Today’s Health Care News
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Here’s the latest news from the battle for health care reform:
• While much of the media focuses on the Senate, the House bill is expected to be released tomorrow, with a vote coming soon. Call your members of Congress and ask them to support real reform.
• In the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson writes that a health care excise tax could hurt middle-class families because companies
have the power to impose health care costs and cutbacks on workers, who have little or no power to resist. if employers opt for cheaper policies to avoid the excise taxes on more expensive plans, their savings may not be passed on to workers as higher wages but simply kept by the employers. Out-of-pocket health costs for workers would rise, but into-pocket wage increases to cover those costs might not be forthcoming.
The senators’ version of health care finance assumes that workers will pocket the benefits of a cost-conscious system. The senators assume wrong.
Jobless Workers Can’t Feed Their Families While States Sit on $3 Billion in UI Funds
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With unemployment at its highest levels in decades, it’s unbelievable that some $3.1 billion in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits included in the federal economic recovery package is not being spent because 23 states have not yet revised state rules covering jobless benefits.
Today’s USA TODAY reports that nearly 350,000 out-of-work Americans could get benefits if all those states revamp their unemployment systems to qualify for money that is included in the federal stimulus package.
In 11 of the states, Republican governors or legislatures have refused to modify the rules governing unemployment insurance to qualify for about $1.7 billion in stimulus funds. The other 12 states have made only some of the changes, not applied for the funds or not taken legislative votes on the changes. Although the states have until 2011 to change the laws, the reality is that many states need the money now and the workers really need it now.
Business Owners, Elected Leaders Support Employee Free Choice
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Over the past week, union members have made more than 4,000 calls and sent more than 8,000 letters to members of Congress urging them to support the Employee Free Choice Act to protect workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain.
Meanwhile, more and more small business owners, community members and lawmakers are indicating their support for the proposed legislation, which would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.
Events with entrepreneurs and business owners are taking place around the country as hundreds of business leaders are coming out in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. One such business leader is Ray Kohl, owner of Goldenrod Printing in Lincoln, Neb.
The Employee Free Choice Act is important to me because I think employees need some control over their working environment. I think it’s really important that they have a say in their conditions that they work under, the benefits and pay that they receive for their work.
IAM, ALPA, AFA-CWA and TNG-CWA Workers Reach Tentative Contracts—and More Bargaining News
Customer service workers, flight attendants, pilots and telecom workers gain tentative contracts—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
IBEW, WTMJ-TV: Camera and media tech workers, represented by the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 715, picketed outside of WTMJ-TV studios in Milwaukee as talk show host Conan O’Brien visited the NBC affiliate on his nationwide promotional tour. The local is in the process of negotiating a new contract.
Employee Free Choice Action Heats Up in the Grassroots
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John Martel, the president of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 740, is a Maine firefighter and one of the many union members around the country fully engaged in the grassroots fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and restore the freedom to form unions and bargain.
Martel took time to make the case for the Employee Free Choice Act by writing to his members of Congress and asking for quick passage. As Martel says:
It is important that we let our legislators know that the Employee Free Choice Act is something that we need to have as workers….We need to take action and level the playing field once and for all.
By writing to our legislators we can let them know that the ability to form and join a union is a right that should be guaranteed to all workers. As union members in Maine, we must take on the challenge of making sure all our fellow workers are able to enjoy the benefits of having a union.
SMWIA Member Gets Missouri Labor Post; N.Y. State AFL-CIO Endorses Candidate with Union Background
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Carla Buschjost, a member of Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) Local 36, in St. Louis, is the new director of the Division of Labor Standards in the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR). Meanwhile in New York, Scott Murphy, a candidate in the special election for the 20th Congressional District seat, won the backing of the New York State AFL-CIO this weekend. Murphy is the son of a postal worker and a teacher.
Appointed late last month, Buschjost will oversee the division’s worker safety sections as well as the state’s child labor and prevailing wage laws. Says Buschjost:
I am passionate about stronger enforcement of laws that create stronger and safer workplaces.
Screen Actors Postpone Strike Vote, and More Bargaining News
The Screen Actors (SAG) announced it would delay sending out strike authorization ballots until Jan. 14 at the earliest—and more news here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND ACTIONS
SAG, Studios: The Screen Actors (SAG) announced it would delay sending out strike authorization ballots until Jan. 14 at the earliest. The union initially planned to send strike authorization ballots to more than 100,000 union members on Jan. 2, a date that would have put Oscar night within reach of a potential boycott.
