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:

Mar 8, 2019 | News Story

The votes are in—Registered Nurses at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore, Mt. Sinai, Mt. Sinai West, and St. Luke's have voted by 97% (8533-230) to authorize a strike. Between these hospitals, NYSNA represents more than 10,000 nurses whose contract expired in December of 2018.

Mar 8, 2019 | News Story

The 169-member editorial staff at Gizmodo Media Group has unanimously ratified its second collective bargaining agreement with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).

Mar 15, 2019 | News Story

In a first for the podcasting industry, the 83-person staff of Gimlet Media, a podcasting startup acquired by music streaming service Spotify for $230 million in February, is unionizing with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).

Mar 15, 2019 | News Story

In response to Federal tax cuts for the wealthy, which have resulted in a proposed $550 million ($1.1 billion with Federal matching funds) cut in State healthcare funding,

Feb 14, 2019 | Press Release

New York, NY - It’s unfortunate that Amazon has chosen to walk away from LIC HQ2, prematurely ending discussions that could have resulted in a mutually beneficial economic development model that respects all workers.

Jan 30, 2019 | Press Release

New York, NY - "At today’s City Council hearing, executives from Amazon reaffirmed what we’ve known for a long time: one of the world’s wealthiest corporations remains vehemently anti-worker, publicly acknowledging that they oppose the organizing rights of their New York City wor

Jan 18, 2019 | News Story

Slate’s 51-member editorial and podcast staff this week ratified its first collective bargaining agreement with the Writers Guild of America, East.

Jan 18, 2019 | News Story

UFCW Local 1500 members have produced a new video welcoming brothers and sisters from King Kullen stores (recently acquired by Stop & Shop) into the Local 1500 union family, and making sure they know that are are not alone in this new chapter in their work lives.

Jan 11, 2019 | News Story

Unions representing thousands of federal workers came together in DC yesterday to rally and march in protest of the continuing shutdown and resulting furloughs that are financially hurting 800,000 employees and families. The rally began at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.