Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Health Care: Congress Responds; Keep Reaching Out

Over the weekend the Senate voted 60-40 to close debate on their version of a health care bill.  The legislation itself is likely to come up for a vote on Christmas Eve. 

Although the Senate bill falls short of real reform, we are hopeful that a public insurance option funded without a tax on middle class heath care benefits will prevail when the House and the Senate bill are merged.  That’s going to take a lot of effort from ordinary people contacting their legislators.

In Wisconsin, our elected officials have been responsive to the health care stories from their constituents.  The video above is from State Representative Sandy Pasch of District 22.  Although she isn’t involved with federal legislation, Pasch has been a champion of health care reforms on the state level.

JoAnn Anton from the office of Senator Herb Kohl, says that her boss is listening to our health care concerns, and must continue to hear from us as this legislation moves forward.

Karen Graff from the office of Senator Russ Feingold read a statement from the Senator at a recent health care rally in Mosinee, WI.

Lois O’Keefe from the office of Rep. Gwen Moore urges us to keep fighting for reform, even if it may not be perfect.

Nate Myszka from the office of Rep. Dave Obey says that he believes that the majority of people want strong health care reform.

As Milwaukee Area Labor Council Secretary Treasurer Sheila Cochran reminds us, it is up to us to keep Congress on task with our phone calls and letters.

Please take a moment to contact your Representative and Senators this holiday season.  Tell them to fight for a public health insurance option and against taxes on health insurance benefits:

1-877-323-5246

Media Matters: Health Care Frustrations Broadcast Statewide

On Friday, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby took to the radio to express disappointment in the current Senate health insurance reform proposal.   He insisted that real reform must include a public insurance option in order to reign in cost and keep insurance companies honest.  He also objected to any new tax levied on the health care benefits of working people.

This interview aired in the Madison area on WORT’s Labor Radio program:  http://archive.wort-fm.org/mp3/wort_091218_173001labor.mp3

The Wisconsin Radio Network, which syndicates news stories to about 100 radio stations, filed this report and featured it on the homepage of their website all weekend:  http://www.wrn.com/2009/12/labor-head-health-insurers-too-powerful-in-senate-bill/

Health Care: A Professional Opinion

When the Milwaukee Area Labor Council held a Health Care Forum earlier this month a wide variety of experts and health care providers weighed in on the issue.  The video above is from Marquette University visiting Assistant Professor Susan Giaimo, PhD, who has studied health care delivery systems all around the world.  She says that the current Senate bill is not perfect, but reform has to start somewhere.

Doctor Frederick DeBoe has been a primary care physician in Milwaukee for 27 years.  Every day he sees patients who are forced to cut corners on the treatment that the really need.

Candice Owley, registered nurse and President of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP-AFT), discussed the plight of the under-insured.

As a patient care assistant, WFNHP-AFT member Mike Garver routinely sees patients refuse care because they are afraid of racking up debt or being a financial burden to their families.

Retired nurse Vivian DeBeck participated in the panel as a representative from the Alliance for Retired Americans.  She called on participants to “storm Washington” and demand real reform.

“Fox and Friends” with David Newby?

That isn’t a misprint.  On Thursday morning, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby participated in a debate about labor history in schools on the Fox News Network.   Although he was given less than half the speaking time of his opponent, Newby pointed out that the history of labor unions and collective action is an important and often overlooked part of American history: http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/27951023/reading-writing-and-organizing.htm#q=David+Newby

“I didn’t get to say everything that I might have wanted to, but I felt that it was important to bring even a brief mention of labor history to a national audience,” said Newby after the program aired.

For those who do not regularly view “Fox and Friends,” Milwaukee area blogger and past President of the Wisconsin Labor History Society Kenneth A. Germanson provided this humorous and insightful take on Newby’s appearance: http://advoken.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/%E2%80%98fair-and-balanced%E2%80%99-my-eye/

In case you hadn’t heard, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently signed a law requiring that the Superintendent of Public Instruction include the history of organized labor and collective bargaining in the model academic standards for social studies.   Please check out our previous blog post on the subject:  http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2009/12/labor-history-victory-governor-doyle-signs-ab-172-into-law.html

Support Reform, Not a Middle Class Tax Increase

“Union members have been fighting for health care for decades, and we are not about to stop now, when it really matters,” said USW Local 2006 President Jeff Kaminski.

Yesterday a delegation of labor leaders delivered over 2,000 letters, petitions and postcards from union members across the state to the Milwaukee office of Senator Herb Kohl.  This delivery was part of an ongoing effort to pass health insurance reform without adding to the tax burden on working families.

Participants from AFSCME Council 24, AFSCME Council 48, IBEW Local 2150, UAW Region 4, UAW Local 1866, USW Local 2-232 and USW Local 2006 were on hand to discuss how reform will impact their membership.  The delegation had the opportunity to sit down with members of Senator Kohl’s staff and express their concerns as the Senate bill moves forward.

“We want to thank Sen. Kohl for consistently supporting comprehensive health insurance reform,” said Sara Rogers, Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “But the Senate plan to tax middle class insurance benefits is unacceptable.  The House’s bill pays for reform through a modest tax on the wealthiest earners, who benefited so much from Bush-era tax cuts.  The House bill gets it right.”

The current Senate health reform bill (H.R. 3590) would tax health plans worth more than $8,500 per year for individuals and $23,000 per year for families.  For workers in high-risk occupations and retirees 55 or older, the bill would tax plans worth more than $9,850 for individuals and $26,000 for families.  In 17 high-cost states, the tax thresholds would be increased by 20 percent in 2013, 10 percent in 2014, and 5 percent in 2015.  This would amount to an enormous tax on health benefits for workers, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet. 

Wisconsin union members and their families have made 5,221 phone calls and written 50,828 letters to Congress in support of responsibly funded reform since the health care debate began over the summer.   Working families hope that Congress will ask employers to pay their fair share towards reform.

Although the clip is not available online, Steven Williams, Political, Legislative and Education Director for AFSCME Council 24 did an excellent job of explaining that his members support health insurance reform, but cannot afford additional taxes on WISN-TV ABC’s News at 5.

Wisconsin Public Radio’s coverage of the letter delivery is available on line.  “Labor unions voice concerns over proposed health insurance tax.” (Be sure to scroll down to 12/17/09): http://wpr.org/news/newsstories.cfm

(Top Photo: USW Local 2-232 Financial Secretary Treasurer Ralph Schwieger with Annie Wacker of AFSCME Council 48 and Jeff Kaminsky, President of USW Local 2006.  Bottom Photo:  Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Sara Rogers speaking to reporters outside of Sen. Kohl’s office.  Back row (from left to right): Steven Williams of AFSCME Council 24, Ralph Schwieger of USW Local 2-232, Jeff Kaminsky of USW Local 2-2006, Annie Wacker of AFSCME Council 48, Brad Schwanda of UAW Region 4, Gary Mikolajczyk of UAW Local 1866, and Doug Calvert of IBEW Local 2150.  Credit for Both Photo: Justin Geiger.  For more pictures from yesterday’s event visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157623025338172/.)

Health Care: The Need for Reform is Personal

Sometimes the health care headlines make it seem as though reform is just a matter of dollars and cents.   But the fact of the matter is, lives hang in the balance.  These are just a handful of the personal stories told at recent Wisconsin health care events:

Gerry Gunderson of USW recounts the unnecessary death and suffering of union brother Skip Porter at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council’s Health Care Forum.

UA Local 434 member Rosie Britz was motivated to organize the Mosinee Health Care Rally in part by her father’s end of life financial fears.

Judy Burnick of the Alliance for Retired Americans helps Theresa Skrznski tell the difficult story of her battle with Crohn’s disease.  Already bankrupt, Theresa will lose her Badger Care coverage at the end of the month, even though she still requires more surgery.

UA Local 434 Organizer Jay Schmelling is worried that his extended family will soon be without coverage due to preexisting conditions.

Kevin Her, Executive Director of the Shee Yee Community of Milwaukee, cannot find health insurance coverage due to a preexisting condition.

Clarissa Barnes went into debt when she became too sick to attend college fulltime.  Because she was no longer a student, she was dropped from her parents’ insurance.

Lyle Balistreri, President of the Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council, is frustrated and concerned on behalf of all working people.  On one hand, health insurance reform is a matter of life and death for many Americans.  We have no choice but to overhaul the inhumane system which denies access to so many in need.  But we also must make sure that a new tax on benefits doesn’t push more working people into the ranks of the uninsured or underinsured.  

UA Local 434 Business Agent Dave Branson sums up the case for reform.

Labor History Victory: Governor Doyle Signs AB 172 into Law

At 4PM on Thursday, December 10, Governor Doyle signed AB 172 in the Governor’s Conference Room at the State Capitol.  The new law will require that the Superintendent of Public Instruction include the history of organized labor and collective bargaining in the model academic standards for social studies. 

“Up until now, the key role that America's labor unions played in building our country was the greatest story never told in history textbooks,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “This law corrects that glaring omission. Wisconsin youth will learn how generations before them organized unions to improve working conditions and fight for the common good.”

“This is the first such legislation in the nation.  It will help balance the overwhelming business bias found in textbooks,” commented Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.  “Thanks to the new requirements, young people will be better prepared to make the continuing improvements necessary in today’s workplaces.”

The history of workers and their unions is central to the history of the United States. That history will finally be part of our statewide public school curriculum. 

Wisconsin workers have been at the forefront of the struggle for a just workplace.  Some lost their lives to establish working conditions that are now taken for granted.  For example, in Milwaukee in 1886 several workers were killed by the state militia while marching to limit the workday to eight hours.

In Wisconsin, labor led the historic battle to create the first workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance systems in the entire nation. Whether it is opposing unfair trade agreements, raising the minimum wage, or fighting for health care for all, union members continue to be at the forefront of the movement for social and economic justice.

The Wisconsin Labor History Society has a collection of excellent labor history materials on its website (http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org/).

In addition, the American Labor Studies Center has already developed a wealth of materials to help bring labor history to life in our schools, which can be viewed at www.labor-studies.org. This website includes “Lessons in Labor History,” which  was developed by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Labor History Society, the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers (now AFT-Wisconsin) and the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) to promote teaching of labor history in Wisconsin by linking labor history to required teaching standards.

(Top Photo: Governor Doyle signs AB172 with Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Phil Neuenfeldt and other labor leaders looking on.  Bottom Photo: Labor delegation with Governor Doyle outside of the signing ceremony.  Credit for Both Photos: Union Labor News.)

In Their Own Words: Mosinee Health Care Rally Video

Last week, Plumbers and Steamfitters United Association (UA) Local 434 hosted a Health Care Rally in Mosinee, WI.  This week, we are pleased to bring you video clips from that successful and well attended event.  In the video above, UA Local 434 leaders, including Business Manager Terry Hayden, Business Agent Dave Branson and Organizer Jay Schmelling tell us some of the reasons why health insurance reform is a priority for their membership.

In our second video clip, Rosie Britz shared some heartbreaking statistics on the nation’s uninsured.  Britz, a member of UA Local 434, took it largely upon herself to organize this rally, because she believes that we must pass legislation which includes a strong public insurance option.

 

Brad Schwanda, Legislative Director for United Auto Workers Region 4, gave a powerful presentation on rising health care costs and related personal bankruptcies.

Schwanda also shared some details about his personal health insurance costs in order to illustrate that the current situation is unsustainable for individuals and employers alike.

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby laid out exactly what union members across the state are fighting for as reform moves forward.  Namely, Newby called for a public health insurance option which is funded through sensible measures such as an employer health insurance mandate.  He also made it clear that taxing the benefits of working families is an unfair and unacceptable.

Of course, there are very real consequences if we fail to pass meaningful health care reform.  In our final video, President Newby shares the story of Jim Cleary, an organizer and friend who died of prostate cancer because he could not afford a routine physical.

The Mosinee Rally was a call to action, and you can still participate.  Even if you have already done so, it is important to call Senators Kohl and Feingold and tell them that we need immediate health insurance reform without a tax on middle class benefits:

1-877-323-5246

Media Matters: Labor Leaders Speak Out On War, Health Care and Solidarity

Last week, President Barack Obama announced an escalation the war in Afghanistan.  South Central Federation of Labor President Jim Cavanaugh expressed disapproval in this Labor Notes post: http://labornotes.org/blogs/2009/12/escalating-war-afghanistan-wrong

Greater Green Bay Area Labor Council President Tony Vanderbloemen weighted in on the health care debate in this opinion editorial published by The Green Bay Press-Gazette: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091125/GPG0706/911250620/1269/GPG06/Guest-column--House-gets-health-care-reform-bill-right

Dr. David Parr, President of the Janesville Education Association, has been talking publicly about the recent decision to affiliate with the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO:  http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/nov/24/janesville-teachers-union-joins-forces-afl-cio/

Parr also discussed the importance of labor solidarity on the Stan Milam Radio Show: http://wclo.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/podcasts/stan-milam-show/2009/nov/25/jea-and-afl-cio-open-mic/

Are young people today concerned with workers’ rights?  Look no further than the Student Labor Action Coalition which continues to pressure UW – Madison to cut their merchandising agreement with Nike over labor violations:  http://www.dailycardinal.com/news/uw-asks-nike-to-act-on-alleged-labor-violations-1.979133

Milwaukee Forum Offers a Prescription for Health Insurance Reform

Editor’s Note:  Please be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for photo information.

On December 2, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council (MALC) hosted a unique forum on health care.  A diverse panel of elected officials, health care providers and community leaders were invited to listen as community members shared their personal health care stories.   Participants expressed their frustrations with the health care system as well as their hopes for reform.

Gerry Gunderson of USW told the story of Skip Porter, a steadfast union brother, who died on November 28th.  Porter was deeply involved in the struggles of working people and was an advocate for a single-payer health care system.   While working as a millwright in the Carpenters Union, Porter was diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago.  Insurance covered the removal of his lung, but he was unable to continue working and went on disability.  His disability compensation made him ineligible for insurance coverage through Medicare or Wisconsin’s Badger Care program.  Porter exhausted his savings on his ongoing health care needs.  When his oncologist ordered further diagnostic testing earlier this year, Porter simply didn’t have the money to pay for it.  He had to wait until November, when he became eligible for Medicare to have the tests prescribed by his doctor.  By then it was too late, and the new tumors that were discovered were inoperable. 

It is not certain that Porter would have survived even with timely health care access, but the delay denied him a fighting chance. 

Theresa Skrzynski has Crohn’s disease, a debilitating condition in which the body's immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract.  She is unable to work, and in the past four years, she has undergone five major operations.  Those procedures were covered by Badge Care.  Skrzynski is currently in need of another operation to restore her vision, but her future treatment is in doubt.  Her 18 year old daughter recently moved out on her own.  Without a dependent child, Skrzynski no longer qualifies for Badger Care; her coverage is set to expire at the end of this month.  She has been told that she must wait for her coverage to expire and then apply to a waiting list for the state’s Badger Care Core Plan.  

Skrzynski, who has been forced into bankruptcy by her medical situation, chose to participate in the MALC Health Care Forum and share her troubles publicly for one simple reason.   “I just hope that my story will help get this public option through and that people in my situation will be able to get the health care that they need.” 

These are just two of the many medical stories shared at Wednesday night’s meeting.  The MALC Health Care Forum left little doubt that the American health care system is sick, perhaps even terminally so.  “We have gone from mission driven health care to market driven health care,” lamented Sandy Pasch, registered nurse and State Representative. 

The prescription set forth by the panelists listening to these horror stories is activism.  “Storm Washington with our phone calls and letters,” said Vivian Beck, retired nurse and member of the Alliance for Retired Americans.  “If you’ve made a phone call already, God bless you, but that’s not enough.  You’ve got to write letters and make phone calls and tell your friends.”

Although there was broad support for immediate passage of a health care bill with a strong public insurance option, many forum participants expressed concern over a provision in the Senate proposal which would tax middle class health care benefits.  “I don’t mind paying my fair share,” said Lyle Balistreri, President of the Milwaukee Building Trades and Construction Council.  “But as working people we need a break.  In this country the people who need to pay for reform are the people who have mad billions and billions of dollars off of this flawed health care system [referring to the insurance industry].”

WFNHP-AFT President Candice Owley suggested that a fair way to fund reform would be through an employer health insurance mandate.  “One of the reasons that our employers are paying so much is because they are covering spouses who work for companies that will not provide insurance.”

Panelist Susan Giaimo, Ph.D., visiting Assistant Professor at Marquette University, offered words of encouragement to those who are frustrated by the slow and uneven pace of reform.  "Yes, there is there is a lot wrong with the health care system.  However, we can't afford not to fix it. We may not get exactly what we want, but it [the senate bill] is a start." Giaimo, who has studied health care systems around the world, added, "No country that passed health care reform started with a perfect system; it took time to prefect it."

“We get people elected, and then we have to get them to do what we elected them to do,” concluded MALC Secretary-Treasurer Sheila Cochran.  By the end of the forum, 113 people had signed a health care petition to be delivered to Senators Kohl and Feingold.  MALC members adjourned the meeting with a renewed commitment to write letters and make phone calls in order to keep their elected officials focused on creating quality affordable health care for all. 

Video of the entire MALC Health Care Forum can be found in the archives of Wisconsin Eye Television (scroll down to 12.2.09): http://www.wiseye.org/wisEye_programming/ARCHIVES-forums.html#2906

(Photo 1: Clarissa Barnes, a student who lost her health insurance because she was too sick to attend class fulltime.  Photo 2: Michael Garver of WFNHP-AFT is on the frontlines of health care delivery in his position as a Patient Care Assistant.  Photo 3: Kevin Her can no longer get health insurance due to hunting accident injuries. Photos 4: Dr. Fredrick DeBoe, a general practitioner for 27 years, says that the health care delivery system needs an overhaul.  Photo 5: JoAnn Anton, from the office of Senator Kohl.  Photo 6: Lois O’Keefe from the office of Rep. Moore.  Photos 7 & 8: Audience at the MALC Health Care Forum.  Credit for All Photos: Justin Geiger.  For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157622803484609/.)