Friday Alert   June 22, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Senate Set to Vote on Employee Free Choice Act
Alliance members participated in a 4,500-person rally at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, supporting passage in the U.S. Senate of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).  Such passage would allow workers to join a union by signing a card, thereby helping to prevent big corporations such as Wal-Mart from harassing, intimidating, and even illegally firing workers who try to unionize.  In a letter sent this week to all U.S. Senators, the Alliance urged support of S. 1041, the Senate EFCA bill, reinforcing that it would restore the ability to allow the collective bargaining process to build the foundation for secure retirements for future retirees.  In Denver on Thursday, Colorado Alliance activists took part in a street theater exhibition demonstrating the sinister forces working against EFCA.  In Maine, Alliance retirees marched to Senators Snowe (R) and Collins' (R) offices to deliver post-cards and the message: Retirees won't stand for Senators who won't stand up for retirees! "Thank you to all Alliance members across the country, in addition to those mentioned, who have worked so hard to pass EFCA," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  Capitol Hill vote-counters know that the majority of the Senate supports EFCA, but believe there are not currently enough votes to block a filibuster.  The Senate vote could come as soon as later today, Friday, June 22.  The House had passed EFCA by a vote of 241-185 on March 1. 

Supreme Court Blocks Home Health Aides from Receiving Overtime Pay
The nation's home healthcare aides are not entitled to minimum wages or overtime pay under federal law, even if they work for private employers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the 9-0 decision, which keeps in place a long-standing rule denying minimum wages and overtime pay to those who provide "companionship services" at home, could trigger a move in Congress to amend the law.  With an estimated one million workers assisting seniors and the disabled in their homes, unions and civil rights groups had urged the justices to scrap the rule, saying it deprives many of the nation's lowest-paid workers of a living wage.  The federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, and it will increase to $5.85 on July 24.  Under a recently enacted measure, it will rise gradually to $7.25 per hour in July 2009.  Workers who put in more than eight hours in a day receive 1 1/2 times their pay rate for overtime.  Lawyers for Evelyn Coke, a 73-year-old retiree who worked for more than 20 years in the homes of older patients, brought the suit, challenging the exemption to the payment of minimum wages.  The Supreme Court's opinion in Coke vs. Long Island Care at Home avoids the broad issue of fair wages for home-care workers.  Instead, it focuses narrowly on whether the Labor Department's regulations are a reasonable interpretation of what Congress intended.  In 1974, Congress expanded the reach of the minimum-wage law but said that those in "domestic service employment" were not covered.  The Court's ruling leaves it for "a new administration" to drop the exemption for home-care employees or for Congress to amend the law.  Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance, said, "The Supreme Court's decision is likely to hurt seniors who need quality, reliable in-home care in order to live independently, by making it harder for them to find good caregivers."  The Alliance had supported home health care workers by signing onto an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Ms. Coke.

States Take on Drug Marketing Tactics
The Maine House of Representatives enacted a bill last Friday that will limit the influence of drug marketing tactics on physicians while they are deciding what drugs to prescribe for patients.  Direct marketing to physicians is aimed almost exclusively towards increasing sales and market share of newer brand-name drugs, as opposed to equally effective, but less expensive generic or over-the-counter drugs.  The Maine bill prohibits the sale or use of prescribing software that seeks to direct health care providers, through advertising or messaging, to prescribe a specific drug or use a specific pharmacy while they are making health care and prescribing decisions.  Similar laws have already been enacted in Florida and Vermont, and New Hampshire has pending legislation with a comparable ban.  The Maine bill awaits expected final enactment by the state Senate.

North Carolina Alliance Holds Its Convention
Edward Coyle was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday to address the annual convention of the North Carolina Alliance.  John Newman was re-elected as President.  In addition, the approximately 200 retirees in attendance gathered with representatives of the state Attorney General and Secretary of State's offices, as well as other local officials from Winston-Salem, and distributed educational leaflets regarding EFCA.

Bert and Annabel Seidman Prize Awarded to Sheet Metal Worker
Tomorrow, the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund (Alliance Educational Fund) will award its second annual Bert and Annabel Seidman Prize for Advancing Social Policy to National Labor College (NLC) student Christopher J. Valverde, a sheet metal worker from San Jose, California.  The Alliance Educational Fund created the prize to honor the Seidmans, whose careers were inspired by a lifelong passion for social justice and worker rights.  The prize and $3,000 cash award encourage NLC students interested in advanced aging studies to research and analyze social policies affecting the older population.  The winning entry focused on the failure of union members to vote in the best interests of themselves and their unions in national elections, despite knowledge that not voting could put their healthcare and secure futures at risk.  "Bert and Annabel would love this prize paper, because it addresses such a critical, fixable problem that directly affects retirees of both today and tomorrow," said George J. Kourpias, the Alliance Educational Fund President.

Did You Know ...
In Japan, more than 28,000 people are now older than 100 (Wall Street Journal).

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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org