[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights/Health Care Action] Tomorrow's Rally

Tue May 26 11:19:06 EDT 2009

Map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=260%20State%20St%2C%20Springfield%2C%20MA%200
1103&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&
sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl>  here.  There is no convenient public off-street parking
near the Federal Building.  Please allow yourself time to find a spot on
side streets like Elliot, Spring, and School.  

The nearest public lot is probably East Court Street across from the Mass
Mutual Center.  It's an uphill walk, about .4 miles, on State Street.

Please also ask Neal to endorse HR 676 by phone, email, web-form, fax, in
person!  

http://www.house.gov/neal/write_neal.html 

kevin.kennedy at mail.house.gov

james.leydon at mail.house.gov

300 State Street, Suite 200

Springfield MA 01105

(413) 785-0325

fax (413) 747-0604

2 Congress Street

Milford MA 01757

(508) 634-8198

fax (508) 634-8398

2208 Rayburn House Office Bldg

Washington DC 20515

(202) 225-5601

fax (202) 225-8112

36 Atwater Terrace

Springfield MA 01107

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Updated May 25, 2009

Contact:

            Jon Weissman, Coordinator               or      Jeff Napolitano,
Program Coordinator

            Western Mass Jobs with Justice                 American Friends
Service Committee

            (413) 827-0301
(413) 584-8975

wmspn at wmjwj.org                                       JNapolitano at afsc.org 

            WHAT:            Rally for Improved Medicare for All!

                                     An Action in Support of HR 676, Asking
Rep. Neal to Co-sponsor HR 676

WHERE:           Springfield Federal Building

                           300 State Street, Springfield MA

            WHEN:            Wednesday, May 27, 2009

  Noon (12pm)

            BACKGROUND:

Community members and constituents of U.S. Representative Richard Neal will
be gathering outside of his office Wednesday May 27 to demonstrate their
support for HR 676, and ask him to cosponsor it in Congress.  HR 676, also
known as the "Improved Medicare for All" bill, would provide national,
single-payer healthcare to all U.S. citizens.  Rep. Neal has been invited to
speak to the crowd, along with other healthcare professionals and leaders,
regarding his stance on healthcare reform.

Speakers at the rally will include

Gail Bean, Registered Nurse at Western Mass. Hospital, and Region 1
Vice-Chair, Mass. Nurses Association;

John Bennett, President, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, and Retired
Labor Educator & Historian;

Richard Brown, President, Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, and Union
Representative, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1459; 

Frances Borden Hubbard, Project Director, Springfield Adolescent Health
Project, and Retired Professor of Black Studies, Labor Studies, and Public
Administration at several universities; and

Dr. Andrew Larkin, former Chair of the Ethics Committee at Cooley Dickinson
Hospital. 

Jackie Ballance, RN, will read the Northampton City Council's single payer
health care reform resolution urging Congressman Neal to co-sponsor HR 676.
State Representative Benjamin Swan will speak if the state legislature is
not in session.  Previously announced Anne Awad, President/CEO, Caring
Health Center Inc, Springfield, will be unable to attend.

This rally is taking place in concert with hundreds of nation-wide events
coordinated through "Healthcare-NOW!" (http://www.healthcare-now.org).
These events all support the passage of HR 676, which is the bill introduced
by U.S. Representative John Conyers as a widely-recognized solution to the
current healthcare crisis.

"Universal healthcare is long overdue in this country," states Jackie
Ballance, Registered Nurse, Northampton resident, and constituent of Rep.
Neal. "Residents of other industrialized countries do not face bankruptcy
because of catastrophic medical bills. Their families do not need to hold
fundraisers to pay for a child's cancer treatment.  I've seen those things
happen here every day. Unless we have a seamless, comprehensive system of
health care for everyone, people will still fall through the cracks into
financial disaster. We can improve and expand Medicare to cover everyone
from conception to the grave."

"I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program.
I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in
the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product
on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody .
everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal
health care plan. And that's what I'd like to see. But as all of you know,
we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the
White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the
House," stated Barack Obama, speaking to the Illinois AFL-CIO, on June 30,
2003.

This rally is being sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Single Payer
Network (WMSPN).  The network is composed of the American Friends Service
Committee, Berkshire Mass-Care/PNHP, Desmond Callan Community Health Center,
Franklin/Hampshire Health Care Coalition, International Socialist
Organization (Northampton), League of Women Voters (Amherst), League of
Women Voters of Northampton Area, Massachusetts Nurses Association (Region
1), Massachusetts Public Health Association (Western MA), Physicians for a
National Health Plan (Western MA), Progressive Democrats of America, Social
Workers for Peace and Justice, United Automobile Workers Local 2322, and
Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.

###

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Health Care Action" or "Unsub Workers' Rights", depending on which list you
are on.

[Workers' Rights] posts opportunities for you to learn about and show
solidarity with workplace and working class struggles. And these events are
opportunities for JwJ members to fulfill their pledge:
<http://www.jwj.org/pledge.html> "I'll be there for workers' rights at least
five times a year!" This is the core mission of Jobs with Justice (
<http://www.jwj.org/> www.jwj.org), affirming that workers' rights are human
rights. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of
"Subscribe Workers' Rights".

[Health Care Action] posts events and information that support the large and
vibrant Western Mass. movement for health care justice. Nationwide, Jobs
with Justice ( <http://www.jwj.org> www.jwj.org) has prioritized Health Care
as a basic human right. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with
a Subject of "Subscribe Health Care Action".

Western Mass Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301 

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