Andy Stern is the president of the 2 million member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing union in the Americas.
As both a labor leader and an activist, Stern is a leading voice and aggressive advocate for practical solutions to achieve economic opportunity and justice for workers; to ensure affordable, quality health care for all; to promote quality public services; and to guarantee that globalization benefits not just big corporations but also working people. To that end, Stern has spearheaded bold new partnerships with community allies, employers, and other worker organizations, and he has helped elect officials of both major parties.
Called "a different kind of labor chief" and a "courageous, visionary leader who charted a bold new course for American unionism," Stern began working as a social service worker and member of SEIU Local 668 in 1973 and rose through the ranks before his election as SEIU president in 1996. After launching a national debate about the fundamental change needed to unite the 9 out of 10 American workers who have no organization at work, Stern led SEIU out of the AFL-CIO and founded Change to Win, a six-million member federation of seven major unions dedicated to giving workers a voice at their jobs.
Stern is the author of the book, A Country That Works (Free Press), which offers a fresh prescription for the vital political and economic reforms America needs to get back on track.
Senate Can Deliver Results This is the Senate's opportunity to stand up and say 'Enough!' No more scare tactics. No more kowtowing to conservative obstructionism. No more politics as usual. No more hesitation. For close to a century, Presidents and congressional leaders have debated ways to fix our healthcare system. A system that leaves too many hardworking families struggling to get by or facing economic ruin. Each go round, politics, special interests and scare tactics said we can't. "We can't change. We can't make our country better. We just can't." Not this time. Just eleven days ago, the United States… Read more
Fixing health care isn’t just possible this year – it’s absolutely necessary. Every day, people are losing their jobs and their health care. The swelling ranks of uninsured threaten to put more strain on state programs and push the entire system to the breaking point. If health care isn’t fixed, the risk is a growing catastrophe on top of the ones we already face. The unemployment rate is now 7.6% – up from 4.9% a year ago. For every 1 percentage point rise in unemployment, another 1.1 million people lose their health coverage. Clearly, the time to act is… Read more
The financial situation for our families, our communities, and our states is dire. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that states face a collective deficit of $350 billion over the next 30 months. Each week, communities are being devastated by major layoffs, and families are struggling to pay mortgages and other bills after the loss of a paycheck. Few people can afford to continue to pay for their health care coverage under these circumstances, and states aren’t in a financial position to provide much help. That’s why provisions in the economic recovery act that would allow states… Read more
There is strong public support for SCHIP, and strong bipartisan consensus. Experts, pediatricians, and working families agree: The program works. The bill that is being debated this week is essentially the same bill that a veto-proof number of Senators voted for two years ago. The main difference is that this bill says that states have the option of offering coverage to children who are legal immigrants. It should be passed without delay. All children deserve to grow up healthy – and ear infections, chicken pox, and childhood accidents affect them all equally. Our kids are our future, and if there’s… Read more
To fix our economy we have to fix health care – the system is literally crushing our chances for economic recovery that can last. It’s why we absolutely need to invest in healthcare information technology now as part of the recovery package. It’s not controversial – and it will let us start getting the building blocks in place for a healthcare system that lowers costs while providing higher quality and covering everyone. Improving health IT will help eliminate redundant tests and treatments. It will give patients, businesses, and other healthcare purchasers access to cost and quality reports. And it… Read more
Yes, make COBRA easier to get and easier to use. People are losing their jobs and losing their coverage, so there's no time to waste. With unemployment at a 16-year high, expect the ranks of the uninsured to swell, putting more strain on state programs that help those in need. COBRA – if made to work – can literally be a lifeline. Part of the problem with COBRA is that many workers don't qualify as it is – if their employers don't offer coverage in the first place or if their employers go out of business. What's more, COBRA is unaffordable… Read more
As the economy sputters, fixing health care becomes more and more urgent. President-elect Obama has made clear that solving our health care crisis is crucial to repairing our economy. He’s right. Let’s get to work. Any health care remedies need to be part of a comprehensive solution to bring down costs, make health care accessible to everyone, and improve quality. First up, working families need fast action to keep our broken health care system from backsliding further, including: – Reauthorize SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Even with SCHIP, nearly 8 million children don’t have health insurance – children… Read more
Fixing health care means offering choice and flexibility as part of any solution. Too often, Americans are presented with false options: either a government-run system funded by high taxes or a deregulated private market that puts profits ahead of patient care. Neither extreme would get the job done. That's why we were pleased to see Sen. Max Baucus's "Call to Action" offers strong support for access and coverage – including a public plan option that ensures coverage for every American – as well as strategies for cost containment, payment and delivery system reform, transparency, and more options for long-term care.… Read more
The failures of our current system are already costing us billions. If we do nothing and let health care continue on its current course, the cost would be greater than the cure. As it is, health care costs are going up every year, threatening the economic security of working families and hurting business productivity. As costs rise, more and more Americans are forced to drop their health coverage -- resulting in people getting sicker, showing up at hospitals without insurance, and driving up costs for everyone. Meanwhile, U.S. business spending on health care is nearly twice as much… Read more
Related Link: http://www.seiu.org
