CHANGE THAT WORKS - Coming to a Living Room Near You

For a moment, imagine if we didn't have to fight the same battles every year in the Maine Legislature over the State Employee Health Insurance Plan and funding for our jobs. Imagine if everyone had health coverage equal to or even better than state workers. Imagine if everyone who wanted to form a union carried their union card in their wallets. Our work in the Maine Legislature every year would sure be a lot easier. Our opponents wouldn't be trying to tear down the health benefits of those lucky enough to have them. Public workers wouldn't have to worry about layoffs or furlough days because our elected leaders would understand that Maine people deserve quality public services, period. It would be easy to write all this off as wishful thinking, but members, staff, family and friends of your union and our international union, SEIU, see a huge opportunity RIGHT NOW to bring about lasting change to improve the lives of working families all across the nation. We're talking about Change that Works - and it's coming to a living room near you. BUILDING GRASSROOTS SUPPORT FOR WORKING FAMILIES Right now, at the direction of our union's Convention and the MSEA-SEIU Board of Directors, over a dozen SEIU organizers working as part of our union's Change that Works campaign are holding personal gatherings with MSEA-SEIU members, their families and friends throughout Maine. These aren't your typical union meetings. They're social gatherings, maybe even potluck suppers, in the homes of our members and their friends and families, in our local community halls and in our work sites. STORIES FROM EVERYDAY PEOPLE LIKE YOU At these gatherings, known as "house meetings," everyday people like you, your co-workers, your friends and neighbors are telling their own stories about health insurance - what works, what doesn't and what can be done about it. They're telling stories about what belonging to a union means to them and how it has improved their lives. They're also hearing that personal stories of workers who have been denied the basic union rights that so many of us in Maine take for granted. SUPPORTING HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYONE AND EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE These discussions are all aimed at building broad-based community education and support for Congress to pass two national initiatives this year:

• Quality, affordable health insurance for everyone;
• Passage of the federal Employee Free Choice Act to make it easier for workers who want union representation to form a union.

Members of our union and other unions all across the nation are determined to build the political will necessary for Congress to pass both national health care legislation and the Employee Free Choice Act.

HOW YOU CAN BE PART OF IT It all starts with you. If you would like to participate in a house meeting in your community and if you have not already been contacted by an SEIU organizer, then please call MSEA-SEIU Political Coordinator Alec Maybarduk right away at 1-800-452-8794 ext. 1122 or 344-7540 or alec.maybarduk@mseaseiu.org

Together, we can bring about CHANGE THAT WORKS. Be a part of it today!