each other without using words that can give unstable individuals an excuse to engage in violent acts. We should be passionate, and even partisan—but it’s important our words be peaceful and we recognize each other’s humanity.

I’ve always believed America works because many people contribute many ideas—and that’s good, even when I flat-out disagree with some of them. But all people must come to the table in good faith. Those of us in the public eye have a special responsibility not to employ violent rhetoric, because it can have dire consequences. As leaders and activists, we have the responsibility to weigh our words carefully and to foster respect and understanding, not violence.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

Dear S,

If you care about football, you should be worried: The National Football League is in contract negotiations with its players and is getting ready to do a player “lockout.” If that happens, players won’t be able to play, fans won’t have a football season and local economies that rely on football will be devastated.

The NFL and team owners don’t care what a lockout costs communities and fans—they only care about their own profits. The NFL’s set to make billions of dollars, even without a football season. But if they do that, players and fans lose.
 
Sign our petition: Urge the NFL NOT to lock out its players during the 2011-2012 season.
 
It is estimated that a lockout would impact 150,000 jobs—and cause more than $140 million in lost revenue in each and every NFL city—some $4.5 billion across America.

If there’s a lockout, stadium employees will be jobless. Sports bars, police officers, restaurants, hotels and various support staff who work supporting the game also will be affected.

Do your part as a fan, and stand up for our communities. Sign our petition to the NFL.

The NFL’s greed is seemingly boundless—they are demanding a number of outrageous wage and benefit concessions without justification. Here’s just one example: the NFL wants to take ALL health care benefits from players and their families.

An average football player will work for only three and a half seasons—that’s their entire career. But the health impacts from playing can include a lifetime of pain or discomfort—and even brain trauma that leads to depression and suicide.

Stand up to the greed, and stand with the players. Sign our petition to the NFL.

How can the NFL make money without a football season? By rigging the system. They’ve already set aside $900 million that should’ve gone to players’ benefits to cover their costs for locking players out—and they’ve signed TV contracts that’ll pay out billions of dollars even if no football is played in 2012.

We’ve got to take the NFL on and tell them locking out players and fans based on greed is unacceptable. If players and fans band together, we can shame them into doing the right thing.

Please stand in solidarity with the players. Sign our petition to BLOCK the lockout. Make your voice heard to save the sport that you love.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

Dear S,

Parkinson to announce plans for Hawker Beechcraft's future in Wichita

 Ron Sylvester reports in the The Wichita Eagle

Gov. Mark Parkinson's office said he will be in Wichita Tuesday to announce future plans for Hawker Beechcraft.

Parkinson is scheduled to participate in an announcement at 10 a.m. with Hawker Beechcraft Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture, Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn and other officials, the governor's office said in a statement this evening.

The news conference will be at the National Center for Aviation Training at Jabara Airport.

The future of the aircraft manufacturer has been in doubt since the company said in October that it plans to move part of its operations to Mexico.

Hawker Beechcraft also has received an offer to move some or all of its operations to Louisiana.

Hawker Beechcraft to choose Wichita or Louisiana by March

Molly McMillin reported in the Dec16 Wichita Eagle

Hawker Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture told employees Wednesday that decisions regarding the company's future in Wichita will be made by the end of March.

Boisture made his announcement during the company's quarterly meeting with all of its employees.

Hawker Beechcraft spokeswoman Sarah Estes confirmed that Boisture said "there will be a decision on what and where the footprints of Hawker Beechcraft will be by the end of the first quarter of 2011."

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/12/16/1635586/hawker-beechcraft-to-choose-wichita.html#ixzz18iHH7efb

McConnel Voted Scrooge of Year

Senator Mitch McConnell took 42% of the thousands of votes cast in Jobs with Justice’s eleventh annual national contest to determine the greediest, most cold-hearted person or company of the year.  A small number of Senators, led by conservative Senate Minority leader Mitch “puppet of the rich” McConnell, have spent this Congressional session aggressively blocking almost all legislation from passing, especially laws that would help working people. McConnell could have shown great leadership to support people in need at a time when so many are struggling, but this Scrooge doesn’t care about governing or making this country a better place to live.  McConnell’s goal is to do whatever is necessary to hoard power for himself and his party.

“We hope that by being elected national Scrooge of the Year, Senator McConnell will see the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ and understand the dire consequences that his actions will have for generations of Americans,” said Sarita Gupta, National Jobs with Justice Executive Director.

Boeing should use 787 delay to re-evaluate outsourcing; SPEEA ready to help return to
engineering excellence

SEATTLE – The latest 787 delay is an opportunity for The Boeing Company to reevaluate its failed outsourcing strategy and return to the engineering roots that built past success, according to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.

Issuing the advice, the SPEEA Executive Board on Thursday (Dec. 2) unanimously urged Boeing leaders to use the delay to completely evaluate parts coming from suppliers and where appropriate, bring back work that is better performed by the experienced employees.

“the outsourcing model has not worked,” said Tom Mccarty, speea president. “recently, we’ve seen a few indications the company wants to reemphasize engineering. speea members have the ability and experience to turn things around and protect the boeing reputation.”

Nearly three years behind schedule, outsourced work on the 787 is at the root of delays.  see press release issued 12-3-10.

Vote for LabourStart Photo of the Year

LabourStart, the international labor news and campaigning site, has opened voting for the finalists in its third annual labour photo of the year contest. The five finalist photos were  chosen by a panel of judges (David Bacon, Gretchen Donart, and Mac Urata).

The contest encourages and recognizes the talents of worker-photographers around the world, and at the same time encourage them to tell the stories of our struggles in photos.

Voting ends at midnight GMT on 31 December 2010. Remember – you can vote only once.

Click here to vote for the Labour photo of the year

Send A Christmas Card to a Service Member

by Mario Cervantes

I checked this out and it is for real.. check out the kids art and send one of their cards to our troops....thanks and Merry Christmas

XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL

If you go to this web site, LetsSayThanks you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!

It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do.
We can never say enough thank you's.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

Prairie Land Food - January 2011

Prairie Land Food packages & Specials can be ordered individually with or without the purchase of the Prairie Pak

Begin placing your orders Today thru January 10. You can do that at the IAM Hall (3830 S. Meridian after Jan 3), online www.prairielandfood.com or by phoneJune Glasgow (800) 998-9436
(620) 947-3950

Prairie Pak - $20.00 plus 2 hours volunteer service

Split Chicken Breasts - 1.9 lbs Ground Beef *by Iowa Beef - 1 lb   Pork Breakfast Link Sausage - 1 lb F/C ~ IQF Turkey Breast Medallions - 12 oz
Choice Meatballs - 12 oz Banana Nut Muffins - Four ~ 4 OZ Large, gourmet quality cupcakes ~ made by a company famous for making
luscious cheesecakes A variety of 6 to 8 seasonal fresh fruits and veggies will be included Due to market conditions and to maintain quality items are subject to change

Meat Only and Fruit & Veggies only packs are available for $13.00 plus 1 hour volunteer service Some favorites are back to get the new year started off right .. including "the deep sea special" - only $18 Butterfly Parmesan Stuffed Shrimp (ready to cook) - 3 lbs. The suggested retail price for this package is $30.00.  Also available is the "Beef fajita kit" - ONLY $12 perfect for your Super Bowl Party

Congratulations to new IAM LL 834 officers.

President Dan Rutherford; Vice President Craig Schiefelbein; Recording Secretary Lesley Davis; Treasurer Garland "Bear" Moore; Conductor/Sentinel Norm Alexander; Trustees Kirk Church,Trent Bible, David "Fonzy" Robertson; District 70 Delegates Dan Rutherford, Trent Bible, David "Fonzy" Robertson, Craig Schiefelbein; Kansas State Council Delegates Dan Rutherford Mark Love, Craig Schiefelbein:Wichita Union Label Delegates Garland "Bear" Moore, David "Fonzy" Robertson, Kirk Church: Wichita/Hutch Labor Federation Delegates David "Fonzy" Robertson, Bob Feldt, Jeff Berry, Ralph Stout; Auditors Richard Ingalls, Norm Alexander, Lee Nelson; 1st Shift Health & Safety Committee Trent Bible; 2nd Shift Health & Safety Committee,  David "Fonzy" Robertson

In union solidarity,

Stuart Elliott
Webmaster
Kansas Woirkbeat
Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federationi, AFL-CIO
3219 W. CentraL
Wichita KS 67217

Dear S,

Congress has passed a deal that extends emergency unemployment for more than a year. And the role you played in shining a light on the struggles of jobless Americans helped make it happen.

This is a huge relief for the more than 1.4 million long-term job seekers who already have lost their emergency unemployment benefits. But this deal comes at a terrible price: It rewards obstructionists with huge tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

To get their way, Senate Republicans terrorized millions of jobless workers—making them live in fear for months as cold weather and the holidays approached. Some of our jobless brothers and sisters lost the ability to warm their homes or put food on the table and gas in the car. Some working families even lost their homes to the Big Banks that caused our economic meltdown—all so Senate Republicans could get tax breaks for the rich. These tax cuts throw away precious resources needed for investments in jobs and will do very little to propel economic growth.

Senate Republicans have shown themselves to be morally bankrupt hypocrites. They capitalized on the hardships of our country’s most vulnerable people to extract tax cuts for their rich friends, like the top executives of Goldman Sachs. Just yesterday, they reported they’d be splitting $111 million in bonuses this January. They’ll save millions on their taxes—money that should go toward fixing the mess they helped create.

And we know this is not the end. Soon, the same lawmakers who fought to get tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires will be coming after your Social Security and Medicare. Count on it. They’ll say we need to have “shared sacrifice”—but they won’t ask Wall Street and moneyed interests to share in the sacrifice required to clean up the mess they created. Instead, they’ll come after working people.

If it wasn’t clear already, it’s clear now: We’re going to have quite a fight on our hands between now and 2012. We’ll need your help to preserve vital middle-class programs—and to beat back these deficit hypocrites at every turn.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do. Sign up for the front lines by pulling out your mobile phone right now. Send a text message with the word DEAL to 225568—we’ll send urgent alerts to your mobile phone when deficit hypocrites try to defraud the middle class by launching attacks on our Social Security, Medicare and more in 2011.

We must vigorously oppose solving our country’s long-term financial problems on the backs of working people. If the America we all love is going to survive this century—or even this decade—we’ve got to find a way to restore balance in our politics and our economy.

How do we use our power to escape caving in to Wall Street and moneyed interests? And how do we create the millions of jobs we need now and move toward a future of broadly shared prosperity? I don’t have all the answers today. But I do know we can’t keep doing what we’re doing now. I know we have to fight harder and louder and more creatively—and I know we can only win together.

Please pull out your mobile phone and text the word DEAL to 225568. We’ll keep you updated on our fight to stop deficit hypocrites from stealing our hard-earned Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Two years ago, working Americans had high hopes we would ultimately emerge from the deep, punishing financial debacle with a sharp focus on a fundamentally stronger, fairer and more balanced economy. We can’t throw in the towel and give up now. Too much is at stake. We’ve got to redouble our efforts and fight harder than ever to move forward for working people. And we need you standing with us.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

Dear S,

Long-term jobless workers are losing emergency benefits at the rate of about 38,000 people per day. Shockingly, the total surpassed 1 million yesterday.

So today, we're asking the American people to stand in solidarity with long-term unemployed workers online.

We’re trying to make a huge splash today—but you can also continue these actions until Congress does the right thing.

Here are three easy things you can do to participate:

1. Whether you use Facebook and Twitter or not, please forward this message to at least five friends and family members. Urge them to join our day of solidarity at: www.aflcio.org/ui.

Important: You and your friends don’t have to use Facebook or Twitter to participate today—one important thing everyone can do is watch our video and write Congress at http://www.aflcio.org/lifeline.

2. If you use Facebook and Twitter, update your status right now to say:

I’m standing in solidarity with jobless workers today. Join me: http://aflcio.org/ui #extendui

Click here to update Facebook. Click here to update Twitter.

3. Use the following art to replace your profile pictures—or to post on your blog.

Use this art to post on Twitter. Link: http://aflcio.org/ images/ui_ twitter.jpg Click here for detailed instructions. Use this art to post on Facebook or your blog. Link: http://aflcio.org/ images/ui_ jobless.jpg Click here for detailed instructions.

Throughout the day today, please update your own Facebook wall with notes about our day of action and Tweet about it often.

The more we can push this out to our friends and family and help today’s day of solidarity gain momentum, the stronger our movement for fixing this outrage becomes.

Thanks for standing in solidarity with long-term jobless workers today.

Sincerely,

Stuart Elliott
Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

P.S. Want to really push this out to your friends and family and make an even bigger impact? Write personal notes on your friend’s walls about how you’re standing in solidarity with jobless workers today, and urge them to join you. To make it easy for your friends, you can share this link with them in your personal notes: http://aflcio.org/ui.

When you Tweet about the day of solidarity on Tuesday, please use the hashtag #ExtendUI—and direct people to get involved at: http://aflcio.org/ui.

Dear S,

You need to watch this video. It made us furious, and it made us cry.

It’s a powerful reminder of the real faces behind unemployment statistics. It’s about three minutes and it’s worth every second—so I hope you’ll turn up your speakers and watch the whole thing.

Share this on Facebook   Share this on Twitter

The same senators who are fighting to charge $700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires to our national credit card say extending unemployment is “too expensive” and “must be paid for.” Meanwhile, more than one person a second is losing his or her lifeline.

If this video doesn’t fuel your outrage and give you a sense of the human cost of delay on emergency unemployment, nothing will.

Please watch and send a strong message to your members of Congress. Tell them to restore unemployment insurance benefits for jobless workers who are being cut off right now at the rate of more than one a second.

Then, share this video with your friends and ask them to take action, too.

Let’s fix this outrage.

Sincerely,

Stuart Elliott
Webmaster
Kansas Workbeat
Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

P.S. The online day of solidarity with jobless workers is coming Tuesday. Get ready to change your Facebook status and photo and to Tweet the word out. Thanks.

Dear S,

Something in Washington reeks—and it’s not the dreary swamp the city was built on—it’s deficit hypocrites. You may have seen them on TV—folks who have no clue what life’s like for ordinary Americans. They are fighting for $700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires but think maintaining emergency unemployment is “too expensive.”

These deficit hypocrites have basically told long-term unemployed workers to “drop dead.” Right now, more than 800,000 long-term job hunters have lost their emergency unemployment benefits. Every additional second of delay costs more than one worker his or her emergency lifeline.

We’ve updated our unemployment counter to track the ongoing cost of greed and purposeful, heartless delay in real time.⁽¹⁾

Find out how many workers have lost emergency unemployment insurance—and tell your senators this is totally unacceptable.

Today—as you read this message—100 unemployed workers are in Washington, D.C., to lobby their lawmakers.  

Their message is clear: We have an urgent jobs crisis. With five job hunters for every one opening, we need jobs now. And while jobs aren’t there, job seekers need a lifeline.

The unemployed workers on Capitol Hill today—and the 2 million workers around the country who will lose their benefits by January unless Congress acts—need your help.

See how many workers have lost their emergency unemployment—and urge your senators to act.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

⁽¹⁾ Simulation based on the National Employment Law Project’s estimate of 2,013,058 workers who will lose benefits by Dec. 31, 2010.