|
Action Alert: February 19, 2010 -- March Across the Brooklyn Bridge!
There's definitely a buzz out there! Hundreds of New Yorkers will be taking to the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Broadway tomorrow afternoon to stand up for health care reform and the change agenda -- we hope you and your friends and colleagues will be joining us!
Our march will end outside the NYC offices of WellPoint, the nation's largest, and quite notorious, insurance company that's been in the news lately because of raising their rates in California by as much as 39%! Here in NYC, their subsidiary Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, recently raised its rates for small business clients by nearly 20%, much beyond the rate of medical inflation.
Like us, this week Americans across the country have been taking to the streets in scores of actions that are calling out the special interests for stopping real health care reform, and calling on Congress and the president to "get health care done, get it done right, and get it done now!" and to "listen to us, not the insurance companies!"
Here's a sampling of what's been happening:
- Up in Albany, nearly 100 people rallied outside the offices of the New York Health Plan Association (the insurers trade lobby) to expose their lies about and moves to stop health care reform both in Washington and Albany, and call out their profiteering. Afterwards, they visited scores of state legislators offices in support of restoring "prior approval" of health insurance premium increases, a move being fiercely resisted by the insurance lobby.
- Across the river in New Jersey, dozens rallied in Highland Park and in Montclair, scores of "water cooler gatherings" to talk about what's really in the Congressional health care bills were convened in workplaces, and several "honk-ins" were held along major streets and roadways.
- In Philadelphia, hundreds attended a send-off rally to launch a week-long, 135-mile "relay march" to Washington in memory of Melanie Shouse, a veteran health care activist who died of breast cancer because she didn't have affordable insurance.
- In Des Moines, dozens gathered outside their State Capitol to demand their Congressmembers move forward on health care.
- In Augusta, scores rallied at the State House and confronted U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe about her troublesome record on health care reform
- In Providence, nearly 100 rallied to demand health care reform and job creation.
- In Hartford, activists and small business owners joined forces for a "pitchfork and torches" evening rally.
- In Seattle, 10,000(!) turned out for a mega-rally.
Again, here's what's happening here in NYC tomorrow, Sat. Feb. 20th:
Health Care for America Now
MoveOn
NYC for Change
invite you to:
March Across the Brooklyn Bridge
for Health Care Reform & the ‘Change Agenda’
Call Out the Special Interests
and their Political Obstructionists
that are stopping ‘Change’ in Washington!
SAT., FEB. 20
11:30 a.m. – Gather in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn
(take A or C train to High St., 2 or 3 train to Clark St.)
12 noon – March steps off
1 p.m. – Rally outside NYC offices of WellPoint
One Liberty Plaza, Broadway & Liberty Street in Manhattan
(take any train to Fulton St,, Broadway-Nassau)
Bring posters, signs, and banners!
AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE. Washington must move forward on a Change Agenda!
HEALTH CARE IS THE WEDGE ISSUE FOR THE CHANGE AGENDA.If health care moves, so does everything else: jobs and labor law reform, climate change, financial services reform, and immigration reform.
WASHINGTON MUST FINISH THE JOB ON HEALTH CARE. Get health care reform done, get it done right, and get it done now!
THE SPECIAL INTERESTS AND THEIR POLITICAL SHILLS ARE STOPPING HEALTH CARE AND THE CHANGE AGENDA – health insurers, drug companies, banks and Wall St. firms, business trade groups
Participating groups [list in formation]: Barack Obama Democratic Club, Center for Independence of the Disabled in NY, Citizen Action of NYC, Coalition of Asian-American Children and Families, Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU Healthcare, Communications Workers of America, Downtown East for Obama, Democarcy for NYC, Eric’s Law, Greater NY Labor-Religion Coalition, Health Care for All NY, Make the Road New York, Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, MoveOn, National Physicians Alliance, NW Bronx for Change, NY-DSA, NY Immigration Coalition, NYers for Accessible Health Coverage, NYC for Change, NYS Nurses Assoc., Public Health Assoc. of NYC, Queens County for Change, Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need, Rekindling Reform, UWS Baby Boomers for Change, Tribeca for Change, Westchester Health Care Reform Task Force, Young Invincibles
See you on the Bridge!
Mark Hannay
Director
|
