More from the Health Care Town Hall Meetings
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Yesterday, members of Congress met in town hall sessions with constituents who were on Capitol Hill to rally and demand health care reform. Here are a few reports that came in after the meetings.
At the Health Care Providers Town Hall
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean got a zinger in at opponents who are claiming a public health care option plan would lead to “socialized medicine.”
You know who has socialized medicine in this country? Everyone over 65 and everybody in Congress.
Congress Hears Demands for Health Care Reform in Town Hall Meetings
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| Sen. Arlen Specter says health care is a right. |
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| “Nothing is more important to me than ensuring that President Obama passes health care reform.” |
Members of Congress met in town hall sessions Thursday with constituents who were on Capitol Hill to rally and demand health care reform. Read dispatches from some of the meetings.
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Ohio Weighs In
After the rally, more than 250 activists from Ohio met at the Columbus Club at Union Station to plan for an afternoon of lobbying and hear from members of Congress about health care reform.
The session was introduced by Tim Burga of the Ohio AFL-CIO, who decried the “free market run amok” in the current health care system and affirmed that we must have a serious public health insurance option.
He introduced Hattie Wilkins, who made one of the most moving speeches of the event. Her situation illustrates the deep problems working families have with the way the current system operates. Hattie is a member of the United Steelworkers (USW) union who worked for 35 years for Brentwood Originals, a pillow factory in Youngstown, Ohio. The USW struck Brentwood Originals in 2008, and more than three-quarters of the workforce has been laid off. She was fired because of her strong support for the union, Hattie said. She has been collecting $887 a month in unemployment since then. She has COBRA coverage, and now pays $275 per month—31 percent of earnings from unemployment—for her health insurance. She pays another $450 per month for her mortgage payment, leaving her only $162 each month for food, utilities, transportation and all her other expenses. Now her unemployment payments are ending and she doesn’t know what she is going to do.
At 58 years of age, Hattie is searching for another job at places like McDonald’s but has to compete with applicants much younger than she is. She gave us her cell phone number, though she wasn’t sure how much longer she would have it. Hattie came to Washington, D.C., to participate in the rally and make sure her elected representatives heard her voice on this critical issue.
The Latest on Pennsylvania Town Hall
Sen. Specter has arrived, and compliments the crowd on its tenacity and commitment. Specter says he agrees that health care is a right and believes health care legislation will pass and will include a public option component. Of course, in a room full of union members, the Employee Free Choice Act came up. Specter says he is working hard to find an answer for early union certification and gaining first contracts.
Pennsylvania Update
The folks at Capitol City Brewing Co. are waiting for Sen. Arlen Specter to arrive. We hear reports he’s been at the White House.
Live Coverage of Today’s Health Care Reform Rally
Seth Michaels is posting live from the massive health care reform rally and lobby day.
Today in Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill, thousands of union members, community activists and health care advocates are coming together to demand quality health care for everyone.
To find out more about why America needs health care reform now, read the results of the 2009 Health Care for America Survey.
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Thousands Rally, Say We Can’t Wait for Health Care Reform
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Coming from unions, community organizations and all walks of life, nearly 10,000 supporters of health care reform gathered on Capitol Hill today to send a strong message: We demand affordable, high-quality health care for all, and we aren’t waiting any longer.
Every corner of the Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill was filled this afternoon with union members, health care advocates and community activists from scross the country, and they heard from not only members of Congress and union leaders, but also from nurses, small business owners, workers and parents who told compelling stories about why we need health care reform.
CWA Delegates Back Employee Free Choice, Health Care and Unity
More than 2,500 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) delivered a message to their representatives on Capitol Hill yesterday: It’s time to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and real health care reform.
The Capitol Hill lobby day is part of the union’s four-day convention in Washington, D.C., which ends today. Delegates will go back to the Capitol today to join thousands of workers in the mass rally in support of health care reform.
Today’s the Day to Make Your Voice Heard on Health Care
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Thousands of union members, community activists and health care advocates from across the country will converge on Capitol Hill today to demand that Congress pass health care reform legislation that provides quality health care for all.
Today’s rally and lobby day sponsored by Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) is expected to be the largest-ever health care reform rally. It’s taking place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Upper Senate Park.
The rally will provide a much-needed voice on Capitol Hill for millions of families that are uninsured, under-insured and fed up with being at the mercy of insurance companies. Participants will call for real change in health care, including a public health insurance option for workers and families who either have private insurance or no coverage at all.
House Health Care Reform Plan a ‘Crucial Roadmap’
With thousands of union, health care and community activists set to descend on Capitol Hill tomorrow in what could be the largest ever rally for health care reform, the AFL-CIO is telling House committees this week that comprehensive reform must lower costs, improve quality and cover everyone.
Last week, House Democrats introduced a health care reform plan that AFL-CIO President John Sweeney calls:
a crucial roadmap for what health care reform should look like. Working families are desperate for an American solution that encourages choice, competition and opportunity for all Americans to choose the health care that works for them.
This week, the three House committees that developed the health care reform roadmap—Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means—are holding a series of hearings on the plan. In testimony for all three panels, Gerald Shea, AFL-CIO assistant to the president, says reform must build upon what works.
Catholic Bishops, Health Providers, Unions Cooperate to Support Workers’ Rights
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced a new step forward for workers at Catholic health facilities: a set of principles to ensure that workers have a fair process to bargain for a better life.
In “Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions,” the USCCB, in cooperation with Catholic health care providers and the union movement, has laid out guidelines for Catholic health care ministries across the country.
These guidelines, and the process that produced them, are an encouraging model of cooperation and collaboration in protecting workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain.
STEELING a Union’s ID
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has been called a lot of names. Here’s another one for him: cheater.
It’s not surprising Steele and the Republicans are embarrassed about their party. But Steele has hit a new low (insert Munch’s “Scream” here): He’s set up an RNC fundraising page on Facebook made to look like it’s the United Steelworkers union.
The “United STEELE Workers Union” page even features a hard hat with an American flag sticker front and center.
Just curious, Michael: Doesn’t a white hard hat clash with your designer suits?
Seniors Honor Kourpias, Set to Carry on Fight for Health Care
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Even though his title may have changed, George Kourpias is still as active as ever in the fight for the rights of America’s workers. Kourpias, who retired as president of the Alliance for Retired Americans in February, was honored last night at the organization’s national legislative conference.
Kourpias, the former president of the Machinists (IAM), was the first president of the Alliance. During his tenure, the Alliance grew to 3.5 million members and built a strong grassroots political force that played a key role in the 2006 and 2008 elections. This week, the retirees displayed their political energy by lobbying on Capitol Hill for affordable health care for everyone.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka praised Kourpias as
a man who every day of his life…has been devoted to combating the forces of greed and privatization that threaten the dignity of those who work for their daily bread.
Believe me, anybody who has ever confronted him on an issue of principle—whether corporate executive, congressman or senator—has come away knowing that George Kourpias is a man of towering convictions.
