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national nurses united
200+ Unions Launch Network to Push for Gaza Cease-Fire
"The support for a cease-fire is overwhelming," said one union leader. "We can't stand by in the face of this suffering. We cannot bomb our way to peace."
Feb 16, 2024
Seven national and over 200 local labor unions in the United States on Friday announced the establishment of a coalition to promote a cease-fire in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
The American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the Association of Flight Attendants, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the National Education Association, National Nurses United (NNU), the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the United Electrical Workers (UE), and 200 local unions and labor organizations launched the National Labor Network for Cease-fire (NLNC) to "end the death and devastation" in Gaza.
The coalition says it represents more than 9 million union workers—"more than half the labor movement in the United States."
"The war between Israel and Hamas has continued unabated since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,163 people, and taking 253 hostages," NLNC said in a statement.
"Israel responded with an onslaught that has killed over 28,000 Palestinians and left over 67,000 others injured," while "1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced, and humanitarian aid remains mostly blocked from those in need," the coalition added.
NLCN is calling for:
- An immediate cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas;
- Restoration of basic human rights;
- The immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas;
- Unimpeded full access for humanitarian aid; and
- A call for a cease-fire by U.S. President Joe Biden.
In his strongest statement yet, Biden—who has been dubbed "Genocide Joe" by some activists for his staunch support for Israel—said Friday that he has called for a "temporary cease-fire" during private phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Leaders of the seven unions—most of which have already called for a cease-fire—issued statements underscoring the imperative for peace.
"The UAW has a long tradition of calling for peace and justice for working-class people across the globe, and we live that tradition today," UAW president Shawn Fain said. "In that spirit, we call for an immediate end to the U.S. government's funding and support of this brutal assault on Gaza."
Carl Rosen, UE's president, said: "The support for a cease-fire is overwhelming. We can't stand by in the face of this suffering. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We express our solidarity with all workers and our common desire for peace in Palestine and Israel."
APWU president Mark Dimondstein said that "as a union that stands for equality, social justice, human and labor rights, we unite with unions and people of goodwill around the world in calls for a cease-fire, for justice and peace. The cries of humanity call for nothing less."
Bonnie Castillo, the NNU's executive director, asserted that "nurses cannot allow our patients and our colleagues to continue suffering from the traumas of war."
"We vow to protect and heal all people, and it's our duty to speak up for every human being's right to a life free of violence," she added. "We're calling for a cease-fire now before one more life is lost, before one more family faces injuries or illnesses."
The NLCN's formation follows last week's cease-fire call by the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation.
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Baltimore Becomes Latest US City to Officially Endorse Medicare for All
"Every Baltimore resident deserves healthcare whenever they need it," said one local pastor who backed the resolution. "It's time to join every other developed nation in making healthcare a guaranteed human right."
Nov 21, 2023
Baltimore on Monday became the latest of over 100 U.S. municipalities to officially endorse a national healthcare program, commonly called Medicare for All.
The passage of a Medicare for All resolution—introduced by Democratic Baltimore City Councilmembers Kristerfer Burnett and Odette Ramos—puts Maryland's largest city in a growing group of municipalities including Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Austin, and Washington, D.C. that have endorsed federally funded universal healthcare programs.
"I want to thank the advocates who have been pushing these resolutions across the country to try and show that there are municipalities that understand that our constituents, in order to fully thrive, need access to healthcare," Burnett said Monday.
"No one should be forced to make the desperate choice between paying for insulin or groceries."
Local Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr., pastor of the Union Baptist Church, told the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen that "every Baltimore resident deserves healthcare whenever they need it."
"No one should be forced to make the desperate choice between paying for insulin or groceries," Hathaway added. "It's time to join every other developed nation in making healthcare a guaranteed human right."
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by Public Citizen, more than 1 in 5 Baltimore residents live in poverty, with 6.7% of residents under age 65 uninsured.
The Baltimore City Health Department published a report in 2020 that said, in part:
It is impossible to discuss the health and well-being of Baltimore City's residents without applying the lens of health equity and systemic disparities. While the overall mortality rate in Baltimore City has declined over the past decade, the city still has a mortality rate nearly 30% higher than the rest of the state, and ranks last on key health outcomes compared to other jurisdictions in Maryland.
This reality is compounded by a series of complicated systemic social, political, economic, and environmental obstacles. With more than 1 in 3 of Baltimore's children below the federal poverty line and more than 30% of Baltimore households earning less than $25,000 per year, income, poverty, and race have an enormous impact on health outcomes.
Jean Ross, president of National Nurses United, said that "every day, we nurses see the human cost of our patients delaying care or going without care, simply because they can't afford it, and that's why we need Medicare for All."
"We're grateful to the city of Baltimore for joining more than 100 other cities around the country in passing a resolution in support of Medicare for All," Ross added. "The grassroots movement to guarantee healthcare to all in the United States is growing every day."
Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) in reintroducing Medicare for All legislation.
"The American people understand, as I do, that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege," Sanders said at the time. "As we speak, there are millions of people who would like to go to a doctor but cannot afford to do so. That is an outrage."
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Congressional Dems, Activists 'Raise the Alarm' About Medicare Advantage 'Scam'
"It is time to call out so-called Medicare Advantage for what it is," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro. "It's private insurance that profits by denying coverage and using the name of Medicare to trick our seniors."
Jul 25, 2023
Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday joined senior citizens, people with disabilities, and healthcare campaigners at a Capitol Hill press conference to kick off a week of action demanding Congress move to stop abuses by so-called Medicare Advantage programs peddled by profiteering insurance companies and "reclaim Medicare."
"We are here to raise the alarm about Medicare Advantage. We are here to protect our Medicare," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said to robust applause.
"This year, for the very first time, more than half of all beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage instead of traditional Medicare," she continued. "But Medicare Advantage substitutes private insurance companies for traditional Medicare coverage, and that private coverage is failing both Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers."
"Not only do Medicare Advantage insurers rip off the government, they routinely deny care to patients who need it."
"It's all about the money," Warren said. "Private insurers are in Medicare Advantage to play games to extract more money from the government."
"Experts estimate that Medicare Advantage insurers will receive more than $75 billion in overpayments this year alone, and that's the real punch to the gut," she continued. "Not only do Medicare Advantage insurers rip off the government, they routinely deny care to patients who need it."
"Seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare deserve better," the senator affirmed. "We can strengthen traditional Medicare, and by doing that, we can save money and we can use some of those savings to expand benefits, like hearing, dental, and vision... and add an out-of-pocket cap for all beneficiaries... and lower the eligibility age for Medicare."
"Medicare money should be spent to deliver services for people," Warren added, "not to boost profits for insurance."
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said that "it is time to call out so-called Medicare Advantage for what it is. It's private insurance that profits by denying coverage and using the name of Medicare to trick our seniors."
Universal healthcare activist Ady Barkan, who founded the advocacy group Be a Hero—an event sponsor—asserted that "healthcare is a human right, and Medicare should be a rock-solid guarantee to that fundamental right."
"It should be a beacon of mutual responsibility and solidarity in the wake of 50 years of neoliberal ideology—a pillar of love, standing tall in a world too often dominated by greed," he added. "Health insurance corporations are doing everything they can to destroy this vision. That's why Be A Hero is leading this week of action to fight back."
Like the lawmakers, Alex Lawson, executive director of the advocacy group Social Security Works, blasted "bad actors in Medicare Advantage" who he said "are delaying and denying the care seniors and people with disabilities need."
"Corporate insurance is designed to generate profits by delaying and denying care, harming and killing patients instead of providing care," Lawson added.
Among the patients who spoke at Tuesday's event were Jen Coffey, who described to the barriers she's faced while seeking lifesaving care for complex regional pain syndrome caused by breast cancer under a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan.
"I'm tired of talking to insurance employees who get to override the care and medications my doctors order while having not one shred of medical knowledge to make that decision with," she said. "I want medical freedom where my care decisions are made by my providers and me, not a representative reading out of a manual or a computer algorithm."
Wendell Potter, who heads the Center for Health and Democracy, repeated the common refrain that "so-called Medicare Advantage is neither Medicare nor an advantage. It is simply another scheme by the insurance companies to line their pockets at the expense of consumers by denying and delaying care."
"The healthcare market is confusing for consumers and the misleading branding of calling private insurance Medicare only makes this worse," Potter stressed.
Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, a registered nurse and president of the National Nurses United union, implored Congress "to take immediate action to prevent delays and denials of care in Medicare Advantage" and "support improvements to traditional Medicare and the expansion of traditional Medicare to cover every person living in the United States."
Earlier this year, Democratic U.S. Reps Mark Pocan (Wis.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), and Ro Khanna (Calif.) reintroduced legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from using the word "Medicare" in their health plans.
Progressive lawmakers have also criticized President Joe Biden for delaying promised curbs on Medicare Advantage plans amid heavy insurance industry lobbying.
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