SEIU 1199

Here's video Azi shot of Representative Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate, speaking at a rally for 1199, one of the most powerful unions in the state.

"I want to be as comfortable as I can," Weiner said, taking the stage, pulling a union t-shirt from his back pocket, and putting it on.

"You can either be on the 1199 bandwagon, or under the 1199 bandwagon," he told the crowd.

Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn, Weiner's main rivals in the mayoral race, also spoke at the Madison Square Garden event.

UPDATE: More from Azi:

In addition to the three likely mayoral candidates, the event drew Senator Chuck Schumer, Al Sharpton and Governor David Paterson, whose unannounced visit surprised organizers.  read more »

In case there was any doubt about which Democrat has the might of the establishment behind him in the 13th Congressional district primary, City Councilman Mike McMahon just announced that he was endorsed by SEIU 1199. According to the campaign, there are 92,000 labor households in the district. [corrected]

Meanwhile, McMahon's opponent, Steve Harrison, unveiled a series of new slogans and signs.

“The old style signs eventually blend in with scenery,” Harrison said in a public statement.

 

SEIU Local 1199 has endorsed City Council candidate Elizabeth Crowley, one of the Democrats running in the special election to fill Dennis Gallagher's seat.

The union is hugely powerful politically, particularly in special elections. So this is fairly big, if not all that surprising.  read more »

 

Tomorrow, Al Sharpton and others will meet at SEIU local 1199’s headquarters to plan citywide protests in light of the Sean Bell verdict, which seems to put the city’s most powerful union right at his corner.  read more »

A reader passed along this email they say is from an SEIU Local 1199 operative asking if anyone wants to travel to Wisconsin to campaign for Barack Obama, starting tomorrow and going through Wednesday.

In the subject line it says “air, car, accomodations [sic] included”. The email goes on to say, “SEIU just officially endorsed and this request just came at us.”  read more »

Andrew Cuomo announced he’s conducting a major investigation of the healthcare industry that could explain why healthcare costs are so expensive.

According to Cuomo’s office, insurers have low-balled the cost of medical treatment, pushing off a majority of the expenses to customers. The companies being investigated include UnitedHealth Group, Ingenix and others.

Here’s an example of how the scheme worked, according to a public statement from Cuomo’s office:

United insurers knew most simple doctor visits cost $200, but claimed to  read more »

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