Anna Burger

 

Recent Posts by Anna Burger

  • Healthcare Victory Was an Historic Achievement for Women. Now Let's Fix The Rest of Our Economy.

    Mar 24, 2010Anna Burger

    women-and-moneyTo commemorate Women's History Month, ND20 asked women thought leaders to reflect on past accomplishments and explore today's key challenges. Anna Burger argues that while health care reform is a victory for women, much remains to be done.

    This week, we proved that "yes, we can."

    women-and-moneyTo commemorate Women's History Month, ND20 asked women thought leaders to reflect on past accomplishments and explore today's key challenges. Anna Burger argues that while health care reform is a victory for women, much remains to be done.

    This week, we proved that "yes, we can."

    The vote we'd been working towards for years -- ever since presidential candidate Barack Obama stood on a Las Vegas stage with the rest of the Democratic contenders and told SEIU members of his plans for national healthcare reform -- was finally a reality, and I was beside myself.

    We'd shown that working families struggling to make ends meet could prevail over millionaire insurance company CEOs. We'd stood up to the obstructionist tactics of Republican leadership, who'd rather deny our president a political victory than do the right thing for our country. We'd shown that even in this toxic political environment, progress was indeed possible.

    I was especially proud that, over the course of a year-long debate, we'd given voice to the injustices that women face when securing healthcare: being asked to pay more for the same exact coverage as men, being denied care for being a victim of domestic violence, or for having had a C-section, or even a yeast infection... in short, for being a woman.

    Yet as the House called roll and the "aye" votes hit 216, I could only think of some women I'd met along the way for whom this vote came far too late.

    I thought about Melanie Shouse, as fierce and wonderful an activist as I've met. Melanie had been battling breast cancer-a fight that, as Congress continued to debate, Melanie lost. When she died, she was still fighting with her insurance company over chemotherapy treatments. Earlier this month, several people set off from Philadelphia to walk 135 miles to Washington, DC in Melanie's honor.

    I thought about Pat DeJong, whose husband Dan, a fourth-generation rancher from just outside Libby, Mont., died from Hodgkin's lymphoma. During his treatment, his medical bills became so unbearable, Dan and Pat were forced to sell their family's farm and apply for Medicaid and food stamps. After Dan passed away, Pat was forced to sell her house again, moving into a more affordable place.

    And I thought about a woman I'd seen at a healthcare march earlier this month. She appeared to be in her 20s, and her sign, devastating and unvarnished, read, "Rape was my pre-existing condition."

    That's why, as sweet and proud as this moment is, we must keep moving forward. There's just too much going wrong in the country, far too many people in economic pain, to let this victory stand alone. For all the Melanies out there, we need to let healthcare reform be the building block of a broader progressive agenda to reshape our economy-and we must act before it's too late.

    The healthcare bill that just passed will amount to the largest middle-class tax cut in history, and will create millions of healthcare-related jobs. We're not kidding when we say that the healthcare bill *is* a job creation bill. But it's not nearly enough.

    As we speak, tens of millions of people across America are in dire economic straits. Twenty percent of the country -- one in five -- are unemployed or underemployed. And although men are traditionally seen as bearing the brunt of this recession, the fact is that women, as the majority of the workforce for the first time, as well as the head of many households, are hugely impacted.

    The unemployment benefits and Medicaid relief extension that just passed Congress is a great first step for many, but on behalf of the 27 million out-of-work Americans-including the millions who've been out of work for more than 6 months -- we need Congress to take action on direct job creation.

    We need Wall Street to step up and take responsibility for the economic disaster they created -- to stop foreclosing on families, to expand lending to small businesses to jumpstart job creation, and to help states and cities that continue to send billions to Wall Street at the same time they cut first responders and teachers.

    And we need to reform our labor laws, so that women can truly have a voice on the job and share in the prosperity they helped create.

    I can't tell you how proud and excited I am of the moment we just experienced. But it would be a tragedy if we allowed it to be seen as anything other than a call for more bold action.

    Roosevelt Institute Braintruster Anna Burger is the chair of Change to Win, America’s newest labor federation, and a top-ranking officer at the Service Employees International Union, where she oversees national political operations.

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  • Navigating the Jobs Crisis: It's Time to Get to Work on Jobs

    Dec 2, 2009Anna Burger

    jobs-letters-150In the wake of the highest unemployment rate in 25 years, the Roosevelt Institute asked historians, economists and other public thinkers to reflect on the lessons of the New Deal and explore new, big ideas for how to get America back to work.

    jobs-letters-150In the wake of the highest unemployment rate in 25 years, the Roosevelt Institute asked historians, economists and other public thinkers to reflect on the lessons of the New Deal and explore new, big ideas for how to get America back to work. Anna Burger argues for taxing Wall Street to pay for a series of initiatives to combat unemployment.

    Our jobs crisis didn't happen overnight. And it didn't happen by accident.

    We're paying the price for an economic system that for too long valued wealth over work, ignored the warning signs of crisis, and failed to meet the new challenges of the 21st Century.

    80 years ago, we found ourselves facing similar challenges. A reckless financial system crashed our economy-leaving millions without jobs, without homes, and without hope.

    But we know what happened next.

    President Roosevelt created the New Deal and he did it by empowering Frances Perkins to shake things up across government and business. She worked around the clock to not only put people back to work-but to build an entirely new economy.

    She focused on innovative public works programs to put millions of people back to work quickly and efficiently.

    And she ensured workers could share in the productivity of a growing new economy by protecting their freedom to join unions-laying the foundation for the greatest middle class the world has ever seen.

    If we are going to come out of our current crisis stronger and better prepared for the challenges of a 21st Century economy, we need someone to take charge, to focus-24/7-on job creation until we see results.

    President Obama should empower the 21st Century version of Francis Perkins - someone to speak for him and someone who has the authority across government to shake things up.

    Creating jobs isn't rocket science. What we mostly need is the political will, courage and determination to make it happen.

    Now it's time to get to work:

    1. We need to extend the safety net, including increasing unemployment insurance, expanding work-sharing programs to provide unemployment benefits for reduced hours of work.

    2. We need to use TARP funds to increase credit for small businesses.

    3. Federal fiscal relief to states and local governments needs to be expanded to save an anticipated 900,000 jobs and the vital services in our communities.

    4. We need to target the fastest-growing sectors of human services such as child care, in-home services for the elderly and disabled, and other services our communities need through a public jobs program. This will create jobs in the public and private sectors and ensure our communities are healthy, educated, and well cared for.

    5. We need to leverage private investment with public dollars through a national Green Bank that will promote energy-efficiency and renewable energy as a major source of job creation, in both the short and the long term. The jobs we create today will lay the groundwork for the industries of tomorrow.

    Expanding the home retrofitting programs begun under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create good jobs in construction and related industries. Including commercial and public buildings would increase the scope of the program, create high-skilled jobs, and protect the planet by reducing demand for energy. By acting now, America can lead the way on green technology.

    6. We must invest in our aging and failing infrastructure by rebuilding our schools, roads and bridges-putting millions to work. An Infrastructure Bank can foster public/private partnerships in developing regional and large-scale projects critical for a 21st Century economy.

    7. The passage of health care reform will add tens of millions of Americans to the healthcare rolls and create more than a million new and different jobs in healthcare and related industries. We need to ensure our present healthcare workforce is prepared and we need innovative recruitment and training programs to meet this new workforce demand.

    8. We must pass the Employee Free Choice Act to once again protect workers' freedom to form unions and allow them to share in the prosperity of a new 21st Century economy.

    9. We need expanded worker training programs on a national scale so that young people are prepared for new industries and workers can the learn skills necessary to compete for new jobs. It's time to coordinate across agency lines and provide flexible lifelong training for the new economy.

    We can do this without breaking the bank or increasing the deficit over a ten-year period.

    It's time for Wall Street and the financial industry to pay back their debt to our society. Wall Street must do its part by paying a speculators tax on their obscene profits and transactions. This tax can fund the entire program outlined above over ten years.

    This isn't a hard ask. After the trillions in taxpayer investments to bail out Wall Street, the excessive profits of firms like Goldman Sachs, and the $150 billion in compensation and bonuses the top six banks plan to dole out this year, this is a small price for Wall Street to pay.

    The American people demand action.

    People like Ferol Wagner, an 81-year-old widow who lost her life savings when the market crashed. Like Keith Scribner, who lost his job when a bank liquidated the 60-year-old business for which he worked. And Maria Guerra, whose brother lost his job, fell behind on his mortgage payments, and had to sign the home Maria helped him purchase over to the bank.

    We were together in Chicago recently with thousands of other Americans to demand an end to an economy that puts Wall Street and corporate CEOs ahead of the rest of us. We were there to demand that the leaders we elected work 24/7 to create the relief our families need.

    We can solve this crisis. We can right the wrongs of our economy.

    But only with real focus and leadership that ensures everyone does their part.

    And only if we get to work today.

    Roosevelt Institute Braintruster Anna Burger is the chair of Change to Win, America's newest labor federation, and a top-ranking officer at the Service Employees International Union, where she oversees national political operations.

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  • Wall Street: the Real Roadblock to Economic Recovery

    Nov 2, 2009Anna Burger

    road-blockAfter attending the Chicago bank protest, Anna Burger lays out a plan for how to build long-term economic progress.

    road-blockAfter attending the Chicago bank protest, Anna Burger lays out a plan for how to build long-term economic progress.

    President Obama's bold leadership and the swift action by congressional leaders last spring likely staved off a global economic depression. Because of that work, our economy is on the path to growth and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been saved.

    But we are not out of the woods yet. And when I think about what still needs to be done to build a true economic recovery, I think about workers such as Maria Guerra.

    Maria is a janitor I met last week in Chicago. She worked hard to buy her own home and before the crash she co-signed a mortgage to help her brother buy a home for his family. Since then, Maria's brother was laid off and his unemployment benefits have run out. Now, he has to choose between paying his mortgage and scraping up enough money to put food on the table.

    The bank refuses to help them and Maria's own economic security is in danger; she's worried about losing her own home.

    The sad truth is that nobody is spared from the impact of this recession. Some of us may still have our jobs or our homes but, like Maria, we all have a family member or friend barely getting by.

    Congress must act on legislation recently introduced to extend unemployment benefits an additional 14 weeks to help workers like Maria's brother. But it's the architects of our current economic crisis-big banks and Wall Street-which continue to be the biggest roadblock to our recovery.

    Big banks and Wall Street begged for trillions in taxpayer bailouts and backstops when they were on the verge of collapse. Now that they're back on their feet, they are back to paying out billions in bonuses and clinging to the same failed policies that created the crisis in the first place.

    Have the banks done anything to help families facing foreclosure? Have they increased lending to small businesses to create jobs? Have they helped states and cities close their giant budget shortfalls?

    Not a chance.

    That's why Maria and I - and more than 5,000 other Americans from 20 states - converged on the American Bankers Association convention in Chicago. It was the largest mobilization since the economic crisis began to demand banks stop fighting reforms that would help protect our families from future crises. And it was the beginning of a national movement to hold banks and Wall Street accountable for their reckless behavior.

    Big banks and Wall Street have spent decades rigging the system so that no matter what they win and workers lose and we must act now to break the hold they have over our economy.

    To build long-term economic progress we must:

    • Create a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency to serve as a watchdog against predatory and reckless banking products;
    • Crackdown on out of control executive pay that rewards short term risks over long term results;
    • End too big to fail once and for all by separating commercial banking from investment banking and raising capital requirements back to levels that promote safe and sound banks;
    • Empower shareholders to act on executive pay and break the excessive power of executive-controlled boards;
    • Force banks to expand lending to small businesses and state and local governments to create jobs and save critical services;
    • Demand banks stop foreclosures and help families keep their homes;
    • Investigate, and if necessary prosecute, the big banks and Wall Street for crashing our economy.
    • Our current crisis presents us with an historic opportunity to fundamentally change the way we value work and wealth in our country. The window to act is closing quickly but I know we are up to the challenge.

    Roosevelt Institute Braintruster Anna Burger is chair of Change to Win, America’s newest labor federation, and a top-ranking officer at the Service Employees International Union.

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  • Companies, Not Kingdoms

    May 1, 2009Anna Burger

    dreamstime_5840210Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win, America’s newest labor federation, and a top-ranking officer at the Service Employees International Union, speaks out for workers.

    The Employee Free Choice Act. It has business leaders predicting “Armageddon,” pouring millions into TV ads, and putting the screws to Congress.

    dreamstime_5840210Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win, America’s newest labor federation, and a top-ranking officer at the Service Employees International Union, speaks out for workers.

    The Employee Free Choice Act. It has business leaders predicting “Armageddon,” pouring millions into TV ads, and putting the screws to Congress.

    When people ask me what the fuss is all about, I like to point to Bank of America: $135 billion in profits over the past 10 years, $34.8 million for CEO Ken Lewis the past two. The American Dream, right?

    Not for their workers. The median wage for a Bank of America teller is near the poverty line.

    Not for taxpayers. The fact that many Bank of America employees can’t afford their company’s health benefits costs taxpayers an estimated $50 million a year in public health programs.

    And not for consumers. Last year, Bank of America collected $10.3 billion in bank fees, almost 30 percent higher than either of its two largest competitors.

    Of course, Bank of America isn’t a lone example of corporate excess at the expense of working people. Since the mid-1970s average CEO pay has gone from 27 times higher than worker pay to 344 times higher today, while real wages for workers dropped by 13 percent.

    The consequences of an economy built on rising debt rather than rising earnings have been disastrous. We can’t afford to repeat the mistake.

    Enter the Employee Free Choice Act. It restores workers’ freedom to decide whether to form a union for a say in their wages and working conditions -- without employer intimidation or interference in that decision. This freedom was taken away in 1974 and has directly corresponded with the rising income inequality in America since.

    So that’s what the fuss is about -- and it’s not a surprise. Big business didn’t want workers to gain the freedom to form unions in the first place, back in 1935; their campaign against the Wagner Act was the largest business lobbying campaign in American history at the time. And business lobbyists don’t want that freedom restored now.  The status quo has worked nicely for executive compensation.

    But we expect elected officials to prioritize what’s best for our country and make policy decisions informed by real-world experience and evaluation. Over the past 60 years, we’ve experienced an economy with -- and without -- a voice for workers on the job. When a third of American workers were in unions in the 25 years before 1974, we built an economy with strong companies, a strong middle class, and shared prosperity. With many fewer workers able to be in unions in the years since, CEOs have lived like kings while too many Americans tread water or fall behind.

    America needs companies, not kingdoms.

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