"UPDATE" News about union support for single-payer health care and HR 676

Three Maine Labor Councils Call on AFL-CIO Convention to Endorse HR 676
and Call for March On Washington

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Three Labor Councils in Maine, Southern, Western and Central, have
followed the lead of the Maine State AFL-CIO in calling on the national
AFL-CIO September Convention to endorse HR 676 and educate and mobilize
for its passage.

The resolution passed by the 3 councils urges that the AFL-CIO Convention:
“…pursue the passage of HR 676, the ‘United States National Health Care
Act’ to meet the needs of our members, our families, and all America, and
not endorse or support any fallback program of mandated insurance which
includes the wasteful, for-profit insurance industry….”

The resolution further calls on the AFL-CIO to “...help organize and
financially support a ‘Healthcare is a Human right’ Solidarity March and
Rally in Washington, DC.”

Chris Teret, President of the Southern Council said: “The Southern Maine
Labor Council realizes that the fundamental principle of labor is
solidarity—an injury to one is an injury to all. For that reason, the
labor movement can’t support any health care system except one that
includes everybody, no exceptions. We know the insurance companies are
the problem and we’re ready to see them gone….”

The Troy Area Labor Council initiated the campaign to get resolutions
urging support of HR 676 sent to the AFL-CIO Convention which meets in
Pittsburgh September 14-17. The sample resolution and information on how
to submit a resolution are at: http://pefencon.info/HR676/Resolution.htm

Convention resolutions can be submitted at
resolutions-amendments@aflcio.org. The deadline for submitting
resolutions is Aug. 14th. #30#

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a
greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.

HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including
prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and
preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health,
physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision
care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save hundreds of
billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
private health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the current Congress, HR 676 has 83 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced SB 703, a single payer bill
in the Senate.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 540 union organizations in 49 states including
128 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).

For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org
06/24/09