President Obama reforming America's health care system to guarantee quality and affordable health care: RWDSU

For RWDSU members and their families Labor Day 2009 comes at both the worst of times and the best of times.

The worst is obvious: After eight years of George Bush's negligence and incompetence our country is now in the midst of its greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, there are six workers looking for work for every job that's created. This summer, Michigan earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first state in 25 years with an unemployment rate exceeding 15 percent. Once underemployment is factored in the rate tops 20 percent!

RWDSU families there and throughout America know better than anyone what's happening to working families. While the news media has focused its attention on the auto industry, the fact is that workers in every industry - and the public sector - have been beaten to a pulp over the last two years.

While the modest gains on Wall Street have led some to say that the worst of the recession is behind us, growing stock prices cannot disguise the fact that U.S. workers today aren't living the American Dream; they're struggling to survive an American Nightmare.

Given all the misery facing Americans how can this also be the best of times? The answer is easy: We finally have a president who not only cares about workers, but who's smart enough to translate that concern into progressive action.

Since taking office in January, Barack Obama has, by any measure, become the most unabashedly pro-worker president in almost 70 years. Like Franklin Roosevelt, President Obama isn't afraid to use his power to put Americans back to work. His economic recovery program isn't only creating the jobs Americans need today, it is also laying the groundwork for a growing economy tomorrow.

But there's another way the president's commitment to working people is reminiscent of FDR's: Barack Obama believes in collective bargaining. Within days of moving into the White House, President Obama told America: "I don't see organized labor as part of the problem. "To me, it's part of the solution.''

As demonstrated by his support for the Employee Free Choice Act, the president understands that the fastest way to put dollars into Americans' pockets is by guaranteeing workers the right to organize and bargain strong union contracts.

Now, President Obama has taken on his toughest fight, yet: reforming America's health care system to guarantee quality, affordable health care for all of us. For the members of the RWDSU and other unions the necessity of health care reform is beyond question. Today, the pay raises our union negotiates routinely go to pay for higher insurance premiums

If the president succeeds in winning real health care reform, he will have earned the gratitude of every working family in America and could easily become the most effective president in our time. RWDSU members understand that, and so does the Republican Party. That's why GOP legislators have made it crystal clear that they will say and do almost anything to stop health care reform.

As we are seeing, part of the Republican strategy for killing reform is to pretend they want to reach a "compromise" with Democrats on health care. Yet, while they say they want to reach an agreement, they have also announced they will oppose any plan that includes a "public option" that would compete with the insurance companies in order to keep their prices down!

RWDSU members and the entire labor movement didn't mobilize to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden because we wanted small policy fixes to undo some of the damage done by George Bush. We elected them because we want to change America's priorities forever. That includes winning a health care system that puts people before profit. I'm convinced that, if we stand together, we will. That's why, even as we struggle through the Bush recession, RWDSU families are hopeful this Labor Day 2009. How could we not be? After all, the best of times may be right around the corner.

Comments

  1. C. T. Buzzard C. T. Buzzard United States says:

    It amazes me that the debate on health care focuses on insurance, when the real culprit is the cost of health care.  The cost of health care in the country has soared over the last 30 years with double digit percentage increases annually.  It has outpaced any other commodity in the marketplace and it appears no one in congress or the media have any idea of what's driving the cost, the dynamics of the industry or a clue as how to fix it.

    Pharmaceuticals is a prime example.  A host of countries including France, Canada and Mexico, control the cost of medicines provided through their providers resulting in as much as 40% savings to consumers.  We are charged more by the pharmas to make up for profit shortfalls to other countries.  We in effect subsidise health care in other countries.  Are we addressing this in any pending legislation by either party?  I think the answer is no.

    We need real health care reform, but first we have to understand the problem.  And the real problem is costs.

  2. Margaret McIntyre Margaret McIntyre United States says:

    It amazes me that union leadership will cling to the health care scare and immortalize Obama as someone who "cares" about working men and women.  I have an MA in Industrial Relations and a BA in Labor Economics--and Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat I voted for.  Wake up "working America'--today a minority of "workers" belong to FDR industrial unions.  Union membership has only grown in the public sectors including teachers--but not in the "productivity" sectors of the economy--precisely because NAFTA in combination with inferior public school education and out of control union leadership--created the economic and legal environment for private sector companies to outsource production and avoid unions.  Repeat, it was the democratic administration who opened the floodgates to the global economy and cheap labor which Americans simply cannot compete with on their merits. Sad but true.

    As an elected board of education member in my town, I voted to ask teacher to contribute more to their health insurance so the district could obtain insurance at a lower cost--but same coverage.  Brilliant union leadership rejected our offer--and instead fought to "get it all"--a healthy wage increase and "free" health insurance--anything else was considered a give back.  Well surprise.  The school district is broke and new teachers will not be hired--many young ones will be laid off.  So much for greed.

    Rank and file teachers-- and that goes for all union members --would be well served to watch the union leadership's political behavior--spending union dues on dubious candidates.  Fine, congratulate yourselves on getting Obama elected--but he will ruin our economy.  You can only blame Bush so long...and it will become obvious that Obama will do worse--from health care to Afghanistan...he will sink from the unpopularity of Jimmy Carter to the level of Lyndon Johnson--domestic disaster and war time disaster simultaneously.

    The unions would be better served attacking the trial lawyers (those smarty pants who went to law school instead of Ed school) and have succeeded in creating economic cancer in the health care system.  Instead of blaming Bush--blame the blood sucking trial lawyers for raising the cost of treatment (CYA testing) and mal practice insurance sky high--which in the end, is all paid for by patients--be they union or non-union members. There is only so much money to go around--and if the lawyers get more than their fair share (which should be virtually none) there is a lot less money to pay doctors...or teachers...for that matter.

    It bears repeating.  Bill Clinton passed NAFTA (which I a firm Republican) believe has been detrimental to our American workers--But, NAFTA alone could not succeed in shipping jobs over seas if the US had a large supply of well educated workers.  While it's true, that many American engineers have been laid off--the ready supply of cheap engineering talent and articulate (and cheap) Indians in the tech sector allow companies of every national leadership to by-pass the American worker.

    Tort Reform should be the basis--foundation of-healthcare reform. Amen.

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
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