Do Unions Still Shape the Healthcare Debate?

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What you do on your blog is really great but more frequent updates, please.

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lemyaskin of NM 9:48PM September 22, 2009

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Yyifsxkd of NJ 6:13PM July 15, 2009

2/ 19 What are your takes on the City of Brockton's Mayor tryin to get the City Council and State Legislature to allow him to decide how muchunion members pay for healthcare and the benifit plans they recive. Both of these items have ben bargined. This is happening now so I would love some guidance.

Shiela Lemming of MA 12:25AM February 20, 2009

Nice Post. Thanks for sharing this information with us.

SEO Services of 4:44AM October 15, 2008

Unions need to stage a resurgence and we need a universal health care system. And rest assured that after so many years of abuse, neglect, terror, wage slavery that is the system of our companies now in the third world there will eventually be unions there too.

Watercloset of VT 11:38PM April 04, 2008

unions lost remember free trade agreement. dont think you will hear about a union in CHINA. The work force in OHIO an MICH, is getting smaller every year since BILL CLINTON signed into law free trade an nafta. now some unions want to give the clinton family a second chance. get real fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on the UNION FLUNKIES.

upsetamerican of OH 5:17PM April 03, 2008

I'm suprised there is no mettion of the unionized health care workers earning in excess of $100K per year who are striking to make sure only RN rather than LVN are available for staffing during breaks (Sutter Health). Also, health care unions pushed a California law that pushed staff to patient ratios to be the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that insured there would be more staff positions to fill than there were qualified people to fill them. The law has not improved care but is has increased costs. I don't blame the unions for getting as much as they can from the system, I blame the payment system that never asks are we paying a reasonable price for what we get, rather it just ask where can we get more money to throw at this problem. Maybe people are not just saying health care is too expensive or that things are not covered that should be, mayber they are saying they are getting very little value for what they and their employers are paying.

Sean Wise of MD 11:14PM March 27, 2008

Along with our brothers and sisters in the SEIU, the Teamsters also broke with the AFL . Our contract states that our company pays 100% for our health care plan (Blue Cross Blue Shield) with $10 copay for office visits and $5 copay for meds - if that makes us pariahs, then perhaps YOU need a better Union!
Frederick Wahl
IBT Local No. 986

Frederick Wahl of CA 9:06PM March 27, 2008

Labor is driving the healthcare reform movement by sponsoring the bills for single-payer healthcare--you know, the system that actually works in every other industrialized democracy?
One of the results of SEIU leaving the AFL is that their influence within the labor movement is greatly weakened; it's fair to say they are pariahs. The upshot has been a more effective and progressive AFL that is able to make waves with their support of single-payer healthcare and other important proposals.
And don't read too much into SEIU's capitulation to corporations like Wal-Mart. Most other labor unions continue the tradition of standing up to them, which is a major reason for the resurgence in overall unionization rates.

Perfecta Jimenez, RN of MA 3:56PM March 27, 2008