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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The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) will file an application with the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that conducts union representation elections in the airline and railroad sectors.
After a year of legal delays, Stagehands at Little Island voted “Yes” for a union with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local One. The vote was unanimous in favor of representation by Local One.
Workers at a Trader Joe’s in Williamsburg have filed for union representation, aiming to join Trader Joe's United, a newly formed independent union that won elections at Trader Joe’s stores in Massachusetts and Minnesota over the summer.
Two VITAL Climbing Gyms in New York City have filed this week to unionize with Climbers United. If they win their election, they’ll form the 2nd & 3rd unionized rock gyms in the U.S. Movement Climbing outside of D.C. won a union earlier this year.
The staff of Brooklyn Museum, working across many departments and in many classifications, have dedicated years to their professions and care deeply about the Museum's collections and visitors. These workers voted to unionize last year, to establish a democratic voice at the museum they love.
Members of UAW 2325 this week rallied at two of the local's units where workers are fighting for fair and equitable contracts.
Our 2022 Labor Day Parade highlights video is here! Check out all your favorite unions and union members below!
Union members from Communications Workers of America Local 1101 rallied with supporters outside Con Edison headquarters near Union Square Wednesday as the energy giant is reportedly planning to drop a union contract in favor of cheaper labor.
The AFL-CIO is partnering with the Permission to Dream program, created by the Chris Gardner Foundation, to put students on the path to good careers through the security of a union job.