UE Political Action Updates

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UE and WWJ Members Arrested in Immigrant Rights Protest

November 7, 2013
Chicago

Eight UE people were among the 150 arrested in civil disobedience for immigrant workers’ rights on November 6. Organized by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the protestors rallied in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Downtown Chicago and blocked traffic on Clark Street for almost an hour.

They were demanding that Republicans in Congress stop blocking a vote on immigration reform and that President Obama halt deportations, which have totaled nearly 2 million during his administration. 

"HANDS OFF OUR SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE!"

October 25, 2013
Washington

The federal government shutdown and threat of default have passed, at least for now. But now the concern is what happens in budget negotiations between congressional Republicans, Democrats and the Obama White House.

For the bipartisan Washington elite and their sponsors on Wall Street, the goal of these negotiations must be a “Grand Bargain” that is centered on “entitlement reform.” Translated into plain English, that means they want the two parties to get together and agree to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the pensions of veterans and federal workers.

This is What a Two-Party Political Train Wreck in Washington Looks Like

September 30, 2013
Washington, D.C.
Chris Townsend, Political Action Director

Congress and the federal government are in crisis mode once again, with almost nothing being done to address the growing size and scope of the many massive problems facing working people. Fanatically anti-worker Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives -- and Senate -- have driven Congress to the brink of yet another federal government shutdown, by working feverishly to defund and wreck the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

For Medicare, Means Testing Means Trouble

July 8, 2013

Medicare, as well as Social Security and many other programs, is in jeopardy in the current budget standoff in Washington. In his budget proposals unveiled in April, aimed at reaching a “grand bargain” with Republicans and ending the across-the-board “sequester” cuts, President Obama not only offered to cut Social Security by rigging the cost-of-living formula. He also offered cuts to Medicare through “means testing.”

Don't Cut Social Security - Increase It

June 30, 2013

UE has always been a strong supporter of Social Security and Medicare, and has opposed all attempts to weaken these programs. For the past several years, as the general crises of retirement security and healthcare have worsened, UE has argued not only against cuts to these federal social insurance programs, but for moving in the opposite direction. We’ve been calling for our country’s political leaders to and expand Social Security and Medicare.

Phony Crisis: The Money is There for Social Security

June 30, 2013

One of the most effective lines of attack by the opponents of Social Security over the past three decades has been the notion that Social Security faces a catastrophic financial crisis, and therefore cannot survive in its present form.  Therefore, they say, benefits will have to be cut, the retirement age raised, or the whole program replaced with private investment accounts.

A Young Person's Guide to Social Security

June 24, 2013

Many young people have doubts about whether Social Security will be there when they need it. Their fears or misunderstanding are not surprising, because there’s been a relentless propaganda campaign against Social Security over the past 30 years, by corporations, politicians, pro-corporate “think tanks” and the media. The misinformation campaign has been especially aimed at young people, and is intensifying.

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