by Seth Michaels, Aug 20, 2009
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka appeared on CNBC this morning for a frank talk about health care, politics and the future of the country.
As described this week in Huffington Post, Trumka is laying out a fundamental proposition: When it comes time for millions of union members to mobilize, educate other union members and get out the vote, they’ll work on behalf of candidates who support real health care reform that provides quality, affordable health care to all and gives people the opportunity to choose a public health coverage plan alongside private options:
We finally said, look, this is the minimum. If you’re going to do something, do something that works. If you’re going to have health insurance reform, you must have a public option in it. if you don’t, don’t expect us to support you.
Trumka said that the union movement is going to put its time, resources and votes behind candidates who support the needs and priorities of working families. Union members have no obligation to support politicians who listen to insurance companies instead of the millions of families who need real health care reform.
Here’s what Trumka had to say:
What we said was, there had to be three or four elements in that plan in order for us to support them. If they didn’t support the plan with a public option in it, with an employer mandate and no taxation of benefits, that we would tell our members and let our members decide….The American people are demanding that you do something.
We’ll look at your entire voting record, of course, like we always do. We’ll put the facts out to our members. I think it will be hard for them to get support if they don’t support that.
Trumka says union members will step up and put their energy and votes behind candidates who want to fix what’s wrong with our system, not maintain a broken status quo:
Every 30 seconds an American declares bankruptcy because of medical bills. Millions of people don’t have health care. You have millions of small businesses and large businesses that are struggling because health care costs are out of sight. Insurance companies have a stranglehold on us. The only way to break that stranglehold on the health care industry is to have a public option.
The fight to reform the health care system and provide quality, affordable health care for everyone is at a critical point. Now is the time to make it clear: America’s workers are looking to elected officials for leadership and support, and how members of Congress vote on health care will be at the forefront when they go to the polls to vote.
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