January 10, 2008

Cohen: Health Care Crisis Demands a Movement for Solution

Of all the tens of millions of Americans worried about soaring health care costs, one group is even more vulnerable than the rest: Retirees under age 65 who don't have – or could lose – employer-paid health insurance and are years away from qualifying for Medicare.

They are the proverbial "canary in the coal mine" for the U.S. health care crisis, said Jeanne Lambrew, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress on Thursday as she introduced a panel that included CWA President Larry Cohen to talk about the problem and explore solutions.

"CWA has been working on this for 10 years," Cohen said. "We need a collective approach and a collective strategy. We need to create a social and political movement in this country to deal with health care, and that's what we're doing."

Other panelists included Annette Guarisco, executive director of federal affairs at General Motors; Karen Ignagni, who heads a coalition of health insurance plans and former Connecticut Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, now head of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

A key topic at Thursday’s forum at the Center’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., is the use of Voluntary Employee Benefit Associations, or VEBAs. 

But Cohen said VEBAs are not the answer for the long term. "We would say that VEBA is a tactic, not a strategy," he told the audience composed largely of policy analysts. "The strategy has got to be health care for all Americans."

Cohen praised the Auto Workers and GM, in particular because their VEBA agreement includes $15 million from the company to create a National Institute for Health Reform that will  work to find solutions to the the health care crisis.

Cohen pointed to the annual $2 trillion bill for American health care that is twice the combined cost for other developed countries that provide universal health care – countries that, not coincidentally, also have higher rates of unionization.

American companies that still provide health care are paying what amounts to a "job tax" of thousands of dollars a year, he said, one of the reasons that more employers are contracting out work or moving jobs to places such as India.

While fighting for retiree health care is hugely important, Cohen urged the panel and audience to take a broader approach toward the system at large to "change the concept and create new choices."

As part of the solution, he suggested a national value-added tax that would be dedicated to health care. He said that's the way health care is paid for in Belgium an dother countries.

More information about the forum and the speakers is available online at www.americanprogress.org.

930 AT&T Retail Workers Pick CWA in Georgia, Kentucky

Seeking bargaining rights and affordable health care like 39,000 of their CWA-represented co-workers at AT&T Mobility have, over 900 of the company's retail sales workers in Georgia and Kentucky gained CWA representation through majority card check. The American Arbitration Association certified the results from the Kentucky campaign on Jan. 4 and the Georgia campaign on Nov. 27. Overall, there are 326 retail sales workers in Kentucky and 602 in Georgia.

It was a statewide effort by CWA locals in both states, according to District 3 Vice President Noah Savant who praised local organizers for volunteering to work outside of their areas to make the victories possible. District 3 Organizing Coordinator Liz Roberson and Booker Lester, administrative director to the vice president, spearheaded the effort.

Since fall, over 3,000 AT&T workers have organized with CWA through majority card check, including more than 2,500 workers at AT&T's wireless division in District 3 alone.

Flight Attendants Hold Bargaining Summit to Fight for Pay, Benefits

The Associaton of Flight Attendants-CWA hosted flight attendant leaders from unions representing nearly 90,000 flight attendants at CWA headquarters this week for a three-day summit to prepare for critical contract negotiations and coordinate strategies to raise overall industry standards.

Joining AFA-CWA leaders were the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing workers at American Airlines, the Transport Workers and the Machinists.

This year there are six flight attendant contracts that are amendable, or open for negotiation, with five more set to open in 2009, AFA-CWA said. Contracts at an additional three airlines may be amendable this year under "early opening" options, while bargaining continues on 10 other contracts. Overall, these negotiations cover 46,000 AFA-CWA flight attendants at 18 airlines. 

AFA-CWA President Pat Friend said that so far, "management doesn't understand that they're not in bankruptcy anymore."

Flight attendant productivity is up, working hours are up and time away from home is up. But when it comes to wages and benefits, airline executives have rewarded only themselves, AFA-CWA said.

IN BRIEF:

  • The CWA Store is open, with top-quality, union-made shirts, jackets, caps watches and other items available for sale to CWA members.

    Go to CWA's home page, www.cwa-union.org, and click the bottom navigation button on the left to enter the CWA Store. There you can search for a special item or access a list of all products and prices and send in an order. There's even an option for special orders for locals that want to personalize items or for large orders.

  • Members of the CWA-supported Union Sportsmen's Alliance (USA) are eligible for a sweepstakes drawing this spring to win a new Triton bass boat powered by a union-made Mercury engine, valued at approximately $25,000.  For details, and to register for the drawing, go to www.UnionSportsmen.org.

    The drawing is open to all members who have joined USA and registered as of March 28, 2008, and the drawing will take place in early April.

    Last year, CWA along with the nine other unions and the AFL-CIO joined forces with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to help launch USA.  Exclusively for union members and retirees, USA offers discounts on fishing, hunting and camping gear and helps members plan trips and learn more about their sport.  Membership is $25 per year.  Members can join USA at the website or by calling 1-877-USA-2211. 

  • President Bush has taken to telling reporters he wants to be remembered for his "great concern for the human condition." Tell that to America's coal miners – among others.

    New federal rules that would mandate better-trained mine rescue teams -- rules that were supposed to go into effect Dec. 15, 2007 in response to a series of mining tragedies in 2006 -- are sitting at the White House under review. The Bush administration says it has no timeline for finishing them.

    But taking swift action, President Bush has returned former coal mine executive Richard Stickler to the top of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, despite the fact that his company's injury rates were twice the national average. After first using a recess appointment to give Stickler the job when even the Republican-controlled Senate refused, Bush has now skirted the law again by reappointing him as an "acting" director.

    Doing so, "demonstrates the deep level of contempt the Bush administration holds for the Senate and the constitutional role that body holds," United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts said. "The UMWA's position on Mr. Stickler has remained consistent from the day he was first nominated in 2005. We do not believe someone who has spent the majority of his working life as a coal company manager, supervisor and executive ought to be appointed as head of MSHA."