News

When the World Health Organization on April 23 added Toronto to its list of cities travelers should avoid because of the SARS epidemic, CWA Local 1168 in Buffalo, N.Y., and District 1 health and safety activists scrambled to protect patients, health care workers and the community.

How bad is the financial situation for states, cities and school districts? Here's a snapshot of some of the major rollbacks and quality-of-life consequences:

In Texas, 250,000 poor children have been cut off from the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The sinking economy is squeezing the life out of state budgets. The table below shows the projected shortfall for10 states and the additional yearly loss in revenue under the Bush tax cut plan. Reports on every state are available online at www.ourfuture.org.

School districts are cutting weeks of classes. Cities are laying off police officers, closing fire stations and squeezing public services to their bare bones.

Nearly 150 Local 2004 members and their supporters rallied outside the Adelphia cable office in Morgantown, W.Va., May 22, on the second day of a strike there by 42 workers, reported District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci.