Unions in a Fight Against Liberal Democrats

[KissMy]

Unions in a Fight Against Liberal Democrats!

WSJ: Unions in Familiar Fight With New Foe

Unions are facing off against an unlikely foe over a now-familiar issue, as Democrats in Massachusetts move to limit municipal workers' power to negotiate their health benefits.

The effort is the latest by lawmakers in a budget jam to roll back public-union rights. In a state where Democrats control the House and the Senate as well as the governor's office, it shows how the pressures of skyrocketing health care costs on state and local budgets are undermining labor's political clout even in traditional union strongholds.

The unions are fighting back with a campaign against the proposal. "We're going to increase the intensity and get more people engaged in the process," said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

The labor federation, which represents about 175,000 municipal workers in Massachusetts who would be affected by the proposal, has run radio ads and turned out thousands of police, firefighters and teachers to rally at the statehouse over the past week. It plans to push those efforts further and increase lobbying of individual lawmakers over the next month.

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts House passed a budget that includes a measure giving 351 cities and towns the authority to set co-pays and deductibles for municipal health benefit plans. Cities that chose to follow the plan would still have to negotiate with unions over workers' share of premiums. The measure, which was voted on separately, passed 111-42 in the House, where Democrats hold a 128-31 majority.

Democratic House Speaker Robert DeLeo said municipalities would save $100 million and have costs in line with health plans administered by a state insurance commission covering nearly 350,000 state employees and their families.

Brian Dempsey, chairman of the state House Ways and Means Committee, said, "We certainly need to embrace this change that will allow communities to have an additional tool to rein in health care costs."

"If labor can't hold back the tide here, then it can't hold it back anywhere," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

 

[Steelplate]

That only shows one thing... that the legislators in question have been bought off. Like I said in another thread, it doesn't matter which party it is.

The truth is, that the Health Care costs of the American Citizenry have become so ridiculous(mainly because of the employer based health care system we have), that even the state governments are having a hard time keeping up with the cost.

Whether some feel this is socialism or not, we need a single payer system to ebb the flow of exorbitant health care costs to both the taxpayer and the business world.The only people that really understand who actually benefits from the current system are the most powerful people on the planet.

The current system guarantees that the big corporations have a huge advantage over the mom and pops, who cannot afford to give those types of benefits anymore... or if they're still trying to, won't be able to in the very near future.

 

[thespook]

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