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PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)
Fri Sep 13, 2013, 05:32 PM Sep 2013

Unions meet with Obama over health care concerns

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he hopes the White House will act within a week to address the growing concerns that labor unions have over the new health care law.

Trumka's comments came after a Friday afternoon meeting between President Barack Obama and labor officials at the White House. Trumka called the meeting a "problem-solving session" but declined to specify exactly what type of fixes were discussed.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_UNIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-13-17-17-15

27 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Unions meet with Obama over health care concerns (Original Post) PoliticAverse Sep 2013 OP
Thankful that they are at least meeting. SleeplessinSoCal Sep 2013 #1
Trumka for President, 2016 AnotherMcIntosh Sep 2013 #2
Here, here! OrwellwasRight Sep 2013 #11
must be nice, to be the 1% quadrature Sep 2013 #3
Funny. He is meeting with the President as the representative of each and every one of us jwirr Sep 2013 #4
what exactly is Mr.Trumka's complaint? quadrature Sep 2013 #5
Please see the following article... PoliticAverse Sep 2013 #7
It's the "Cadillac" plan issue starroute Sep 2013 #8
In particular, the members of the building trades will be screwed. OrwellwasRight Sep 2013 #13
'cadillac bennies', should pay quadrature Sep 2013 #15
Why? OrwellwasRight Sep 2013 #16
I know many working class folk, who take home 12k to quadrature Sep 2013 #17
So the right move is to make sure your working class acquaintances take home $25K Doctor_J Sep 2013 #18
Hear hear ... Trajan Sep 2013 #22
What does that even mean? OrwellwasRight Sep 2013 #25
I think that's a good summary of the issue. n/t PoliticAverse Sep 2013 #21
The union presidents represent their members NickB79 Sep 2013 #10
That poster seems to just be copying and pasting from Fox Nation Doctor_J Sep 2013 #19
Followup: White House: No subsidies for union health plans PoliticAverse Sep 2013 #6
I think the goal here is to further decimate unions Doctor_J Sep 2013 #12
Making it clear who wrote the law. OrwellwasRight Sep 2013 #14
For that to be true, Obama would have to be in league with the 1%. And that is ridiculous. Pterodactyl Sep 2013 #23
muahahahahahaha Doctor_J Sep 2013 #24
Wel, he is one of them, but he's working to bring them down FROM THE INSIDE! Pterodactyl Sep 2013 #27
Agree,this backs unions into a corner regarding insurance benefits lunasun Sep 2013 #26
Politico.com article on the issue... PoliticAverse Sep 2013 #9
all right unions! gopiscrap Sep 2013 #20

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
4. Funny. He is meeting with the President as the representative of each and every one of us
Fri Sep 13, 2013, 06:51 PM
Sep 2013

union members - past and present. And yes he may be one of the 1% himself but so was FDR and he did a great job for the people.

 

quadrature

(2,049 posts)
5. what exactly is Mr.Trumka's complaint?
Fri Sep 13, 2013, 07:39 PM
Sep 2013

the union doesn't like Obamacare.
OK, what exactly?
please be as specific as you can be.
thanks

OrwellwasRight

(5,170 posts)
13. In particular, the members of the building trades will be screwed.
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 06:38 PM
Sep 2013

They have multi-employer plans that work under the current system. Most construction companies are quite small, so most will be exempt from any employer responsibility requirements. It will lock in the cost advantage of non-union employers and incentivize even more union construction employers to try to bust their unions and quit paying into the multi-employer plans.

In addition, multi-employer plans are NOT the same as insurance companies, yet they are treated like insurance companies under the law because the law makes no provisions whatsoever for any kind of insurance plans except for public ones (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid) and private insurance companies (e.g., Aetna, Blue Cross). Since multi-employer plans are not either, they are being treated on a tax and regulatory basis the same as Aetna. This also disadvantages them and will help lead to their dismantling.

More collectively-bargained plans will fall under the "cadillac tax" even though the workers won't be able to afford to pay a 40% tax on their plans because they don't have "cadillac" incomes.

As for the remainder of the complaints, what you will have is a number of union employers who have low income employees (think justice for janitors campaign, some retail/food employees, some health aides, etc.) who managed to get decent healthcare by virture of being in a union and getting a collective bargaining agreement with decent, employer-provided healthcare. Many of these employers will do what Trader Joe's just did: dump health insurance for those of their employees who would be eligible for subsidies in the exchange, perhaps even giving them a cash allowance. In the end, these low-income workers will end up with more expensive, less comprehensive than that they had before with employer provided coverage (note: this is because the way these plans were designed, it is clear that the silver and bronze levels of coverage are WORSE -- meaning cover less for more money -- than most collectively bargained plans, and low inocme workers won't be able to afford gold level plans).

You can argue that this isn't true and that employers currently providing coverage do not have any more or less incentive to drop coverage than before the law. But that is the basic argument.

And I do think it is true that the law was written without collectively bargained plans in mind. It seemed to assume that all insurance was a "gift" from generous employers rather than negotiated by employers and their employees. It also seems likely that those who had been successful at negotiating good coverage will lose much of it as a result of the taxes and other financial incentives in the law.

 

quadrature

(2,049 posts)
15. 'cadillac bennies', should pay
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 06:45 PM
Sep 2013

that is what the law says, I don't see
what their income has to do with this.

on top of that, these people are a lot better off
than many people I know

OrwellwasRight

(5,170 posts)
16. Why?
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 07:03 PM
Sep 2013

Why should anybody pay a tax on what is a human right? Why should you or I pay a tax because our health coverage is more generous than bottom of the barrel coverage? We all deserve appropriate care -- and it is not our fault that health insurance companies charge a lot for it.

Their income has everything to do with it. If you can't afford to pay a 40% tax on your health insurance, then you have to drop the health insurance. Lawyers and doctors and CEOs can afford to pay the tax (or their employers will pay it for them), but steelworkers, carpenters, insulators, laborers, electricians and others do not. They have a good chance of ending up worse off under the law.

Yes, there are people who don't have adequate health coverage. The answer is not to impose financial incentives so that we all regress to the lowest coverage possible. the answer is to bring everyone up to the full coverage level.

Your argument sounds a lot like a right wing meme that tells us to be thankful for the minimal we get and to be jealous of workers who do make a decent living. their answer? Tear down unions and public sector pay so that we are all below where we should be. the progressive answer? Let's make sure we ALL have a decent life, with decent housing, good education, quality healthcare, opportunities for recreation. NO one deserves less.

Moreover, the President already made exceptions under the law for employers (no responsibility payments in 2014 as the law requires), so it isn't sacrosanct. There is no reason changes can't be made to help workers as well. "What the law says" is apparently a moving target. What do you think of a president who makes exceptions for employers and none for employees?

 

quadrature

(2,049 posts)
17. I know many working class folk, who take home 12k to
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 07:15 PM
Sep 2013

$15k per year.

people being discussed here are pumping
$10K (in benefits)plus per year in to the hands
of the 1 percenters.
driving up the cost for everyone.

 

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)
18. So the right move is to make sure your working class acquaintances take home $25K
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 08:05 PM
Sep 2013

not put the burden on other working stiffs. You seem to be speaking from the viewpoint of one of the robber barons

 

Trajan

(19,089 posts)
22. Hear hear ...
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 11:50 PM
Sep 2013

Not a big fan of this poster .... a hard, libertarian viewpoint that I find appalling in a progressive forum ...

OrwellwasRight

(5,170 posts)
25. What does that even mean?
Sun Sep 15, 2013, 04:31 PM
Sep 2013

That we should make some workers worse off so we can lower the mean? Why don't we make sure those who are the worst off do better instead of taking away from those who are able to bargain for better?

Your argument makes no sense. It's very Joe the Plumber.

NickB79

(19,233 posts)
10. The union presidents represent their members
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 05:13 PM
Sep 2013

I'm in the Teamster's Union, and my representatives were there to discuss this with the President. I and my coworkers are most assuredly not the 1%; we're lucky to be classified as solid middle class most days.

These men and women are doing good work trying to protect millions of hardworking Americans, and deserve praise, not scolding.

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)
6. Followup: White House: No subsidies for union health plans
Fri Sep 13, 2013, 09:29 PM
Sep 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Low-income workers on union health plans are not eligible for the same federal subsidies available to those who buy insurance in the new state health care marketplaces, the White House said Friday.

The decision is a disappointment for labor unions, coming shortly after top union officials met for more than an hour with President Barack Obama to press their case that subsidies could be extended to union-sponsored plans.

Labor leaders have complained for months that without the subsidies, the Affordable Care Act would drive up the cost of some union plans, leading employers to drop coverage and jeopardizing health coverage for millions of union members.

The White House cited a Treasury Department letter saying there is no legal way for union members in multiemployer group health plans to receive subsidies. In a statement, the White House said it would work with unions and encourage them to offer their multiemployer plans "through the marketplace, on an equal footing, to create new, high-quality, affordable options for all Americans."

Read the rest at: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/obama-meet-union-leaders-health-care

 

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)
12. I think the goal here is to further decimate unions
Sat Sep 14, 2013, 06:35 PM
Sep 2013

By making them exempt from the subsidies due to their membership, it may drive some of them out of the union. Pretty clever ploy by the 1%

Pterodactyl

(1,687 posts)
27. Wel, he is one of them, but he's working to bring them down FROM THE INSIDE!
Sun Sep 15, 2013, 08:24 PM
Sep 2013

Yeah, that's it. An infiltrator.

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
26. Agree,this backs unions into a corner regarding insurance benefits
Sun Sep 15, 2013, 04:46 PM
Sep 2013

but insurance companies are happy
so everything is A-OK

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