April, 28 2016, 12:30pm EDT
SEIU's Henry: We Stand with Working People in Alabama Fighting Against Attempt to Block Local Minimum Wage Boost
SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement today regarding the lawsuit filed by the NAACP and citizens of Birmingham, Ala., over the state legislature's move to take away a raise for working people in Birmingham that was approved by city government:
"The working men and women of SEIU fully support working people in Birmingham and their fight to raise their local wage floor.
WASHINGTON
SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement today regarding the lawsuit filed by the NAACP and citizens of Birmingham, Ala., over the state legislature's move to take away a raise for working people in Birmingham that was approved by city government:
"The working men and women of SEIU fully support working people in Birmingham and their fight to raise their local wage floor.
"It is appalling that profitable special interests are trying to use their influence at the state level to nullify democratic decision-making by African American elected leaders who were elected by the people of Birmingham.
"Right now, wages are so low that too many working people are getting trapped into poverty no matter how hard they work. Raising wages will give more families enough money to pay their bills and more money to spend in Birmingham neighborhoods, which will create jobs and boost the economy.
"Nearly four in ten Americans who are paid the minimum wage are people of color. For far too long, racism and racial anxiety have been used by corporations and wealthy elites to support policies that hold down wages and turn hard work into poverty jobs.
"We stand against attempts to divide us and for higher wages that fuel inclusive prosperity for every family of every race."
With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.
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Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
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"The Syrian army abandoned its positions in the area... which potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing earlier this week. "Israel has said that these actions are temporary to defend its borders. These are not permanent actions... We support all sides upholding the 1974 disengagement agreement."
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2024 roundup, which was published Thursday, found that at least 54 journalists were killed on the job or in connection with their work this year, and 18 of them were killed by Israeli armed forces (16 in Palestine, and two in Lebanon).
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