USW and CWA Locals Endorse HR 676

> Two more local unions in Oregon have endorsed HR 676, single payer
> healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).
>
> In McMinnville, Steelworkers Local 8378 endorsed HR 676 and
> submitted its
> resolution to the Marion, Polk and Yamhill Counties Central Labor
> Council
> for consideration, reports Joseph Munger, President of the USW Local.
>
> In Portland, Communications Workers of America Local 7901 also
> endorsed
> the Conyers bill. Mark Sturbois, a member of the 1,000 member CWA
> local
> as well as the Health Care Committee of Portland JwJ, reports that the
> endorsement resolution was passed out of the Local's Executive Board
> with
> a recommendation to endorse. Sturbois stated that the resolution
> for HR
> 676 was "well received as the best avenue for controlling costs and
> providing universal coverage. We voted last year to endorse the
> resolution at the AFL-CIO convention in Oregon and thought it was
> important to back that up with our own endorsement," Sturbois said.
>
> HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by
> expanding a
> greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.
>
> HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care
> including
> prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary
> and
> preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home
> health,
> physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse),
> vision
> care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
> medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.
>
> HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save hundreds
> of
> billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
> private health insurance industry and HMOs.
>
> In the current Congress, HR 676 has 74 co-sponsors in addition to
> Conyers.
>
> HR 676 has been endorsed by 508 union organizations in 49 states
> including
> 125 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
> AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD,
> NC, MO,
> MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA,
> AK, MI,
> MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).
>
> For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
> endorsement resolution, contact:
>
> Kay Tillow
> All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676
> c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
> 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
> Louisville, KY 40217
> (502) 636 1551
> Email: nursenpo@aol.com
> http://unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org
> 04/19/09