2-25-2005 Press Release:
From: The California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day (CCWMD)

Permit Secured for Statewide Rally of
Injured and Disabled Workers
On Thursday April 28, 2005 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
West Steps California State Capitol
Statewide Mobilization Now Going Forward

PERMITS HAVE NOW BEEN secured for the west steps of the State Capital for
the most important demonstration held of injured and disabled workers in the
history of California.  The rally will be held on the international day to
commemorate workers  injured and killed on the job and will include
representatives from many injured workers organizations, unions and
healthcare organizations from throughout California.

The rally will begin at 11:00 AM with music and statements from injured and
disabled workers about the collapse of the Workers' Comp system.
The new film by Christine Pietz "Almost Broken" www.almostbroken.com about
the 12 year struggle of injured worker Larry Nign and the cover-up by the
California State Fund is also being screened throughout the state with
testimonies of injured workers at the screenings. Please contact us to find
where the next screening will take place.

Under SB 899 passed last year, workers were limited to two years of
temporary disability, forced to go to company doctors and have  faced the
elimination of rehabilitation and retraining.

The deregulation bill has also led to an explosive rise of rejections by the
insurance industry of the health and compensation benefits to injured
workers and their families. This has already to led to a number of workers
committing suicide and the loss of homes, families and sanity.

It also comes as the government has now reported that the largest cause of
bankruptcy in the United States is due to healthcare costs. The rally will
also focus on the need to implement a single payer system in the California
that will eliminate the insurance companies in the use of healthcare in
California. The coalition believes that the present employment based
healthcare system is no longer a tolerable means of delivering healthcare to
the people of California.

The coalition was also recently successful in bringing the resignation of
the Dianne Oki, the president of the State Fund of California. Ms. Oki had
been charged with covering up the case of Larry Nign and other injured
workers whose medical claims have been rejected despite inconvertible
evidence that they were entitled to healthcare and compensation.

The deregulation of the industry is now leading to the elimination of any
checks and balances and the failure of the insurance industry to regulate
itself is now being exposed as a scandal as more and more cases come to the
fore.

For Further Information On The Rally:
Contact
In San Francisco California Coalition For Workers' Memorial Day
415-867-0628 www.workersmemorialday.com
California Injured Workers Coalition 415-928-9343
samg@injuredworkerscoalition.com.
In Los Angeles Christine Pietz  818-846-1632 cpietz@sbcglobal.net
Southbay The Chelsie Group 408-347-0331 billmeyer@chelsiegroup.org
Northbay Area Contact  707-332-9675 fightN4yourlife@aol.com
Sacramento Area Contact Dina Padilla 916-725-2673 blndi26@cs.com
Chico Area 530-345-4354 wallyballin@bcglobal.net
Santa Cruz/Monterey Area unmaid@pacific.net

Funds are also urgently  needed please send checks to
California Coalition For Workers' Memorial Day
P.O. Box 720027
San Francisco 94172

Endorsers As Of 2/25/2005
This rally is endorsed by: San Francisco Labor Council, North Bay Labor 
Council, South Bay Labor Council, California Injured Workers Coalition,
Inc., UTLA-AFT1021, IUOE Local 39 Stationary Engineers, UAPD/AFSCME, NALC
214, CWA local 9423,CWA 9410, KPFA Labor Collective, The Chelsie Group,
Labor Action Coalition (LAC), Million Worker March Committee, Labor Video
Project, FACE Intel, Dr. June Fisher, Dr. Larry Rose, Victims of UPS/Red
Thursday Committee, Pushing Limits (KPFA's radio show on disabled), Jerome
Otis; Pres. N. Cal Chapter Teamsters National Black Caucus, Mary Ann Ring;
V. P. N. Cal. CUE, Ray Quan; V.P. SEIU790 BART Chapt.ATU1555, Healthcare For
All, SEIU535 Workers With Disabilities Caucus, Butte County Health Care
Coalition, UA Plumber Local 393, Santa Cruz WILPF, Sign & Display Local
Union 510, Independent Living Resouce Center San Francisco, Bricklayers and
Allied Trades Local 3, SEIU 790.