Change That Works Campaign in Full Swing

June 12, 2009

SEIU Local 517M has 4 members out on leave with the International to help gain support for National Health Care Reform and the Employee Free Choice Act. One of these members is Jeanette Barnett from Saginaw Public Schools. She is located in Evansville, Indiana. Below is an update from her describing what she did the day of June 11th.

My day started with a conference call. I am at the office by 10:00 a.m. Today, I am training 2 new staffers for Evansville. They are not comfortable with their knowledge of facts concerning the Employee Free Choice Act. So we are role playing and I am answering any questions they have.

We delivered men's ties to four business owners.  The owners will be responsible for getting them signed by fathers that support the Employees Free Choice and the Health-care Reform Acts.

Between June 11-13, Evansville has their Juneteenth celebration.so we were scheduled to attend the celebration to get signatures for the Employees Free Choice and the Health-care Reform Acts. The plan was to ask fathers that support the two acts to sign men's ties as well as petitions and hand written letters. Both will be delivered to Senator Bayh and Congressmen Ellsworth offices for Father's Day. Due to bad weather that operation was canceled. I instead made 27 phone calls had 7 contacts, with 3 of them agreeing to call Congressman Ellsworth once daily, until further notice asking the Congressman to support the two acts. The goal is to get 30 people to make daily calls. I think we are halfway there.

I have completed 2 one-on-one interviews and have appointments for 3 more next week. I also have scheduled home visits with 5 business owners. I have also been able to get 5 veterans to speak at meetings. One veteran is a young male that just returned from 2 tours in Iraq.

One of my speakers is a female that worked in the White House with President Nixon. She now works for AARP and is the tour guide for The African American Museum here in Evansville.   I have been fortunate to meet some remarkable people that are the pioneers for the Obama campaign in Evansville, when there was nothing going on. These people used their businesses and their own monies starting up the campaigns in Evansville. These wonderful people are still fired up and ready to go. They have been very helpful to me.