Volume 17, Issue 11
July, 2009
MCALLEN AFT NEWS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
PERRY APPLIES AT LAST MINUTE
With just minutes to spare before the deadline, Gov. Rick Perry finally submitted an application for nearly $4 billion in federal economic-stabilization funds earmarked for education. The governor's application declared that the budget and school-finance bills passed in May, including a pass-through state pay raise for classroom teachers and other eligible professional staff, would comply with federal requirements for the use of these federal funds.
The feds now are expected to respond to the Texas application within the next couple of weeks.
So far, the U.S. Department of Education has shown considerable deference to the states when it comes to allocating the available money.
Special Session—Legislature Passes Two Bills and Adjourns.
The Texas House and Senate made short work of the modest agenda for this last week's special session, completing action on two bills and adjourning barely 31 hours after the session opened yesterday morning.
One bill extended the expiration date for a number of state agencies, which otherwise would have ceased to exist next year under the "sunset review" process. The bill adjusted the sunset-review schedule for a number of other agencies as well, including the Texas Education Agency, which now will face the sunset process in the 2013 legislative session.
The other bill passed today dealt with highway funding. When it came up for House floor debate, Rep. David Leibowitz, Democrat of San Antonio, did a good job of establishing that there is no legislative authority for any attempt to use public pension funds, such as the Texas Teacher Retirement System fund, to finance road projects. Rep. Jim Pitts, the Republican from Waxahachie who offered the bill, affirmed there is no way the pension funds could be tapped under current law
Spotlight on Failure to Process Unemployment Claims:
The Texas AFL-CIO blew the whistle on the failure of the Texas Workforce Commission to process claims for extended unemployment benefits in timely fashion.
Though Gov. Perry rejected $555 million in federal unemployment aid, the state did accept separate federal funding for a 13-week extension of benefits for Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and have been unable to find new work.
However, as the Texas AFL-CIO said today, "The question is, will workers ever get the money?"
Some workers in need of this emergency help apparently will end up having to wait months to receive it--a situation that is nothing short of outrageous.
The state labor federation is trying to document the full extent of the problem, so if you, your family, or anyone you know is affected, please report the situation by e-mailing labor@texasaflcio.org.
Healthcare Reform
If there was one message that came out of the June 25 healthcare reform rally on Capitol Hill, it was that healthcare reform cannot wait.
The demand from the crowd of nearly 10,000 was for affordable, high-quality healthcare with the choice of a public or private option—now!
Every corner of the Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill was filled with union members, healthcare advocates and community activists from across the country, and they heard not only from members of Congress and union leaders but also from nurses, small-business owners, workers and parents who told compelling stories about why we need healthcare reform.
"Healthcare should be a right. I've seen too many patients coming in to the hospital who have waited too long for care because they don't have insurance or they are underinsured," said Charlotte Crowe, a medical surgical nurse at Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J.
"We need accessible healthcare with a public option," said Crowe, who is a member of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees/AFT, Local 5186. "Staffing should be a part of healthcare reform too. We need staffing ratios, not just for nurses. Every area of the hospital needs an adequate staffing mix."
While hundreds of AFT members and staff joined the colorful crowd, even more AFT activists back home were calling their members of Congress—and especially their U.S. senators—to urge them to support comprehensive healthcare reform based on key principles that the AFT has outlined. AFT members made more than 1,100 calls during the day.
Many rally participants in Washington, D.C., also spent the afternoon at town hall meetings and on Capitol Hill lobbying members of Congress.
The rally and lobby day were sponsored by Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a coalition that includes the AFL-CIO.
"I talk to patients every day who failed to have follow-up treatment because they couldn't afford the co-pays," Claudia Storicks, an HPAE member who works at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, N.J., said during a town hall meeting following the rally. "We need a more affordable option.