Nation's Largest Union (AFL-CIO) : Change Health Care Bill Or Else

[Techn0Girl]

Source: Huffington Post

The nation's largest union group said Thursday that it will not support the Democratic health-care bill unless "substantial changes" are made to the current Senate version. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement to reporters that without a public option for insurance coverage or an employer mandate - and with a tax on high-end insurance plans that some union members get - the health care legislation supported by Senate Democrats falls far short of meeting his group's standards.

"For this health care bill to be worthy of the support of working men and women, substantial changes must be made," said Trumka. "The AFL-CIO intends to fight on behalf of all working families to make those changes and win health care reform that is deserving of the name."
...

"President Obama must remember his own words from the campaign. His call of 'Yes We Can' was not just to us, not just to the millions of people who voted for him, but to himself. We all stood shoulder to shoulder with the President during his hard fought campaign. And, we will continue to stand with him but he must fight for the reform we all know is possible," Stern wrote.

"Our challenge to you, to the President, to the Senate and to the House of Representatives is to fight," Stern continued. "Now, more than ever, all of us must stand up, remember what health insurance reform is all about, and fight like hell to deliver real and meaningful reform to the American people."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/seiu-urges-changes-in-sen_n_395411.html

[FiveGoodMen]

1. I hope they've got a good OrElse up their sleeve

We sure need it.

[Born Free]

7. Don't know about the union leaders,

but many fellow union members I know are mad enough to refuse to offer any assistance
to help the current bunch of elected democrats get re-elected. I get stuff in the mail all the time,
and it goes into the trash -they get NOTHING from me until I see some results. They sold us out on the
Union Check Off and promised us they would get heath care reform right and rather than stand up to
the right wingers they compromised everything away. Nope, nothing from me until I see some results and
I do not consider "lip service" results. Lets see how well these elected democrats do next election when
the union members stay home. I know some are already crying that we can't do that because the
republicans will take control - I say if both parties do the same thing it makes no difference who gets elected.

This all has me very angry...but at least I did not suggest leaving the party like a coworker did. he is really furious,
even gets mad at me these days - everything we did and they betrayed us - NO - they betrayed the American
people! Americans were depending on them, and they sold us out rather than stand up to the right wingers and
insurance companies.

I think the union leadership could find themselves in trouble as well if they support these
democrats any longer.

[Indenturedebtor]

21. Unfortunately there aren't really any unions for IT workers

But you better believe that if they pass this pile of garbage I will stay home in 2012. I've watched a lot of ugly and still voted, but this is where my line is drawn. The Medicare expansion was a pile of crap too... this whole thing has gone from bad to worse to worse to worse to worse.

[marasinghe]

22. you're absolutely right. and my opinion is that - your many = the majority of union members & labor

decent people throughout this country, went out of their way and helped & voted, obama & this current bunch of white-house & congressional whores into power - because it was the right & honorable thing to do.

in return, we have been betrayed on almost every campaign promise - in a material sense. anything done beyond mere words & propaganda, has not been for our benefit; it has been for the elite.

some deluded progressives still keep mumbling the mantra of: "... what about the good things they've done ...". i can't think of one concrete thing done to help labor, the middle-class, or the poor. not to mention the fucking arrogant condescension they display in speaking of us & our concerns.

and now, the one thing they could have done right, with the minimum of hassle - health-care reform - has been a swindle from the start; right from the beginning, when the white house declined to give single-payer advocates equal time at the hcr discussions.

as far as liberals, labor & the left are concerned, this should be and, i hope, will be, the point of no return for the democrats: sell us out on hcr & you can go fuck yourselves, with your fellow republican whores, lobbyist pimps & corporate johns.

[damntexdem]

12. The WH knows the 'or else.' The question is whether they care.

Kill the bill!

[treestar]

2. Or else what?

[Techn0Girl]

4. I'm guessing "Or Else you'll be on your own in 2012"

First the SEIU this morning and now the AFL-CIO have come out against this stinker of a bill.

The Democratic Party and Obama are rapidly alienating their user base - unless they have a plan to allow Corporations to vote in '10 and '12 it's not looking good right now.

[No Elephants]

8. Or else the AFL-CIO will not support it and will encourage working men and women not to support it.

[truedelphi]

3. Health care Reform must be about Health, and about Care, and

About Reform. (As Olbermann so eloquently pointed out.)

Otherwise it is just more of our money in the useless, parasitic insurance exec and lobbyists' coffers.

[xultar]

5. THIS SHIT IS GETTIN GOOHD!!

[tomm2thumbs]

6. 'or else' might be making sure this is a progressive Democrat Party again

even if you have to change the stationery to do it

[Demeter]

9. Next Stop--General Strike

I'm in. Anybody else?

[bc3000]

11. Sure, I'm in

I could use a few days off.

[StreetKnowledge]

29. I'll pop over the border to my friends in Buffalo in the event of such a strike.

With lots of food and signs for them. Better than nothing, I suppose.

[Goldstein1984]

10. Trumka only plays hardball

I would expect that Obama will be without AFL-CIO support in 2012.

[jwirr]

13. This is good. President Obama has let many of the wishes of the

unions fall by the roadside also. We will remember.

[Jefferson23]

14. Excellent, FIGHT BACK, thank you all! n/t

[mvd]

15. I really don't want the Repukes to get a victory

And don't want to kill the bill until we get a chance to make it better. But the bill does not provide competition or a mechanism to keep prices down. Regrettably, I have to agree with the AFL-CIO in not wanting the bill passed as currently constructed.

[eridani]

27. The Repukes win if the bill PASSES n/t

[kirby]

16. "Or Else" == empty threats n/t

[fascisthunter]

17. well, we'll see about that

I'm sure Obama's people are trying to convince him of very same thing, that is is a bluff. But what if he is terribly wrong... he already lost his base. Listening to the folks around him isn't working out to well for him.

[Sherman A1]

19. this is one union member who

might just skip that top box and several others at the 2012 election if this thing isn't changed and I will probably encourage a few others as well.

We might get a Republican in 2012, but at least I would know that they wouldn't care a bit about me.

[ShamelessHussy]

23. I believe that the Unions have a couple of ways to fight back

loss of support and the nuke, a STRIKE.

it's often worked in the past, i guess we will have to see what happens.

[Hardrada]

26. President Palin & VP Jeb Bush

[Iowa]

18. This is great!

Obama is trying desperately to convince the country to buy into this corporate-written piece-of-shit bill, but his con-job appears to be failing. The country is finally beginning to see him for the corporate stooge that he is. Thanks to Dr. Dean, thanks to organized labor, thanks to Keith Olbermann, thanks to Alan Grayson...

Unfortunately, Obama seems to be a one-trick-pony. All he knows how to do is appeasement, so he probably has no clue what to do next. He'll probably just sit on the sidelines, completely paralyzed, and let any remaining opportunity for genuine reform slip away. But even that is better than the shit sandwich he and his corporate pals were planning to feed us.

[Omaha Steve]

20. The AFL-CIO has already said NO $ if your not with us on this

Need I say more?

K&R for the AFL-CIO. And yes my union, AFSCME is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

OS

[Ildem09]

24. Don't piss off labor

Labor was what pushed Obama over the top in several districts and some states. First Rahm had us push EFCA back for HCR on the promise of real reform now we have this shit nugget. Don't Mess with Trumpka or Stern.. SEIU and AFSCME spent millions of dollars almost rivaling that of the insurance companies spent. those millions came from the pay of the working women and men of this country.

[New Dawn]

25. How about this: Remove the fascist "Individual Mandate" from the legislation.

[Vidar]

28. K&R.