News
California Alliance for Retired Americans
CARA Alert – May 22, 2015
Over 150 CARA Members from around the State took the Capitol by storm on Thursday, May 21st. Covered in bright hats that said “Respect Your Elders”, CARA members prepared to visit all 120 legislators to urge them to vote YES on our 4 priority bills – and for a state budget that restores essential programs and moves seniors, people with disabilities, and families out of poverty.Senator Mark Leno, and Assemblymembers Brown and Eggman, all authors of a CARA priority bill joined us to talk about their bills and how important it was for CARA members to hold their legislators accountable. Mitch Seaman (CA Labor Federation), Stephanie Roberson (CA Nurses Association) and Mike Herald (Western Center on Law and Poverty) briefed CARA delegates on key talking points on our bills so that our 30 Lobby Teams were ready to visit every legislator. The highlight of the day, and what brought us TV and radio coverage was our SENIOR FLASH MOB. To the tune of Respect by Aretha Franklin, everyone danced to wonderful choreography, led by Kathe Burick, dance teacher at City College. Following the flash mob, everyone went in teams to visit all 120 legislators. Everywhere you looked in the Capitol you could see the brilliantly colored Respect Your Elders hats – and we gave one to each legislator too. It was a great day, a great event, and helped move our priority bills forward. A big round of thanks goes to everyone who attended and made the day a success. This includes all of you who couldn’t attend but made phone calls to your legislators to let them know that you are part of CARA and urged them to vote YES on our bills. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!! HELP CARA FLASH MOB GO VIRAL!!!A great video of our Respect Your Elders Flash mob was posted on YouTube by our very own webmaster, Chuck Walker. Please click on this link and watch the ENTIRE video – it is great. Then, send this YouTube link to everyone on your email list and ask them to watch it too. If enough people watch it, it will move to the MUST WATCH list on YouTube and millions will see it. Please do this today. Let’s make national news!! BUT OUR WORK IS NOT DONEWe need YOU to keep Calling Your LegislatorsOur bills need your help to move them out of their house of origin and to the next house so that they can get to the Governor for signature. We need you to keep calling your State Assemblymember and Senator to let them know you need their vote. To get the local or Sacramento phone number for your Assemblymember and your Senator, click here then type in your address. Your legislator’s names will appear and you can find their numbers. Once you make the call, here is what you should say:SAMPLE RAP FOR YOUR CALLSHello. My name is ______________ and I am a constituent of Assemblymember or Senator ______. I am also a member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA). I am calling to ask for your support on CARA’s 4 Priority bills. Specifically, I would like you to support: SB 3 (Leno) would increase the state minimum wage up to $13/hour by January 2017 and automatically index these wages to the CPI starting in 2019. Older workers, as well as our young children and grandchildren cannot live on the current wage levels – housing costs, food, and health care make the current minimum wage unlivable. SB 483 (Beall) would regulate the current use of “observation units” so that patients who wind up in the hospital get the care they need in a timely manner and with appropriate staffing levels.AB 244 (Eggman) would develop procedures to ensure that spouses and heirs left with property are not foreclosed upon without adequate time to take over payments or re-negotiate the loan conditions.AB 474 (Brown) would raise the grant level for SSI/SSP recipients to the current poverty level and reinstate the COLA for these programs. This bill is now in the budget committee and we need the legislature to include increases to this program as part of the budget that is passed for 2015-2106. These are the bills we would like you to support – so that seniors can get the respect they need and the ability to age in place with dignity and independence. Thank you for your time. REGISTER FOR CARA’S 12TH ANNUAL STATEWIDE CONVENTION MONDAY AND TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19TH AND 20THDOUBLETREE-HILTON, ONTARIO, CA Invitations have been mailed to all of our members, and the Convention registration is also online on the CARA website. For room reservations call the hotel directly at 909-418-4873. Be sure to mention our group code: ARL. The rates are $109 per room plus tax (for single bed or 2 double beds) for Monday night. This rate is also available for the Sunday before and the Tuesday after the Convention. Reservation requests received after October 1st will be accepted on a space and rate availability basis. There is a free shuttle to the Doubletree-Hilton from the Ontario airport. Parking at the hotel is also free. You can reserve your room at the Doubletree-Hilton and send in your registration any time. This is going to be a great event…..you won’t want to miss it. MEDICARE 50TH BIRTHDAY EVENTS – JULY 30THNorthern CA in Oakland at 11am ● Frank Ogawa PlazaSouthern CA in Los Angeles at 4pm ● LA Trade Tech Medicare will be celebrating its’ 50th Anniversary on Thursday, July 30th. CARA and hundreds of other labor, senior, and community organizations will be celebrating this historic event with P.I.E. – Protect, Improve and Expand Medicare. These events, along with dozens around the country, will be important to help build the drumbeat against the proposed cuts to this important program, and put pressure on the President to veto any cuts and to our representatives to uphold these vetoes. We will need thousands in Oakland and L.A. to make our voices heard. Transportation is being planned from many other cities – check the CARA website for list of bus locations in your area and call to reserve a seat on the bus today. For now, call, email and visit your legislators to demand PIE for Medicare, and mark July 30th in your calendar.
A publication of the California Alliance for Retired Americans
CARA LOBBY DAY A SPECTACULAR SUCCESSElders Got Some Respect!!!Over 150 CARA Members from around the State took the Capitol by storm on Thursday, May 21st. Covered in bright hats that said “Respect Your Elders”, CARA members prepared to visit all 120 legislators to urge them to vote YES on our 4 priority bills – and for a state budget that restores essential programs and moves seniors, people with disabilities, and families out of poverty.Senator Mark Leno, and Assemblymembers Brown and Eggman, all authors of a CARA priority bill joined us to talk about their bills and how important it was for CARA members to hold their legislators accountable. Mitch Seaman (CA Labor Federation), Stephanie Roberson (CA Nurses Association) and Mike Herald (Western Center on Law and Poverty) briefed CARA delegates on key talking points on our bills so that our 30 Lobby Teams were ready to visit every legislator. The highlight of the day, and what brought us TV and radio coverage was our SENIOR FLASH MOB. To the tune of Respect by Aretha Franklin, everyone danced to wonderful choreography, led by Kathe Burick, dance teacher at City College. Following the flash mob, everyone went in teams to visit all 120 legislators. Everywhere you looked in the Capitol you could see the brilliantly colored Respect Your Elders hats – and we gave one to each legislator too. It was a great day, a great event, and helped move our priority bills forward. A big round of thanks goes to everyone who attended and made the day a success. This includes all of you who couldn’t attend but made phone calls to your legislators to let them know that you are part of CARA and urged them to vote YES on our bills. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!! HELP CARA FLASH MOB GO VIRAL!!!A great video of our Respect Your Elders Flash mob was posted on YouTube by our very own webmaster, Chuck Walker. Please click on this link and watch the ENTIRE video – it is great. Then, send this YouTube link to everyone on your email list and ask them to watch it too. If enough people watch it, it will move to the MUST WATCH list on YouTube and millions will see it. Please do this today. Let’s make national news!! BUT OUR WORK IS NOT DONEWe need YOU to keep Calling Your LegislatorsOur bills need your help to move them out of their house of origin and to the next house so that they can get to the Governor for signature. We need you to keep calling your State Assemblymember and Senator to let them know you need their vote. To get the local or Sacramento phone number for your Assemblymember and your Senator, click here then type in your address. Your legislator’s names will appear and you can find their numbers. Once you make the call, here is what you should say:SAMPLE RAP FOR YOUR CALLSHello. My name is ______________ and I am a constituent of Assemblymember or Senator ______. I am also a member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA). I am calling to ask for your support on CARA’s 4 Priority bills. Specifically, I would like you to support: SB 3 (Leno) would increase the state minimum wage up to $13/hour by January 2017 and automatically index these wages to the CPI starting in 2019. Older workers, as well as our young children and grandchildren cannot live on the current wage levels – housing costs, food, and health care make the current minimum wage unlivable. SB 483 (Beall) would regulate the current use of “observation units” so that patients who wind up in the hospital get the care they need in a timely manner and with appropriate staffing levels.AB 244 (Eggman) would develop procedures to ensure that spouses and heirs left with property are not foreclosed upon without adequate time to take over payments or re-negotiate the loan conditions.AB 474 (Brown) would raise the grant level for SSI/SSP recipients to the current poverty level and reinstate the COLA for these programs. This bill is now in the budget committee and we need the legislature to include increases to this program as part of the budget that is passed for 2015-2106. These are the bills we would like you to support – so that seniors can get the respect they need and the ability to age in place with dignity and independence. Thank you for your time. REGISTER FOR CARA’S 12TH ANNUAL STATEWIDE CONVENTION MONDAY AND TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19TH AND 20THDOUBLETREE-HILTON, ONTARIO, CA Invitations have been mailed to all of our members, and the Convention registration is also online on the CARA website. For room reservations call the hotel directly at 909-418-4873. Be sure to mention our group code: ARL. The rates are $109 per room plus tax (for single bed or 2 double beds) for Monday night. This rate is also available for the Sunday before and the Tuesday after the Convention. Reservation requests received after October 1st will be accepted on a space and rate availability basis. There is a free shuttle to the Doubletree-Hilton from the Ontario airport. Parking at the hotel is also free. You can reserve your room at the Doubletree-Hilton and send in your registration any time. This is going to be a great event…..you won’t want to miss it. MEDICARE 50TH BIRTHDAY EVENTS – JULY 30THNorthern CA in Oakland at 11am ● Frank Ogawa PlazaSouthern CA in Los Angeles at 4pm ● LA Trade Tech Medicare will be celebrating its’ 50th Anniversary on Thursday, July 30th. CARA and hundreds of other labor, senior, and community organizations will be celebrating this historic event with P.I.E. – Protect, Improve and Expand Medicare. These events, along with dozens around the country, will be important to help build the drumbeat against the proposed cuts to this important program, and put pressure on the President to veto any cuts and to our representatives to uphold these vetoes. We will need thousands in Oakland and L.A. to make our voices heard. Transportation is being planned from many other cities – check the CARA website for list of bus locations in your area and call to reserve a seat on the bus today. For now, call, email and visit your legislators to demand PIE for Medicare, and mark July 30th in your calendar.
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