From UnionsForSinglePayer->Solution to a Busted VEBA - HR 676

Solution to a Busted VEBA:  Single Payer Health Care, HR 676

http://my.firedoglake.com/kaytillow/2011/03/30/solution-to-a-busted-veba-single-payer-health-care-hr-676/

Detroit Diesel has been around since April 1937, a few months after the
Flint sit down strike that won union recognition.

This year, 1,100 retired auto workers at Detroit Diesel suffered a giant
cut in company provision of health benefits because their Voluntary
Employees Benefits Association, VEBA, went belly up.  Workers who retired
between 1993 and 2004 will have to pick up an increasing share of the
premiums that were once fully covered by the company.  Some retirees will
have to pay as much as $4,000 per year, or even higher, just to keep their
health coverage.

VEBAs are spreading.  Many companies seek to shift their liability for
future health costs to the workers or the union through establishment of a
VEBA.

So how do unions and workers, who are in danger of losing health benefits
for which they worked for decades, fight back?  Educate and organize for
national single payer health care, HR 676, an improved Medicare for all.
Build a movement that demands it.  Spread the word.  March for it.

With HR 676 what happens to locked out workers?  Health coverage
continues.  To workers on strike?  Coverage continues.  To early retirees?
Coverage continues.  To laid off workers?  Coverage continues.

"Our struggle is not for more or better VEBAs.  That was the condition we
faced in the last decade.  In this decade, we only have one choice,
National Health Care (HR 676)," says Al Gladyck of the UAW Local 7
Retirees Chapter and former Chief Steward at Chrysler's Jefferson Assembly
Plant.

"HR 676 would make this situation a thing of the past" Gladyck said,
referring to the Detroit Diesel retirees' loss.

Gladyck is one of the leaders of Retirees for Single Payer Health Care
which meets regularly at UAW Local 22, 4300 Michigan Avenue in Detroit.
He has written three articles on Detroit Diesel, VEBAs, and the solution.
They are well worth reading.

Detroit Diesel:  The Death of a VEBA and the Cost to Retirees
Part I
http://www.retireesforsphc.org/IN-MY-OPINION-BLOG.html?entry=detroit-diesel-the-death-of
Part II
http://www.retireesforsphc.org/IN-MY-OPINION-BLOG.html?entry=detroit-diesel-the-death-of1
Part III
http://www.retireesforsphc.org/IN-MY-OPINION-BLOG.html?entry=detroit-diesel-the-death-of2

To find the ongoing activities of Retirees for Single Payer Health Care in
Detroit, check here:
http://www.retireesforsphc.org/activities.html

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 (including oral surgery,
periodontics, endodontics), mental health, home health, physical therapy,
rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care and
correction, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, podiatric 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 39 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 583 union organizations in 49 states including
137 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
3/30/2011

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