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On June 24^th Senator Jolie Justus visited Western Missouri Mental Health Center to see first hand the working conditions of AFSCME Council 72 members. The tour was lead by AFSCME member Gwen Williams. Senator Justus toured most of the facility including dietary facilities, the recreation area, and two direct care units. The Senator was also interested in touring the Emergency Room that was recently taken over by Truman Medical Center. Unfortunately the tour was not allowed to tour the E.R. housed at WMMHC.

During her visit the Senator spoke with many AFSCME members who expressed concerns with issues such as short staffing and mandated overtime. Senator Justice was concerned that the typical staffing ratio at WMMHC is 4:1 while an ideal ratio for clients and staff would be 6:1. 

After seeing AFSCME Council 72 members’ working conditions Senator Justus committed to urging Governor Nixon to work with AFSCME Council 72 in upcoming contract negations to address these problems, and to look into the Emergency Room operated by Truman Medical Center.

On June 26^th Rep. Maria Chappelle- Nadal visited AFSCME Council 72 members at Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital to see first hand AFSCME members working conditions. Rep. Chappelle- Nadal has a personal connection to Hawthorne as her Grandmother was a volunteer at the facility before the program was discontinued. Before joining the State Legislature the Representative was also a state employee which makes her particularly interested in AFSCME members' working conditions. 

High on Rep. Chappelle- Nadal’s priority list was hearing about seniority issues with state workers. When she was told that seniority was not being followed and past time working for the state no longer counts toward seniority after time off working in the private sector she said "that's my first bill next session."

The tour was lead by AFSCME members John Norman and Penny McGee and they visited every part of the facility. On the tour the Representative spoke with many members who spoke to her about staffing and overtime issues. The Representative assured AFSCME Council 72 members that she would support them in upcoming contract negations.

Mexico, MO- On Monday June 15 Representative Steven Webber of the 23^rd House District visited the Mexico Veterans Home to see first hand the hard work of AFSCME Council 72 members. Denise McCall the President of AFSCME Local 3503 guided Representative Webber’s visit through the residential floors of the veteran’s home and had this to say, “Rep. Webber’s visit to our facility was wonderful. It is great to see our elected officials taking an interest in the care of our veterans and the working people who care for them. Our members take great pride knowing Representative Webber is looking out for all of us.”  

During the Representatives tour President McCall highlighted two of the main challenges Local 3503 members face, mandated overtime and chronic understaffing at the facility. As a Marine and fellow veteran residents of Mexico Veterans Home were especially glad to see on of their own looking into their facility and care.

At the end of his tour Representative Webber had the following to say, “As a veteran I understand the sacrifices the residents of Mexico Veterans Home have made for all of us. It is our duty to make sure they receive the best care possible. That means making sure facilities like Mexico Veterans Home are fully funded and have staffing levels that ensure quality care for every veteran.”

(Op-ed originally printed in the Kansas City Star June 2, 2009)

Privatization has become a dirty word. And for good reason. Imagine where we would be today if George W. Bush had gotten his way and gambled away our Social Security on the stock market.

So it is disheartening to read that Missouri is privatizing more mental health services at Western Missouri Mental Health Center by transferring them to the financially fragile Truman Medical Center system.Sounds like a bad bet for those needing care for severe mental illness.

For years Western Missouri Mental Health Center has provided high quality care to patients with crisis mental health problems. But now those services are in jeopardy at a time when they are needed most.

More than 87,000 Missourians have lost their jobs in the last year. For the affected families those job losses are accompanied by a spike in mental stress and anguish and an increased demand for public services.

The solution proposed by some is simply to offload care for distressed Missourians to the Truman Medical Centers system. But Truman’s own CEO, John Bluford, has acknowledged that Truman might not be able to maintain its current level of services over the next three years.

Washington, DC- A new union survey of more than 100 health care facilities across the country reveals that many are not adequately prepared to protect workers' health and safety during an influenza pandemic. The report, "Health Care Workers In Peril: Preparing to Protect Worker Health and Safety During Pandemic Influenza" conducted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the AFL-CIO and other unions, concludes that workers face a very high risk of becoming infected when caring for patients with pandemic flu unless adequate health and safety measures are in place in advance of a pandemic. 

Download the Report: Health Care Workers In Peril (4.4MB PDF)

by Seth Michaels, May 27, 2009 of http://blog.aflcio.org/

If you sign up to join a union, you won’t face coercion or intimidation from your co-workers—or employers. Despite dire warnings by corporations against the majority sign-up process, a new study shows majority sign-up (card-check) protects workers and gives them the chance they need to form a union. It’s another critical point in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give workers across the country the choice about how to form a union and bargain for a better life.

The study, “Majority Authorizations and Union Organizing in the Public Sector: A Four-State Perspective,” written by top labor policy scholars under the direction of Robert Bruno of the University of Illinois, looks at the experience of four states (New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Oregon) where public-sector workers have the freedom to form unions through majority sign-up. If passed, the Employee Free Choice Act would give millions of workers the option of using either majority sign-up or a National Labor Relations Board election to form a union.