No Issue ‘Touches Us More Than Health Care’

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/15/no-issue-touches-us-more-than-health-care/

by Mike Hall, Apr 15, 2008

Last week, Russell Hess, president of the Southeast Central Labor Council (SECLC), gathered the 21 local unions that make up the Rochester (Minn.)-based labor body to talk about health care reform, the 208 elections and the drive to put the county back on the right track and Turn Around America.


Hess found that all the union activists who attended faced difficult negotiations over health care—and all of them knew it’s not going to get any easier. Health care costs are soaring—rising three times faster than wages—while workers are paying more and insurance companies less. More and more, friends and relatives are losing coverage and going without needed care. Says Hess:

Of all the examples we could use to show America is heading in the wrong direction, none touches more of us than health care.

That message was repeated at some 50 central labor council meetings last week, bringing to 100 the number of labor councils that so far this month have dedicated their meetings to helping local unions mobilize their members around health care reform for the coming elections.


As part of the union movement’s Labor 2008 drive to Turn Around America, all labor councils in Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Dakota are focusing on health care reform and political action, as are more than 300 other councils around the country.


The first two goals of the April initiative are for each local union to take the health care message—based on the results of the AFL-CIO/Working America 2008 Health Care for America Survey—to members and to sign on to play an active role in Labor 2008. Hundreds of unions have committed, including to taking part in first large-scale Labor 2008 action.


As part of that May 17 action, union members in more than 100 neighborhood walks will go door to door to talk about Republican presidential canddiate John McCain’s flawed health care proposals. .

FULL story at link.