VWC

About 20 members of the Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign marched in the "We're all in the same boat" float through the streets of Barre in the Heritage Parade. Next up for the campaign is a series of events with Bernie Sanders in Southern VT and the Bennington Battle Day Parade. See more info on our calendar.

This year, the Vermont Worker’s Center marched in the acclaimed Warren’s 4th of July parade. The parade, whose theme this year was “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Healthiness”, was a great time to continue to show solidarity and support for the “Healthcare is a Human Right” campaign. The float, a twenty foot long boat crafted entirely by our member volunteers out of nothing but old sheets and paint, was a huge hit and helped to send out the message that we really are all in the same boat when it comes to changing our healthcare system. We all had a lot of fun marching and chanting with our fellow Vermonters and the float was a huge success. We also collected hundreds of petition signatures on our new petition, which you can sign below. Be sure to look out for us and it at the Barre Homecoming parade on July 24th and at the Bernie Sanders rallies on July 31st-August 1st!

http://www.workerscenter.org/petition2010

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman covered the US Social Forum in Detroit and included a quick interview with the Vermont Workers Center, who led the 50-strong Vermont delegation. Watch the video below and read our US Social Forum blog.

Warren 4th of July
Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness

Come support the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign at the Warren 4th of July. We will be marching with our "WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT" float and wearing our red t-shirts. The more people we have marching with us, the better. So come join us. Invite your family, friends, or anyone who is interested in the campaign. All are welcome, including dogs.

The parade will be a great way for us to spread the message of the campaign and have fun at the same time. The theme of the parade this year is "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness," so there will be a really positive atmosphere.
If you've never been to the parade, you should definitely come experience it for yourself. After the parade there will be tons of people, food, music, and dancing.

We need people to commit to marching and/or getting petitions signed so let us know as soon as possible if you or your friends can attend.

If you plan on attending the parade, or want more details about it please email Kate at kate@workerscenter.org or call the Workers’ Center: 802-861-4VWC.

Vermont can make significant progress on health care next year as long as Gov. James Douglas allows efforts initiated this year to move forward. In 2011, he will no longer be governor, and it would be a serious disappointment if he were to cast his shadow forward into next year by vetoing the health care bill passed by the Legislature this year.

The health care bill that emerged from the Legislature calls for a study to develop new health care options in Vermont to extend access, control cost and improve quality. Douglas has suggested that another study of health care would be a waste of money, but that would be true only if the health care system was working.

It's not working. Costs continue to escalate, creating enormous burdens on household budgets and on businesses. The state has made progress in providing options for people, such as Catamount Health and programs to cover children's health. But the combination of high cost and lack of access still stands in the way of good health for too many people.

If Douglas signs the health care bill, or at least allows it to become law, Vermont would launch a new study to outline at least three possible reform options, including a single-payer system and some sort of public option for health care. One of the world's leading experts on health care reform testified before the Legislature this year and is a leading candidate to become the consultant hired by the state to develop these options.

He is William Hsiao, an economics professor at Harvard's Department of Health Policy and Management. He is a world leader in the study of health care systems and the reforms needed to expand access and contain costs. He has helped the governments of Taiwan, Mexico, Cyprus, Colombia, China and Sweden to improve their systems.

Passivity is always an option. The passage of federal health care legislation means that, gradually, greater access will be available as people are required to buy coverage and insurers are no longer allowed to deny it.

But the cost-containment mechanisms in the federal law will be slow to take effect, and mandating that people buy insurance does not solve the problem of high insurance costs. The federal system will create subsidies to help people afford coverage, but Americans will be saddled with the same system, dominated by insurance companies and a costly fee-for-service payment system, until more fundamental reform occurs.

That's why there is still a role for states to do the pioneering work of developing more efficient and effective systems. It is likely that the Obama administration, even after passage of the new health care law, would welcome experimentation by the states to take reform even further. It would be a complicated endeavor for a state to develop its own single-payer system, or the kind of public option that advocates were pushing for the federal system, but cooperation from the federal government could help make it happen.

The success of the Legislature in passing its health care bill this year is due in large part to the extraordinary grass-roots campaign spearheaded by the Vermont Workers' Center. This year the "Health Care Is a Human Right" campaign coordinated by the center became the kind of effective effort at grass-roots organizing and political activism we have seen before with the campaign for marriage equality. The campaign created a mandate that legislators employed to take a step closer to comprehensive health care reform.

Like the campaign for marriage equality, the health care campaign put a human face on injustice. The injustice in this instance occurs when a wealthy nation organizes its health care system in a way so perverse that millions of people suffer from lack of adequate care.

The campaign has created momentum on health care not seen before. Previously, health care has been the arena for policy experts, government officials, insurers and others familiar with a topic so arcane and complex that inaction becomes easy. The "Health Care Is a Human Right" campaign introduced the human element by putting forward a simple proposition about justice. When the injustice of the present system is established in people's minds, inaction becomes more difficult.

As he leaves office, Douglas must not put himself in the way of this momentum. Vermont can become a laboratory for progress on health care that will serve as a model to the nation. Douglas ought to let it happen.

May 23, 2010

VERMONT WORKERS’ CENTER - HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT CAMPAIGN

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Tuesday May 27th 2010***
Contact: James Haslam, (802) 272 0882, james@workerscenter.org

VERMONT UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE BILL BECOMES LAW

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Governor Jim Douglas announced on Thursday May 27th that he would not veto S.88, the "Universal Access to Healthcare Act". The bill requires the state to establish a universal healthcare system based on human rights principles. Earlier, passage of this bill by the Vermont Legislature came a week after U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders joined over fifteen hundred Vermonters at a "Healthcare is a Human Right" rally at Vermont's Statehouse, urging the state to pass this bill.

This past Sunday, the Rutland Herald and the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus - Vermont's second and third largest newspapers - issued editorials aimed at Douglas, pushing for the new law to go into effect. The editorials acknowledge the "Healthcare Is A Human Right" Campaign's leading effort, saying that "the success of the Legislature in passing its health care bill this year is due in large part to the extraordinary grass-roots campaign spearheaded by the Vermont Workers' Center." They further praised the Campaign, stating that this year it "became the kind of effective effort at grass-roots organizing and political activism we have seen before with the campaign for marriage equality. The campaign created a mandate that legislators employed to take a step closer to comprehensive health care reform." Both newspapers called for Vermont to "become a laboratory for progress on health care that will serve as a model to the nation."

The Campaign involved thousands of Vermonters from all around the state in a grassroots effort pushing for a comprehensive redesign of the state's healthcare system around human rights principles. The new law calls for the hiring of consultants to design three universal health care plans for implementation in Vermont. One of these plans must be a single-payer system that is publicly financed and publicly administered and is completely decoupled from employment. Another is a public option. All three plans must meet the "Healthcare is a Human Right" standards. The plans must be submitted to the legislature in January 2011, which will adopt one of the designs for implementation to begin no later than July 2012.

"This victory was a result of a growing grassroots movement for our basic human rights," said James Haslam, Director of the Vermont Workers’ Center. "What we want is really simple: a healthcare system that makes our human right to healthcare a reality in Vermont and that puts healthcare dollars into actual healthcare services, not into profits, marketing, or administration. We need a plan for how a state can go from a wasteful market-based system to a simple, rational system that protects everyone's health." Haslam believes Federal reform has failed to provide such a plan and added that "there are more battles ahead, but this victory was a necessary step to winning healthcare for all."

More information is available at www.healthcareisahumanright.org

###

VERMONT WORKERS’ CENTER - HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT CAMPAIGN

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Tuesday May 11th 2010***
Contact: James Haslam, (802) 272 0882, james@workerscenter.org

VERMONT PASSES LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

MONTPELIER, Vt. - On Tuesday, Vermont lawmakers passed a healthcare bill requiring the state to create plans for establishing a universal healthcare system based on human rights principles. One of three design plans to be submitted for implementation must be a publicly-funded single payer system, according to S. 88, the "Universal Access To Healthcare Act." Passage of this bill came a little over a week after U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders joined over fifteen hundred Vermonters at a "Healthcare is a Human Right" rally at Vermont's Statehouse.

"This is a huge victory for us. It is clear that it will be up to the states to truly establish healthcare as a public good and not as a commodity. We now have a very good chance to do just that in Vermont," said Mari Cordes, RN, a leader of the campaign from Lincoln, VT. Walter Carpenter, a campaign leader from Montpelier, VT, who three years ago fought liver disease and insurance companies, recalling how both of these nearly killed him, approached Senators Racine, Lyons, Kittell and others who supported passage of the bill. He was visibly holding back tears of joy as he hugged and thanked the senators. The lawmakers in turn thanked him and the campaign, saying that if it weren't for the campaign's tenacious fight to keep the issue at the political forefront, along with the persistent efforts of thousands of regular Vermonters who support the campaign, this would not have happened today.

At the beginning of the legislative session in January, the passage of S.88 was considered politically impossible, but an outpouring of support for fundamental change from thousands of Vermonters taking part in the "Healthcare is a Human Right" campaign created a different political climate. This victory comes after two years of state-wide community organizing by the Vermont Workers' Center, which runs the campaign. It has involved thousands of Vermonters around the state in a grassroots effort pushing for a comprehensive redesign of the state's healthcare system around human rights principles.

Last year, the Campaign held the first "Healthcare Is A Human Right" rally at the Statehouse. With over twelve hundred people participating, it was the largest weekday rally in the state's history. Building on that momentum, the campaign organized eleven "People's Forums on Healthcare" around the state. Eighty state legislators attended the forums with over eight hundred participants testifying about the healthcare crisis and laying out human rights principles to act as guidelines for new healthcare policy.

These human rights guidelines were included in S.88, the new "Universal Access To Healthcare Act," as standards that any healthcare system design must meet. The legislation calls for the hiring of consultants to design three universal health care plans for implementation in Vermont. One of these plans must be a single-payer system that is publicly financed and publicly administered and is completely decoupled from employment. All three plans must meet the "Healthcare is a Human Right" standards. The plans must be submitted to the legislature in January 2011, which will adopt one of the designs for implementation to begin no later than July 2012.

"This victory was a result of a growing grassroots movement for our basic human rights," said James Haslam, Director of the Vermont Workers’ Center. "What we want is really simple: a healthcare system that makes our human right to healthcare a reality in Vermont and that puts healthcare dollars into actual healthcare services, not into profits, marketing, or administration. We need a plan for how a state can go from a wasteful market-based system to a simple, rational system that protects everyone's health. Federal reform has failed to provide such a plan." Haslam then added, "There are more battles ahead, but this victory was a necessary step to winning healthcare for all."

More information is available at www.healthcareisahumanright.org

###

New Hampshire Public Radio's "The Exchange" host Laura Knoy presents a segment about the recently-passed "Healthy Vermont Bill" (S.88). It features guest speakers Bob Kinzel of the Vermont Public Radio, Geoffrey Norman of the conservative blog "Vermont Tiger" and our own James Haslam, VWC director and lead organizer for the "Healthcare Is A Human Right" campaign.

Click here to listen to the recorded audio stream of this broadcast (courtesy of NHPR and Blip.TV)

The Vermont Workers Center (VWC) has several internship positions available for Summer, Fall and Winter 2010 - 2011.

As an intern at the VWC you can:

-Get involved in your community
-Learn a wide range of concrete skills
-Attend Community Organizing and Anti-racism trainings for leadership development
-Earn college credit while expanding your resume

CURRENT POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Intern Organizers for the "Healthcare is a Human Right" Campaign: Help build a powerful statewide network of grassroots leaders who are working to make history by re-defining healthcare in our state as a fundamental public good, and not a commodity.Check out www.workerscenter.org/movie to learn more about this campaign.

Vermont Workers' Right Hotline: Everyday we receive dozens of calls from Vermonters with questions about their rights at work. This internship is an excellent opportunity to learn workplace rights, and legal and organizing routes people can take action.

Intern Media Coordinator: Work with our staff and our grassroots leaders across the state to develop strategic media campaigns, coordinate video and audio projects for public access television and local radio stations across the state.

Art Intern: Help coordinate the VWC's new vibrant Art Committee which brings in the creative arts into our grassroots organizing campaigns, partnering with folks from Bread & Puppet to develop street theater skits and creating art to engage people in public spaces and at events.

Intern Community Organizer for Burlington Livable City Coalition: Work with local union members, tenant organizers and other community members to continue working to make Burlington a livable city for ALL of its residents, fighting for good livable wage jobs, tenants rights and healthy homes and eliminating racism and all forms of oppression.

US Social Forum Intern: The VWC will be building this Spring to bring a large delegation to the US Social Forum in Detroit, MI June 22-26, 2010. Before and after this delegation of 25-40 members, there will be the need to do fundraising, logistics and coordination of pre and post-Detroit events. See http://ussf2010.org/ to learn more.

Send resumes and cover letters to Kate Kanelstein kate@workerscenter.org if you are interested.

[photo by Eesha Williams, valleypost.org]

Vermont Will Lead the Way in Healthcare

MONTPELIER - Vermonters from all across the state converged on the statehouse on May 1st in a demonstration to show that Vermont can and should be the first state in the nation to recognize healthcare as a human right and providing it as a public good by implementing a single-payer, universal healthcare system.

Over a thousand people marched from the Montpelier City Hall down to the capital building accompanied by drums, dancers, puppets, baloons and signs supporting universal healthcare whiloe chanting "hey, hey what do we say? Vermont is ready to lead the way!" The marchers then joined another two hundred participants already at the Statehouse lawn and swarmed up the capitol steps for a festive rally. They were joined by US Sen Bernie Sanders and the rally also featured skits by various regional organizing committees of the "Healthcare Is A Human Right" campaign, musical performances by Vermont artists, and speeches by campaign leaders from all parts of the state.

Sanders, a longtime advocate of universal care, called it a “moral disgrace” that the U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t guarantee health care for all of its people. “I want you to pass a single-payer health care program in Vermont,” he said.

“And when you do that, I will go to the president of the United States and say, ‘Mr. President, this is what Vermont has done. Let ’em go forward’," he said. To thunderous applaud from the crowd, Sanders added, "I’m going to go to my conservative friends in the Congress and say, ‘You believe in states’ rights. Well, here’s a state that has passed single-payer. Let ’em go forward!’”

## END ##

For more information about Saturday's rally and the "Healthcare is A Human Right" campaign, please visit www.healthcareisahumanright.org

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 30 2010 ***
Contact: James Haslam (802)272-0882 james@workerscenter.org

Thousands of Vermonters Energized for Historic "Healthcare Is A Human Right" Rally

On the eve of a historic rally, supporters of the Vermont Workers' Center's "Healthcare Is A Human Right" campaign in communities across Vermont are busy making signs, creating arts, developing skits, practicing musical performance, making phone calls and connecting through social media in anticipation of May 1st "Healthcare Is A Human Right" march and noon rally at the Statehouse in Montpelier. From the Northeast Kingdom to Windham county, from St. Albans to Bennington, regional organizing committees for the campaign are setting up carpools and rides to bring people to the Statehouse Saturday. In addition to personal cars, two charter buses will be leaving from the Grace Congressional Church parking lot to transport Rutland-area participants. A school bus and several vans will carry Bennington rally-goers to Montpelier from a location across the UU Fellowship Meeting House, and a group from St. Johnsbury has organized a carpool while bike rides to the capital are planned in Waterbury, Barre and surrounding area.

In the last few days, Vermonters of all ages and from all walks of life have gathered in houses, libraries, churches and community centers throughout the state in preparation for Saturday's events. The campaign's Burlington headquarter has been buzzing with various activities including banner painting, props making, skit practice, and phone banking. Anisa Potvin, a UVM graduate who grew up in Stamford joined about a dozen volunteers there to send personal emails and Facebook messages urging other young Vermonters to attend the rally. She believes that the May 1st rally is important to Vermont's youth because "universal healthcare will enable young people graduating from Vermont schools to stay and work for small and growing local companies here instead of leaving the state."

Expected to be one of the largest rallies in the state's history, organizers are anticipating an even bigger turnout than last year's May 1st rally, which brought in over 1200 participants and was considered the state's biggest weekday rally in recent memory. That rally built momentum for the idea of Vermont becoming the first in the nation to recognize healthcare as a human right - a goal which most lawmakers at the time shrugged off as not "politically feasible".

Starting in Fall of last year, the campaign and other community groups held sixteen "People's Forums on Healthcare" in every county, where almost a hundred state legislators joined over a thousand concerned Vermonters to hear testimonies about the healthcare crisis. These forums laid out the practices and principles of healthcare as a human right: access and coverage must be universal; it has to be comprehensive and affordable; the design must be transparent; and it must ensure public participation in the design, implementation, evaluation, and accountability. Through the persistent efforts of campaign supporters and other single-payer advocacy organizations - some of which have been active for well over a decade - these principles were finally incorporated into S88, the "Healthy Vermont Bill", which was passed by both the Senate and the House this month.

The May 1st rally will be a celebration of the passage of this healthcare bill by the legislature as well as the hard work and support of thousands of everyday Vermonters who believe that healthcare should be a human right available to every citizen of Vermont regardless of income or employment status. With a possible veto by Gov. Douglas looming ahead, Saturday's rally will also be a show of strength by "Healthcare Is A Human Right" supporters. Walter Carpenter, a campaign volunteer from Montpelier and a "survivor of our current, broken, for-profit system" was excited about the rally, saying "we will send a strong message to the governor and the legislature: Vermont is ready to make healthcare a human right and a public good".

### END ###

More information about the "Healthcare Is A Human Right" campaign is available at www.healthcareisahumanright.org

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 30 2010 ***
Contact: James Haslam (802)272-0882 james@workerscenter.org

Tea Party Legislator: Healthcare Campaign "Like A Tidal Wave"

Momentum that has built for the May 1st "Healthcare Is A Human Right" rally is felt all across Vermont, including by those who oppose making healthcare a human right for every Vermonter. In a message posted to the Vermont Tea Party's website, a frantic member of the Vermont House of Representatives called for help, saying "I feel like we are in a tidal wave, going for the third count" to describe the overwhelming support that universal healthcare legislation has received from Vermonters throughout the state.

The anonymous legislator sent the message to the relatively small Rutland-based group(1) shortly before the House passed - by a 91-42 margin - Senate bill S. 88, which calls for the implementation of a universal healthcare system in line with the human rights principles of universality, equitability and transparency. "This is the work of the Healthcare Is A Human Right Group (sic) ... to date I have received over two hundred e-mails to support S. 88 as passed from the senate", added the legislator, noting that the Senate has previously passed the bill by an even larger margin of 28 to 2 and that the emails "are signed from citizens all over the state."

Meanwhile, Rutland-area supporters of the campaign are gearing up for Saturday's noon rally with cars, vans and two charter buses transporting rally-goers from the parking lot of Grace Congregational Church to the Statehouse in Montpelier. They will join other Vermonters from all parts of the state in what is expected to be one of the biggest rallies in Vermont's history. An 11 am march will kick off the events, followed by a noon rally at the Statehouse lawn. US Senator Bernie Sanders will be speaking at this family-friendly event, which will also feature music, arts, puppet show and skits.

In addition to celebrating S. 88's passage the rally will also be a show of strength by the thousands of Vermonters who support making healthcare a human right that is available to all residents regardless of income or employment status. "We will be using this rally to show support for universal health care legislation", says Betty Keller, MD, a single-payer advocate and volunteer for the campaign. "We want to let the governor know we don’t want a veto, and to let legislators know we want them to override a veto if there is one."

A Friday message from the Vermont Workers' Center, which organized the rally, referred to the aforementioned legislator's desperate plea to the VT Tea Party and urged the rest of Vermont to "help us in continuing to build the tidal wave."

### END ###

(1) Complete text available at the Vermont Tea Party's website: http://www.vermontteaparty.com/Montpelier_G74X.html

For more information about Saturday's rally and the "Healthcare is A Human Right" campaign, please visit www.healthcareisahumanright.org

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - THURSDAY APRIL 29 2010***
Contact: James Haslam, (802) 272 0882, james@workerscenter.org

HUGE MAY DAY HEALTHCARE MARCH & RALLY TO BE HELD IN MONTPELIER
This May 1st at noon, thousands from all over the state will gather at the Statehouse lawn for biggest rally in Vermont's history

MONTPELIER - US Senator Bernie Sanders will join Vermonters from across the state on Saturday, May 1 at a huge "Healthcare Is A Human Right" march and noon rally at the Statehouse. The Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign was launched in 2008 by the Vermont Workers' Center to build a grassroots network across the state that's strong enough to change what's "politically possible" in healthcare reform.

Last year the Campaign held the first "Healthcare Is A Human Right Rally" at the Statehouse. With over twelve hundred people participating, it was the largest weekday rally in the state's history. Building on that momentum, the campaign held eleven People's Forums on the healthcare crisis around the state. Almost eighty state legislators attended the forums with over eight hundred participants testifying about the healthcare crisis. The forums laid out the practices and principles of healthcare as a human right: universal access and coverage, be comprehensive and affordable, be transparent in design, and must ensure public participation in the design, implementation, evaluation, and accountability.

These principles were included in S.88 "Healthy Vermont" Bill, a comprehensive healthcare bill that passed 28-2 on April 7th in the Vermont Senate and passed 92-41 on April 23rd by the House of Representatives. The bill calls for the hiring of consultants to design three health care models. One of these three must be a single payer system that is publicly financed and is completely decoupled from employment. All three of the models must meet the "Healthcare is a Human Right" principles outlined above. The designs also have to include implementation timelines beginning no later than July, 2012. The bill is being finalized by the Senate and the House in a conference. This year's May 1st rally will both be a celebration of the campaign's accomplishments and a show of strength by the thousands of Vermonters who support making healthcare a public good.

"The May 1st Rally is so important because we need to make sure we get the strongest version of this bill. A huge turnout for the May 1st rally helps push to strengthen the final version of the bill and make Governor Douglas think twice about vetoing the bill, said Faried Munarsyah, a campaign leader from Burlington. "Even if a veto does happen, thousands of Vermonters at the Statehouse this Saturday will help us push the Legislature to override his veto while also building momentum for the road ahead."

Busses, vans and carpools have been set up statewide for transportation to the rally. In addition to Senator Sanders, the celebration rally and march will include performers from Bread & Puppet, Sambatucada, a fife & drum marching band and other local musicians and artists. This family event will have a kids tent on site and sign language interpreters available.

The "Healthcare Is A Human Right" Campaign has local leaders and organizers spread throughout the state in every community and they are available for interviews by any news organization. More information is available at www.healthcareisahumanright.org

http://www.reformer.com/localeditorials/ci_14949758

Why the May 1 health care rally is critical for young Vermonters

By ANISA POTVIN

Saturday April 24, 2010

On May 1, there will be a "Health Care Is A Human Right" Rally at the Statehouse in Montpelier with U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders and Vermonters from all over the state.

I grew up in the small town of Stamford and I am graduating this in a few weeks from the University of Vermont. I joined with the Health Care is a Human Right Campaign because I believe it is critically important for Vermont to lead the country by establishing a real health system that is actually based on meeting the needs of Vermonters.

The health care system in this country simply cannot continue as it is because it is unsustainable. In this country we have the highest health care costs in the world, almost twice as much as all other industrial countries which have real universal health care.

Because Americans have to pay the highest out-of-pocket costs for health care of any nation, it means that millions of people refrain from seeking the care they need, when they need it, because they feel they cannot afford it.

We should be able to live without the fear of health insurance companies and hospitals knocking down our doors. Health care is something we all need; and I believe it is time we start looking at it like we do our local fire department. If someone in our community needs help, we need to join together and help that person or family. I remember when my grandparents' barn burned down, the whole town came out to watch it burn, but once the fire was out, they were there to raise that barn back up.

We need to get back to these basic Vermont community values. Vermont is my home and I hope to be able to afford to stay here. Over the years, I have heard lots of people talk about a problem Vermont has in losing its young people when they finish school. When we establish quality health care for all Vermonters, I can promise that many of graduates that are now leaving will then actually be able to afford to stay.

We will be able to stay and work for the many small growing companies that currently cannot afford to provide health care. I really believe we will find that in a short matter of time our communities and local economies will thrive.

I believe it comes down to making the commitment that we need to be there for each other. Let's stop letting something as important as health care be dependent on a whole slew of variables most people have no control of, like where you work and where your family works.

Let's join together and make sure that all of us can stay here and have a health care system that allows us to do so. This year Vermont is on the verge of passing a bill, S.88, which will put our state on that path.

We need to show Vermont lawmakers that we want to put an end to private insurance companies price-gouging their clients for plans that cover nothing. We want to put an end to all personal bankruptcies from medical debt and people becoming homeless because they get sick.

Please join me and thousands of other Vermonters for this historic rally, where we put Vermont in a position to lead the country to make healthcare for all a reality.

Anisa Potvin grew up in Stamford. To learn more about the Vermont Workers Center and the Health Care is a Human Right Campaign, visit workerscenter.org/may1 or call 802-861-4892.

Want to help promote May 1st on your Facebook page, website or blog? Here's some ways:

1. Download the "I'll be there May 1" image (right-click on the image or download below) and use it as your Facebook profile picture.
2. Put a link to our website on your blog, website, etc. using the following code
   <a href="http://workerscenter.org/may1"><img src="http://workerscenter.org/sites/default/files/ill_be_there_may1_0.jpg" width="200" height="200" alt="I'll Be There May 1" /></a>
3. Embed our Public Service Announcement Video on your blog using the following code:
   <embed src="http://blip.tv/play/g8M_gdf0aQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="362" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>

   or by sharing the following link on Facebook, etc.:

   http://blip.tv/file/3518174

4. Download the 60-second Willem Lange Public Service Announcement audio below (mp3 format) and post it to any blog such as Wordpress which has an audio plugin, play it on the radio, or put it on mix CDs for your friends.

• Image for Facebook profile (200x200) (30.15 KB)
• Willem Lange PSA (60 seconds) (917.23 KB)

The Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign is planning honk and waves at drive times (ex. 7:30 - 8:30am, 4:30 - 5:30pm) all across the state this week. Let us know if you can be a Honk & Wave Captain to organize people for one at a main intersection near you. Times and locations are listed below.

We have signs available, or you can make sign such as:

"Healthcare Is A Human Right"
"Honk For Healthcare"
"Be There May 1st at Statehouse"
"Vermont Must Lead The Way"

Bennington
Wednesday, April 28th
Noon
Intersection of Routes 9 and 7
Contact: Jake Williams, jake@workerscenter.org

Brattleboro
Wednesday, April 28th
5pm
Thursday, April 29th
5pm
Brattleboro Post Office, 1222 Putney Road
Contact: Jake Williams, jake@workerscenter.org

Burlington
Thursday, April 28th
4:30-5:30pm
Queen City Parkway on Route 7
Friday, April 29
7:00-8:15am
I-89 Overpass by the Sheraton
4:30-5:30pm
Staples Plaza
Contact: Bekah Mandell, bekah@workerscenter.org

Montpelier
Friday, April 30th
4:15pm
Intersection of Routes 2 and 12
Contact: Peg Franzen, peg@workerscenter.org

Newport
Thursday, April 29th
4:30pm
Meet at the State Offices parking lot in Newport.
Cindy will be wearing a red "Healthcare is a Human Right T-Shirt". Bring a sign if you can!
Contact: Cindy Perron, cindyperron@hotmail.com

Waterbury
4:15pm, Wednesday, April 28th
Intersection of Stowe Street and Route 2
Contact: Leslie Matthews, matthews@horttech.us

More information call 802-861-4892 or email kate @ workerscenter.org

Check out our new Public Service Announcement video, "Be There For May 1st". Watch the video below and share it with everyone you know.

http://blip.tv/file/3518174

If you can help getting our PSA on your local access TV or radio station, please email james@workerscenter.org.