Apr 27, 2009
The AFL-CIO recently posted a health care survey on its web site.
And in the key question (question 21) about the future of the health care system, the AFL gives you a choice.
Health care reform should let people choose to have private insurance or a public health insurance plan.
or:
Health insurance should remain in the hands of private insurance companies.
There is no choice for single payer:
The hundreds of private health insurance companies should be replaced by a single payer.
Single payer is the choice of a majority of individual members of
the AFL, a majority of Americans, a majority of doctors, nurses, health
economists and small businesses.
But the AFL-CIO leaves it out.
Why?
Because the AFL doesn't want to offend the private health insurance
industry, the pharmaceutical industry, President Obama and the
Democratic leadership in the House and Senate - who have taken single
payer off the table.
Or as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it last week:
"Over and over again, we hear single payer, single payer, single payer. Well, it's not going to be a single payer."
Many within the AFL-CIO, including Rose Ann DeMoro, head of the
California Nurses Association, and a key single payer supporter, know
that the AFL is corrupt to the core.
Yet they bite their tongues.
It's either that, or banishment.
Or if they criticize, the criticism is so mild as to go unnoticed.
Andy Coates is an MD and steward in the Public Employees Federation of the AFL.
"Everyone knows that single payer is supported by many within
labor," Coates said yesterday. "Over 500 union organizations, including
39 state AFL-CIO's and 126 Central Labor Councils, have endorsed HR 676
(the House single payer bill) which is co-sponsored by 76 members in
the House of Representatives. Recently, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,
a friend of labor, introduced SB 703, a single payer bill, in the
Senate."
"Since a large section of unions and union members supports a single
payer solution to the health care crisis, it is unfair to construct a
survey that completely ignores opinions from single payer advocates,"
Coates said.
It's not only unfair, Dr. Coates.
When the majority of your membership wants single payer.
And you don't even put it on the survey.
That's more than unfair.
The only question remaining is:
How corrupt is that?
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
The AFL-CIO recently posted a health care survey on its web site.
And in the key question (question 21) about the future of the health care system, the AFL gives you a choice.
Health care reform should let people choose to have private insurance or a public health insurance plan.
or:
Health insurance should remain in the hands of private insurance companies.
There is no choice for single payer:
The hundreds of private health insurance companies should be replaced by a single payer.
Single payer is the choice of a majority of individual members of
the AFL, a majority of Americans, a majority of doctors, nurses, health
economists and small businesses.
But the AFL-CIO leaves it out.
Why?
Because the AFL doesn't want to offend the private health insurance
industry, the pharmaceutical industry, President Obama and the
Democratic leadership in the House and Senate - who have taken single
payer off the table.
Or as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it last week:
"Over and over again, we hear single payer, single payer, single payer. Well, it's not going to be a single payer."
Many within the AFL-CIO, including Rose Ann DeMoro, head of the
California Nurses Association, and a key single payer supporter, know
that the AFL is corrupt to the core.
Yet they bite their tongues.
It's either that, or banishment.
Or if they criticize, the criticism is so mild as to go unnoticed.
Andy Coates is an MD and steward in the Public Employees Federation of the AFL.
"Everyone knows that single payer is supported by many within
labor," Coates said yesterday. "Over 500 union organizations, including
39 state AFL-CIO's and 126 Central Labor Councils, have endorsed HR 676
(the House single payer bill) which is co-sponsored by 76 members in
the House of Representatives. Recently, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,
a friend of labor, introduced SB 703, a single payer bill, in the
Senate."
"Since a large section of unions and union members supports a single
payer solution to the health care crisis, it is unfair to construct a
survey that completely ignores opinions from single payer advocates,"
Coates said.
It's not only unfair, Dr. Coates.
When the majority of your membership wants single payer.
And you don't even put it on the survey.
That's more than unfair.
The only question remaining is:
How corrupt is that?
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
The AFL-CIO recently posted a health care survey on its web site.
And in the key question (question 21) about the future of the health care system, the AFL gives you a choice.
Health care reform should let people choose to have private insurance or a public health insurance plan.
or:
Health insurance should remain in the hands of private insurance companies.
There is no choice for single payer:
The hundreds of private health insurance companies should be replaced by a single payer.
Single payer is the choice of a majority of individual members of
the AFL, a majority of Americans, a majority of doctors, nurses, health
economists and small businesses.
But the AFL-CIO leaves it out.
Why?
Because the AFL doesn't want to offend the private health insurance
industry, the pharmaceutical industry, President Obama and the
Democratic leadership in the House and Senate - who have taken single
payer off the table.
Or as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it last week:
"Over and over again, we hear single payer, single payer, single payer. Well, it's not going to be a single payer."
Many within the AFL-CIO, including Rose Ann DeMoro, head of the
California Nurses Association, and a key single payer supporter, know
that the AFL is corrupt to the core.
Yet they bite their tongues.
It's either that, or banishment.
Or if they criticize, the criticism is so mild as to go unnoticed.
Andy Coates is an MD and steward in the Public Employees Federation of the AFL.
"Everyone knows that single payer is supported by many within
labor," Coates said yesterday. "Over 500 union organizations, including
39 state AFL-CIO's and 126 Central Labor Councils, have endorsed HR 676
(the House single payer bill) which is co-sponsored by 76 members in
the House of Representatives. Recently, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,
a friend of labor, introduced SB 703, a single payer bill, in the
Senate."
"Since a large section of unions and union members supports a single
payer solution to the health care crisis, it is unfair to construct a
survey that completely ignores opinions from single payer advocates,"
Coates said.
It's not only unfair, Dr. Coates.
When the majority of your membership wants single payer.
And you don't even put it on the survey.
That's more than unfair.
The only question remaining is:
How corrupt is that?
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.