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Unions Will Oppose Baucus Bill Unless It's Changed
WASHINGTON - About 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill, a top labor lobbyist said.
The ad will state that unions will oppose the measure on the Senate floor unless improvements are made, according to Chuck Loveless, legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The ad will state, "Real health care reform and nothing less," Loveless said.
Labor has been a major Democratic ally in the health care debate but is unhappy the legislation lacks a publicly run insurance plan and would tax expensive policies in an effort to drive down costs. Officials also want it to prevent insurance companies from refusing to cover some people and to force employers to cover their workers.
The Finance Committee voted Tuesday to approve the bill, the most conservative of five health overhaul bills congressional panels have written this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to combine it with the Senate health committee's more liberal version and bring it to the full Senate in perhaps two weeks.
Besides AFSCME, sponsors included the AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America. The ad will run in The Washington Post, USA Today and Capitol Hill newspapers.
5 Comments so far
Show AllBetter late than never...
Where were the union protesters and this time?
Ahhh, perfect for the Democrats. The insurance industry has probably given the Democrats all the money they are going to get for a while. Now time to pillage the union's pockets.
Where were the Unions when Bubba Clinton gave us Nafta and
outsourced our industrial base to China along with some
{7} Seven Million good paying jobs. The only good job was
for Hillary as a director at that Chinese Farm Club, Walmart.
Better late than never! I hope that when I get to DC that they will have all their members there to meet with me and talk peacefully with me, and then go to their Senators and Congressional Reps. offices and let them know face-to-face that they will vote them out of office in 2010 if there is not real health care reform!
Join me, regardless of how you feel on this issue, and let Congress know that they are responsible to US, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, and not to insurance companies and health care corporations. Do so peacefully, share your thoughts and ideas with union and non-union members, retirees, and families, and then take those ideas and your opinion of the performance of your elected officials directly to their offices. Make yourself seen, and heard, by those we elected last year!
To find out more, go http://www.letfreedomring.community.officelive.com
Go union, once again.