Even before Friday's marking of the 26th anniversary of the March on Washington, I've been wondering where the hell has the Health Care March on Washington has been, why the NAACP, the AARP, the unions, etc., haven't gotten into the health care fight and decided to march to the steps of the Capitol.
Well, I'm still not getting that march. However, the unions are finally getting involved. According to The Huffington Post, AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka (who, incidentally, campaigned heavily for Obama), has thrown down the gauntlet. Basically, he's telling these Blue Ball Democrats that, if they don't vote for the public option, they won't be getting his union's support come next year.
Rock on, Brother!!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Just Look for the Union Label
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2 comments:
Maybe 1199SEIU and others are afraid reform will kill jobs. Not sure why it would, but otherwise why wouldn't the hospital and nursing home workers be pushing for change? I would guess that many nursing home employees would actually benefit from access to a public insurance plan, since they make close to minimum wage.
I don't know, Paula. I think maybe a bunch of the union heads are apprehensive because they fight for employee health benefits, and, if the public option's pushed through, they'll have to think of something else to fight for. Much like, I think, a lot of employers don't want the public option because they'll have to think of other benefits to give their employees.
In case of the latter, I simply don't understand why they wouldn't push for a public plan because giving someone a few extra vacation days has got to be cheaper than paying for their health care.
As far as the unions go (if I'm right in my guess), they need to stop thinking about their own, petty interests and start thinking of the greater good. I'm glad that Trumka, at least, is doing so.
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