Forty-nine million Americans have no health care insurance. Millions more have health care through their employer, however, the deductibles and co-pays are so high that they can't utilize the coverage. The cost of health care, especially prescription drugs, continues to increase at double-digit figures annually.
Of the employees who work in the private sector, only a little over seven percent are members of a Union. Antiquated labor laws and unscrupulous corporations continue to block efforts by employees to join Unions.
Both of these issues are used against CWA and other Unions every time we negotiate the contract. This is true whether the employer is in the private sector or the public sector.
In order to reverse these two trends, CWA has launched Strategic Industry Fund campaigns involving health care and the Employee Free Choice Act.
The EFCA passed in the U. S. House of Representatives in 2007, but there were not enough votes to pass the bill in the Senate.
CWA, along with three other Unions - the United Auto Workers, the United Steel Workers and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers - have agreed to form a coalition to work for the passage of EFCA and a national health care plan. The four Unions will also focus on jobs, fair trade and retirement security. These four Unions have in excess of two million members combined.
We must work extremely hard to pass national health care reform and EFCA. It is extremely important that we remove health care from the bargaining table, so that we can again focus on spending resources on better wages and working conditions. Once EFCA becomes law, it will create an excellent opportunity for millions of employees to join a Union. This will make us all stronger at the bargaining table.
It is also extremely important that we elect members of Congress and a president in November who support EFCA and health care reform. Senator Clinton and Senator Obama both support EFCA and have health care reform in their platforms. Senator McCain vigorously opposed EFCA in the Senate and has no plan that would provide health care for all Americans.
I would ask each of you to examine the platforms and the priorities of all candidates and cast your vote for the candidates who best support working families.
Thank you for all of your hard work and for the work that I am confident you are going to do in the future to improve the lives of our members.
Noah V. Savant
Vice President
CWA District 3
