SIEU RUGS coming for RUS
Posted on 12/16/2009 10:54:22 AM PST by jazusamo
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) backed out of an event with other organizations promoting the Senate healthcare reform bill Wednesday over concerns about changes made to the legislation to accommodate centrist Democrats.
The SEIU had planned to participate in a Capitol Hill press conference along with the AARP, the liberal advocacy group Families USA, Consumers Union and the American Cancer Society Action Network. As recently as Tuesday morning, the organizations distributed an advisory to the news media that included the SEIU.
But the move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to excise provisions of the healthcare reform bill to create a government-run public option health insurance program and to allow people between 55 and 64 years old to buy into Medicare gave the labor union pause, spokeswoman Lori Lodes said.
"That decision has to be made by our leaders and our members," Lodes said. The event with the AARP and the other groups was scheduled before Reid made changes to the bill.
The SEIU executive board will hold what Lodes described as an "emergency" meeting Wednesday night to decide how to move forward. "Right now, they don't have the information they need to make this decision," said Lodes, who added that the SEIU informed the other organizations on Tuesday they would not be joining the press conference.
The board meeting likely will not produce a final determination by the union about whether to support advancing the Senate healthcare bill, which not only lacks a public option and the Medicare buy-in but also would levy an excise tax on so-called Cadillac health insurance plans that some union members have, Lodes said.
"We will not have an absolute decision coming," largely because Reid has not released the final language of the healthcare bill, she said.
This thing is turning into Copenhagen 2.0. LOL.
Kill kill kill the bill!
Watch for a White House statement to "re-engage" the Health Care reform debate as Obama leaves for Copenhagen for his Friday appearance.
Reported elsewhere:
|
Labor Holds Emergency Meetings To Discuss Senate Bill, May Formally Oppose
Two of the country’s largest labor groups, the SEIU and the AFL-CIO, are each holding emergency executive meetings today to discuss whether they should support the latest round of health care compromises made by Senate Democrats.
Though there’s no official word yet, early indications based on talks with various officials are that the groups will either formally oppose the legislation or, less dramatically, just not fight very hard to ensure its passage.
Labor leaders are fuming at the concessions that Democratic leadership made in the last few days to win the support of the caucus’s most conservative members, notably Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). A bill that already included one highly objectionable provision (a tax on so-called Cadillac insurance plans) was stripped of a provision beloved by labor: a public alternative to private insurance coverage. Frustration boiled over even further after the leadership succumbed to Lieberman’s demand to jettison even the compromise to the public option — a proposal to expand Medicare to those as young as 55.
Together, the changes have spurred emotional internal debates about the approach labor should take to the Senate bill. Dennis Rivera, the Health Care Chair at the SEIU, was slated to appear at a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday to push for senators not to filibuster reform. He pulled out from the event, which was sponsored by the pro-reform group Families USA, because of uncertainty about the union’s position.
“We just couldn’t do it,” said an SEIU official. “We haven’t even seen the manager’s amendment... At this point, we have to make the final decision about how to proceed. There is an emergency meeting tonight to figure that out.”
The AFL-CIO, likewise, is hosting an executive council meeting to discuss the legislation. Richard Trumka, the president of the union conglomerate, has been one of the foremost champions of a public plan. And on Tuesday, one of his close allies, Leo Gerard, the president United Steelworkers Union, hinted that opposition to the bill is in the offing.
“I believe that the House [of Representatives] has got a good bill,” Gerard told MSNBC’s Ed Schultz. “Hopefully it is going to have to go to committee, we’re going to fight like crazy to make sure that we get a good bill. I’m not prepared to give up. I want to fight and get a good bill out of this. The American people deserve this and President Obama, whose values are right, he deserves this.”
Labor’s stance could have big ramifications. Progressive Senate Democrats held their noses as the legislation was watered down at the behest of Lieberman and others. Off the Hill, however, former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean called for the current Senate proposal to be “killed” — and others echoed his concerns.
The labor community has already poured massive resources into the health care debate. Now there is a growing concern that the money and time may have not been well spent. As one high-ranking labor official emailed the Huffington Post:
“What is really frustrating folks here is that it’s impossible to make and implement plans to pressure senators when the White House and Reid keep undermining the efforts no one from the outside can put any credible pressure on Senators because they know the White House will back that Senator up whatever they do. If the White House is going to cave to a Senator who spent the entire election campaigning with McCain and calling Obama a traitor how are we supposed to have any leverage over anyone?
“If Lieberman — who has done so many horrible things directly to Obama — can get away with this on Obama’s signature issue it makes it infinitely harder for us to pressure senators, on issues in the future, because there is no fear of retribution or coercion from the White House. They only pressure progressives, not anyone in the middle.” |
What we need for the final death knell on this bill is for Arlen Spector to come out in opposition along with Joltin Joe.
SIEU RUGS coming for RUS
Good article, thanks for posting.
I agree with you. I don’t believe Obama will let this proceed with the unions up in arms and it’s got to be all the unions, not just the AFL-CIO and SEIU.
This thing is dead in the Senate, so the House bill will go to reconsideration or reconciliation and come out of the House to the Senate for a 51 vote passage.
I don’t know whether to be happy at this news or suspicious.
Ahh, the truth comes out at last.
The Janitors want cheap healthcare paid by rich taxpayers.
Ahh, the truth comes out at last.
The Janitors want cheap healthcare paid by FOR by rich taxpayers.
Yep, Dean came out and said kill the bill.
I’m not too sure about the reconciliation route. The bill wouldn’t go into effect for four years and if passed by reconciliation it would come up for another vote in five years and could be killed then.
The way the Rats are going it’s fairly safe to say the Repubs will control Congress in five years.
I know- I heard he said that- so it’s a mystery to me too. We’re on the edge- that’s for certain. Collins will not vote for it (though she’s still working on it- go figure)
Dean is up to something...
(Cubicle bound- out of loop at the moment)
The public option, lowering Medicare to age 55 and also quite important a tax on their primo top-of-the line insurance coverage.
The first two will bring them hundreds of thousands of union jobs and they hate to lose all that money
The bought Obama and our congress fair and square and they want their payback!
I know you’re cubicle bound, SEmom.
I’m glad you also heard Dean, jazusamo.
I’m very suspicious regarding today’s developments.
Coburn is a hero. He’s having the Senate’s clerk read Sanders’ amendment aloud -— all 700+ pages. It’s estimated the reading will last until 11:00 PM tonight. :)
For sure, Syncro. They want everything in place for the millions of new citizens they plan to welcome next year.
Unfortunately old Arlen knows he needs to keep dems happy in order to make some sort of try at reelection. He won’t dare go against the grain on this, I would bet.
Coburn is a hero. I read about that and he’s staying in the Senate chamber to object in case anyone calls for the reading to cease. LOL!
Exactly, the unions have to be irate, especially after having given Obama about $400 million to get him elected.
Right and some woman complained and whined about the poor clerk having to read all those pages. The complaining party might have been a democrat senator. Hope so. :)
Rush yelled “that’s her job,” adding, “find other clerks.”
Clerks can be rotated.
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