Injustice For All-Dismantling of Employer-Based Health Care

[LiviaOlivia]

Jonathan Tasini, TomPaine.com
February 20, 2004

The strike by 70,000 grocery workers in Southern California is a watershed moment, not just for the union members who walked out, but for the standard of living of all Americans. If workers lose the strike, it would signal the beginning of a final dismantling of employer-based health care in every corner of our country.

Like many Americans, the grocery workers teeter between making ends meet and poverty, often falling into a downward spiral because of crushing health-care costs. When the workers walked out in October, they faced employer demands that would add thousands of dollars to workers' health-care bills, particularly for new employees. In fact, for all intents and purposes, affordable family health benefits for new employees would disappear, with draconian benefit cuts almost a certainty within a few years.

<snip>

In an all-too-familiar story, contrast the workers' fight to stay out of poverty with the fortunes of the corporate leaders. The top 15 executives of the companies increased their total compensation 150 percent over three years, from $15.4 million in 1999 to $40.3 million in 2002. If these companies are facing such dire market conditions, why have they continued to payout large sums of money to a handful of people at the top? The truth is the employers simply saw a "profit center"—that would be their workers' livelihoods—which could further enhance their bottom line and their standing on Wall Street.

<snip>

The same threat looms with the current strike. There is virtually no expression of national outrage. Though the supermarkets have lost tens of millions of dollars (a pre-strike calculated cost of doing business), management is paying a small political price nationwide. If supermarkets are successful in breaking the strike, a strong message will be sent: even profitable companies can slash health care and they, indeed, will be rewarded by Wall Street for their actions. Inevitably, a wave of slashing of health care benefits will sweep across America, first in the retail industry and, then, inexorably, throughout every sector of the economy. Already, we are seeing companies drop or significantly slash health-care coverage for retirees.

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Jonathan Tasini is the national director of American Rights At Work.
full article at:
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9985

[FloridaPat]

1. I read yesterday that health care is the reason companies

are outsourcing to other countries. Health care in this country is an embarassment. We are the only major country without national health insurance. And the number not covered will continue to grow. In non-union companies, eliminating health care is already a fact.

As for national outrage, the only thing I've heard about the strike is that it is responsible for some federal job number one month. There are probably too many people without insurance or paying a fortune to be outraged.

And as for corporate managers giving themselves benefits - Bush has sent the message that corporations can do anything and get away with it - unless they give to the Democratic party like Marth Stewart.

[loftycity]

2. 43 million without Heath Insurance is a figure from 1998..This

has probably doubled since 1998. I'm sure it has more than doubled.
Remember,1998 was a pretty good year for employment.
Having Insurance Companies provide us with Health care.
Is over.
Their Era is over. Insurance Companies have become the new Slum Lords of the century. No new innovation, just keep squeezing the system to you wring the public dry.
It is time to turn away from insurance industry health care. It is old fashioned, it no longer works and it's sucking every dollar it can from the public and government to keep it alive.

We (Us) can come up with the Health Plan. We can do it. We have no choice.
Our Care is going to have to come up from the people. We no longer have the time to wait for politicans to change it.
So join up to groups around the country and let's try to make Universal Health Care happen in one Year.