March, 04 2009, 11:27am EDT
Labor Leaders Demand That 'Single Payer' Be Part of Obama Healthcare Reform Discussions
WASHINGTON
The Obama administration's plans to hold a "Health
Care Summit" that excludes advocates of single-payer healthcare reform
has drawn a sharp response from labor leaders around the country.
"President Obama has indicated that his
administration is committed to the passage of a new 'universal'
national health care program for all Americans, and he wants it done
this year. For working people, and particularly the 48 million
Americans currently without health insurance, this is welcome news. We
also applaud the President's efforts to provide immediate relief to the
growing number of unemployed workers faced with the loss of their
health insurance," said Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator of the Labor
Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare.
administration is committed to the passage of a new 'universal'
national health care program for all Americans, and he wants it done
this year. For working people, and particularly the 48 million
Americans currently without health insurance, this is welcome news. We
also applaud the President's efforts to provide immediate relief to the
growing number of unemployed workers faced with the loss of their
health insurance," said Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator of the Labor
Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare.
"At the same time," he continued, "we are deeply
concerned by the apparent failure of the administration to include a
single supporter of HR 676 among the 120 invited participants to
Thursday's Health Care Reform Summit. We are calling on our supporters
to call and write the White House and demand that our voice be heard."
concerned by the apparent failure of the administration to include a
single supporter of HR 676 among the 120 invited participants to
Thursday's Health Care Reform Summit. We are calling on our supporters
to call and write the White House and demand that our voice be heard."
HR 676, the "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All"
Act, was re-introduced this year by Congressman John Conyers. It
currently has 59 congressional co-sponsors. Because it eliminates the
private insurance industry from profiting from people's misfortunes
and, like Medicare, establishes the federal government as the "single
payer" of everyone's medical bills, HR 676 can provide healthcare for
all with no co-pays or deductibles in a fiscally prudent manner. HR 676
has the endorsement of hundreds of state and local labor federations
and local unions as well as many other civic and religious
organizations.
Act, was re-introduced this year by Congressman John Conyers. It
currently has 59 congressional co-sponsors. Because it eliminates the
private insurance industry from profiting from people's misfortunes
and, like Medicare, establishes the federal government as the "single
payer" of everyone's medical bills, HR 676 can provide healthcare for
all with no co-pays or deductibles in a fiscally prudent manner. HR 676
has the endorsement of hundreds of state and local labor federations
and local unions as well as many other civic and religious
organizations.
"The first step is to ensure that HR 676 has a 'seat
at the table' in the upcoming healthcare reform debates," said South
Carolina AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt. "It needs to be given the same
degree of attention as all other credible proposals for reform and
subjected to a side-by-side 'facts based' analysis with those
proposals."
at the table' in the upcoming healthcare reform debates," said South
Carolina AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt. "It needs to be given the same
degree of attention as all other credible proposals for reform and
subjected to a side-by-side 'facts based' analysis with those
proposals."
Leaders of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer are
urging President Obama to consider alternatives which, like Medicare,
would not rely on private, for-profit insurance companies to ration
health care to the American people. "Proposals which funnel our
precious healthcare dollars into the pockets of the for-profit
insurance industry and other special interests will do nothing to
contain and control costs or improve the quality of care," said
Fernando Gapasin, President of the West Central Oregon Central Labor
Council.
urging President Obama to consider alternatives which, like Medicare,
would not rely on private, for-profit insurance companies to ration
health care to the American people. "Proposals which funnel our
precious healthcare dollars into the pockets of the for-profit
insurance industry and other special interests will do nothing to
contain and control costs or improve the quality of care," said
Fernando Gapasin, President of the West Central Oregon Central Labor
Council.
Labor leaders from Massachusetts are particularly
concerned that their state's law requiring all individuals to purchase
private health insurance is being touted as a model for the nation.
concerned that their state's law requiring all individuals to purchase
private health insurance is being touted as a model for the nation.
"Last month 40 of my fellow union leaders wrote to
President Obama to urge him to reject a Massachusetts-style plan that
would leave private insurance companies at the center of the system
through an individual mandate and expensive public subsidies supported
by taxes for plans that still don't provide enough coverage. The
Massachusetts plan is widely recognized as unsustainable and now that
we are facing an economic crisis, it is even more problematic." said
Peter Knowlton, president of the Northeast Region of the United
Electrical Workers Union (UE).
President Obama to urge him to reject a Massachusetts-style plan that
would leave private insurance companies at the center of the system
through an individual mandate and expensive public subsidies supported
by taxes for plans that still don't provide enough coverage. The
Massachusetts plan is widely recognized as unsustainable and now that
we are facing an economic crisis, it is even more problematic." said
Peter Knowlton, president of the Northeast Region of the United
Electrical Workers Union (UE).
"If anyone should be excluded from this summit," said
Ray Stever, New Jersey State Industrial Union Council President, "it
should be the representatives of the health insurance industry. These
are the very people who caused the crisis in the first place. They will
move heaven and earth to continue to deny Americans the healthcare
justice that citizens of all other industrialized countries enjoy."
Ray Stever, New Jersey State Industrial Union Council President, "it
should be the representatives of the health insurance industry. These
are the very people who caused the crisis in the first place. They will
move heaven and earth to continue to deny Americans the healthcare
justice that citizens of all other industrialized countries enjoy."
The Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare joins
other single payer advocates and organizations who are demanding that
their views be represented in the growing debate over health care
reform. These include the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed
Healthcare, Healthcare-NOW, the All Unions Committee for Single Payer,
the Physicians for a National Health Program and the California Nurses
Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee whose Co-president,
Geri Jenkins, RN, recently warned, "Any reform premised on expanding
the insurance-based system will likely fail, frustrate the public
desire for a real solution to our healthcare crisis, and undermine the
political capital the administration has earned for reform."
other single payer advocates and organizations who are demanding that
their views be represented in the growing debate over health care
reform. These include the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed
Healthcare, Healthcare-NOW, the All Unions Committee for Single Payer,
the Physicians for a National Health Program and the California Nurses
Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee whose Co-president,
Geri Jenkins, RN, recently warned, "Any reform premised on expanding
the insurance-based system will likely fail, frustrate the public
desire for a real solution to our healthcare crisis, and undermine the
political capital the administration has earned for reform."
"That is why it is so important to speak up at this
moment," said Clyde Rivers of the California School Employees
Association. "The stakes are too high to allow special interests to
hijack a discussion whose outcome will so importantly affect the lives
and livelihoods of the American people. We call on President Obama and
the leaders of both houses of Congress to give HR 676 the fair and open
hearing that it deserves."
moment," said Clyde Rivers of the California School Employees
Association. "The stakes are too high to allow special interests to
hijack a discussion whose outcome will so importantly affect the lives
and livelihoods of the American people. We call on President Obama and
the leaders of both houses of Congress to give HR 676 the fair and open
hearing that it deserves."
The primary purpose of the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer Health Care is to increase grassroots labor support for H.R. 676 as an essential element in winning the support of Congress to enact the National Health Care Act "Medicare for All" as the public policy of this country because we believe that health care is a human right.
LATEST NEWS
US College Students Demonstrate in Solidarity With Palestinians, Columbia Protesters
"Columbia University made a huge mistake calling the cops on student protesters," said one educator. "It has transformed the activism of hundreds of students into a student movement of thousands."
Apr 19, 2024
Undeterred by Columbia University's sanctioning of a crackdown by the New York Police Department in which at least 108 people were arrested on Thursday for protesting Israel's war on Gaza, dozens of students continued to camp out on the campus' West Lawn Friday as solidarity protests cropped up at other schools across the country.
Students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC) set up tents at a rally, while the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee announced a walkout to express solidarity with "steadfast Columbia students" and emergency protests were announced at Boston University; Miami University in Oxford, Ohio; and Ohio State University.
"Columbia University made a huge mistake calling the cops on student protesters," said Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, a faculty member at Texas Tech University. "It has transformed the activism of hundreds of students into a student movement of thousands with millions around the world watching."
National Students for Justice in Palestine, whose Columbia University chapter was shut down late last year after members protested against the institution's investments in Israeli companies and partnership with Tel Aviv University, called on all of its chapters across college campuses to join in solidarity actions.
"The supposed power of these administrators pales in comparison to the combined strength of the students, staff, and faculty committed to realizing justice and upholding Palestinian liberation on campus," said the national group.
At the impromptu rally at UNC, students chanted, "No justice, no peace!"
The solidarity actions came a day after Columbia president Minouche Shafik authorized the police to dismantle an encampment set up by dozens of students. Shafik testified before a Republican-controlled U.S. House committee on Wednesday where the focus was antisemitism on the school's campus, and admitted she has not witnessed anti-Jewish protests at Columbia since Israel began its assault on Gaza last October.
After the students were arrested Thursday, one student Barnard College—which is part of Columbia—posted on social media an email she had received from vice president and dean Leslie Grinage about the suspension of several students.
The students were forced to leave their housing and have had their access to all campus facilities revoked during the suspension.
Several members of the press reported being denied entry to Columbia's campus on Thursday and Friday, prompting the university's journalism school to offer its assistance and reiterate its support for a free press.
Barnaby Raine, an historian earning his Ph.D. at Columbia, urged fellow educators at the Ivy League school to demonstrate solidarity with the student-led protests.
"As my employer, Columbia University, calls armed riot police into campus to smash a peaceful protest against a genocide, we must all speak out," said Raine. "My former students have been arrested. I'm proud of you. History will be too."
Actor, activist, and former New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, who graduated from Barnard, condemned the administrators' response to the protests.
"I am shocked and ashamed that [Barnard] and Columbia are violently crushing the right of students to peacefully protest," said Nixon. "This is not who we are. Both schools must immediately reinstate these students and protect their right to fight for a free Palestine."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Indigenous Brazilians Lament Lula's Unfulfilled Land Demarcation Promises
"This is revolting for us Indigenous peoples to have had so much faith in the government's commitments to our rights and the demarcation of our territories," said one Indigenous leader.
Apr 19, 2024
Friday is Indigenous Peoples Day in Brazil, and tribal leaders and activists used the occasion to criticize the left-wing government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for falling short on promises to safeguard native land rights.
On Thursday, the Brazilian government announced the demarcation of Aldeia Velha, land of the Pataxó people, in the northeastern state of Bahia, as well as the territory of the Karajá people in Cacique Fontoura, Mato Grosso.
"Since the beginning of the current government, 10 areas have been regularized out of a total of 14 routed for approval," the government said in a statement. "The act reaffirms the focus of the federal government on the protection and respect of Indigenous peoples."
However, Indigenous peoples were anticipating the demarcation of six new territories. Lula acknowledged their disappointment.
"I know you are apprehensive and expected the demarcation of six Indigenous lands. But now we only announce two. And I'm being real with you," he said.
"Some of this missing land is occupied either by farmers or peasants," the president explained. "We cannot arrive without giving these people an alternative. Some governors asked for time to resolve, in a negotiated manner, the eviction of these territories so that we can demarcate them."
"The definition of these lands is already ready. What we do not want is to promise you today, and tomorrow you read in the newspaper, that a contrary decision was made," Lula added. "The frustration would be greater."
But the frustration was already there—and growing.
"This is revolting for us Indigenous peoples to have had so much faith in the government's commitments to our rights and the demarcation of our territories," Alessandra Korap Munduruku, a member of the Munduruku people and a 2023 winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, told Amazon Watch in a statement published Friday.
"We hear all of these discussions about environmental and climate protection, but without support for Indigenous peoples on the front lines, suffering serious attacks and threats. Lula cannot speak about fighting climate change without fulfilling his duty to demarcate our lands," she added.
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), an umbrella group, said in a statement earlier this week that "the most serious thing is that the Lula government is tarnishing its historical trajectory."
"Since campaigning for his first term in 2002, the president has committed to demarcating Indigenous lands, but he was one of the governments that demarcated the least," the group contended. "And now, like other old and conservative governments, in the name of the country's progress and economic development, [Lula's government] undermines the basis of Indigenous peoples' existence, becoming hostage to the market, the powerbrokers, agribusiness, evangelicals, and the military."
APIB demanded that Lula "put an end to the criminal organizations that intimidate our people and communities, persecute and murder our leaders" and "dedicate farms for agrarian reform and demarcate our lands, which have been invaded and plundered for centuries by the invaders who arrived here 524 years ago and their current descendants."
Thousands of Indigenous peoples from throughout Brazil are expected to rally in the capital BrasÃlia next week for the Terra Livre—or Free Land, camp—the country's largest annual native mobilization. Two years ago, Lula, then a presidential candidate, told Terra Livre attendees that he would end illegal mining on Indigenous lands. Despite a crackdown that resulted in an initial dramatic drop in illicit mineral extraction on Indigenous lands, illegal miners have returned with a vengeance in places including land belonging to the Yanomami people.
Criticism of Lula's demarcation process and the Brazilian government's Indigenous rights record came from outside Brazil as well.
"Human rights defenders are under extreme threat in Brazil. The federal government knows this but has so far failed to put the structures in place to provide them with better protection and tackle the root causes of the risks they face," Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in a Friday statement after an official visit to Brazil.
"Land is also the key to the protection of these defenders," she continued. "When I asked them what they thought would protect them they were clear: removal of invaders and demarcation now; accountability for environmental crimes. This for them is what collective protection, which is what is needed, means."
"There must be demarcation and titling," Lawlor added. "There can be no more delay."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Person Self-Immolates Outside Courthouse of Trump's NY Trial
An unverified online manifesto identifies the person as "an investigative researcher" who has discovered that "our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup."
Apr 19, 2024
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Law enforcement officials confirmed to CNN that someone lit themself on fire Friday outside the New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records.
"The man walked into the park across the street from the courthouse, throwing flyers into the air," the network reported, citing law enforcement. "He then pulled something out of a backpack—it was not immediately clear what the item was—and lit himself on fire."
Journalists were in the area for the historic trial and CNN anchor Laura Coates was among those who described the scene live on-air as New York Police Department officers and emergency responders worked to extinguish the fire.
Police were "slow to respond in part because of barricades around park," Politico's Emily Ngo explained, sharing photos and videos from the scene on social media. There is "only one way to get into park outside the courthouse without jumping the fence. It's been barricaded in anticipation of protests. And since there hasn't been much in the way of protests, police presence is light. Police had to run all the way around to get to the man."
The person who self-immolated "was responsive when he was removed but he is very, very badly burned. Body charred," Ngo said.
CNN reported that the flyers featured allegations of wrongdoings against New York University and said, "NYU is a mob front."
A self-identified citizen journalist named Jack shared on social media a photo of a booklet the person reportedly left in the dirt.
An unverified Substack post says in part: "My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan. This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup."
Inside Manhattan Criminal Court, the remaining jurors were sworn in for Trump's case, in which he faces 34 charges for records related to alleged hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. There are 12 jurors and six alternates.
The former president was indicted by a New York grand jury last spring. He also faces two federal criminal cases—one related to his handling of classified material and another for trying to overturn his 2020 loss, which culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection—as well as an election interference case in Georgia.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular