>Which is not to deny they'll support whatever they can get if it's better than what we have. But isn't that the Labor Party's strategy too nowadays?
No. The Labor Party's strategy is to unite the single-payer forces within the labor movement against what Mark Dudzic calls "complicated, 'politically realistic' compromises that try to appease big insurance companies"...
For example, the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer http://www.laborforsinglepayer.org
Join Us in St. Louis Missouri, January 10-11th 2009 Our healthcare system is in crisis and those of us in the Labor Movement who support HR 676, the Single-Payer “Medicare for All” legislation, have an important job to do, and...All labor organizations who support the passage of HR676 are invited to attend and participate in making the decision to launch a dynamic campaign for the only workable solution to today’s healthcare crisis
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our health care system is in crisis and the American people are demanding change. Those of us in the Labor Movement who support HR 676, the Single-Payer “Medicare for All” legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers, have an important role to play as a new Democratic Administration takes office. With health care reform back on the agenda, we must bring together the hundreds of HR 676 supporting Labor Unions and build the “Medicare for All” campaign at the grassroots where the crisis is taking its devastating toll. To do this we need your help and support.
We have the most expensive health care in the world, yet it ranks near the bottom of all industrialized countries on most quality-of-care benchmarks. Nearly 50 million Americans have no health insurance. Another 70 million have policies with so many co-pays, deductibles and exclusions that they might as well be uninsured. Anyone who negotiates health care benefits today knows we can no longer count on decent, employer-provided health care coverage.
We need to organize for real reforms to hold down costs and improve the quality of care for everyone, not complicated, "politically realistic," compromises that try to appease big insurance companies and special interests. We stand with the growing majority of Americans who believe that high quality, affordable health care should be a right – not a privilege.
We believe that the labor movement must take the lead in this campaign. To date, 39 state AFL-CIO federations, over 100 Central Labor Councils and 400 local unions have endorsed HR 676 -- the Conyers "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All" bill. Labor's voice for "Medicare for All" must be heard. The first step must be to unite the huge reservoir of support for single payer in thousands of local unions and labor bodies. Towards that end, a number of labor federations and unions are calling for a national meeting of all unions that have endorsed HR 676 and support "Medicare for All" to be held in St. Louis on January 10, 2009.
We ask that your organization support this effort, endorse the formation of a national grassroots network of labor organizations for single payer, and send representatives to the January 10th meeting. Please fill out and return the enclosed or attached Pledge Form to indicate your organization’s support for this crucial campaign.
In Solidarity,
Mark Dudzic, Coordinator, On behalf of LCS-P Continuations Committee
http://www.laborforsinglepayer.org
___ Jenny Brown