Health Care
Health care is a basic human right. America’s labor movement has worked for more than a century for guaranteed high-quality health care for everyone. The Affordable Care Act is a historic milestone on this journey, but we still have a long way to go.
America must continue moving forward toward a more equitable and cost-effective health care system. Moving forward means working with employers to demand health care payment and delivery reforms to control costs, allowing people of all ages to buy into the equivalent of Medicare through a public plan option and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Of course, the most cost-effective and equitable way to provide quality health care is through the social insurance model (“Medicare for All”), as other industrialized countries have shown.
The worst thing we could do is move backward by repealing the Affordable Care Act or its key provisions; privatizing Medicare or turning it into a voucher program; raising the Medicare eligibility age; increasing Medicare co-pays and deductibles or otherwise cutting Medicare benefits; or taxing employment-based health care benefits.
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This week the National Writers’ Union, UAW Local 1981 (NWU), announced a settlemen
New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez stated, “We applaud NY State Attorney General Schneiderman in leading this multi-state coalition, and for his steadfast support for workers across our state and country.
Workers at Hunt’s Point Market have ratified a new three-year agreement that includes substantial pay raises and funding for the workers’ health and pension plans. The agreement was reached after workers had voted to authorize a strike if the Tuesday deadline was not met.
This week, the Writers Guild of America, East announced digital media company Vox Media had voluntarily recognized the Vox Union as the representative for collective bargaining for around 400 creative professionals.
Dr. James Melius, an expert on workplace medicine and fierce advocate for worker health, has died at age 69. Dr. Melius worked for the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health as well as the New York State Laborers’ in his long career as an advocate.
As 2017 comes to a close, it is important to look back on all that labor has accomplished this year.
After roughly a year of bargaining, CWA announced this week that it has reached a tentative agreement for 21,000 members covered by the Orange contract at AT&T Mobility.
On Monday, December 12th, dozens of Maimonides workers and their supporters held an informational picket protesting management’s decision to lay-off 117 workers represented by 1199SEIU.