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. 

More about this issue:

Dec 1, 2023 | News Story

American Federation of Musicians Local 802 and the New York City Ballet have jointly announced a successful resolution to negotiations, resulting in a three-year contract for orchestra members.

Dec 1, 2023 | News Story

After over a full year at the bargaining table, Sinai has stalled and refused to provide information necessary to move the bargaining process forward.

Dec 1, 2023 | News Story

The holiday season is here! And for many that means gift-giving. Each dollar that you spend this holiday season is a vote for America’s future. A dollar spent on ethical brands producing union-made products means a brighter future for our economy and its workers.

Dec 2

Make plans now to attend the biggest CUNY-wide contract campaign action of the Fall: Sing Out, Shout Out for #APeoplesCUNY, a resounding call for a better CUNY.

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

Starbucks workers from nine stores in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties, struck alongside thousands of workers nationwide on November 15 and 16, in a coast-to-coast “Red Cup Rebellion,” demanding the coffee giant stop illegally refusing to barga

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday signed the Clean Slate Act, which seals certain criminal records and allows individuals to seek employment, housing, and educational opportunities so they can improve their lives.

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

Hex & Co workers made history this week, becoming the first unionized tabletop board game cafe company in NYC to win a union, in a landslide election victory (50-16).

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

Unionized editorial workers at Law360 have had enough with the company’s nearly year-long delays on contract talks and held in-person (outside LexisNexis’ offices at 230 Park Ave) and remote lunch-time rallies Wednesday.

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

Management at Pushkin Industries, the popular podcast production company co-founded by Jacob Weisberg and Malcolm Gladwell, has voluntarily recognized the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) as the collective bargaining representatives of the staff’s producers, editors, and engineers.

Nov 17, 2023 | News Story

The ballots have been counted and the UAW has announced that Weill Cornell Medicine postdocs have voted by an overwhelming 98.8% to form their union, Weill Cornell Medicine Postdocs United-UAW!