The Problem:
| History of the health care debate in Washington:
In the 1940s, Harry Truman led the call for universal health care coverage---because that was the unfinished business of the New Deal----and, the “do-nothing” Republican Congress killed it. In the 1960s, there was again a call for universal coverage---and the fear mongers of the right wing killed it. In the 1970s, even Richard Nixon called for an employer-mandate that would require that every job came with health benefits----it died as the Watergate scandal sunk the Nixon Administration. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan just did not give a damn---and nothing was done. In the 1990s, we led the fight with Bill Clinton for comprehensive reform----and an unholy alliance of big business, big insurance companies and their lap dogs in Congress killed it. |
Every day these families have to make a choice between food on the table or health care protection. Between school clothes---and a medical exam. Between staying alive today----or keeping their health for a lifetime. Today’s working families face the risk of poverty, poor health and economic insecurity as a permanent condition of life. Behind half of the nation's 1.5 million bankruptcy filings, a serious medical problem is a contributing factor.
UFCW members have been on the front line fighting to keep health care costs from bankrupting American families. But the fight gets harder every day. Virtually every labor dispute in the U.S. is about benefits. Failing to reform the health care system promises more strikes and more worksite disruptions for U.S. employers.
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