Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls

[meegbear]

The nation's largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess.

In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform and other topics pertinent to the labor community. The document makes clear that Obama allies view the town hall forums as ground zero of the health care debate. It also uses the specter of the infamous 2000 recount "Brooks Brothers" protest to rally its members to the administration's side.

"The principal battleground in the campaign will be town hall meetings and other gatherings with members of Congress in their home districts," reads the memo. "We want your help to organize major union participation to counter the right-wing "Tea-Party Patriots" who will try to disrupt those meetings, as they've been trying to do to meetings for the last month. ...

(Remember the hooligans - many of them Republican Congressional staff - who harassed Florida vote counters in 2000? We can't let that happen again!)."

A showdown between unions and grassroots conservative organizations could make for an August full of fireworks, with even more dysfunctional town hall meetings. The AFL-CIO is planning to target 50 "high priority districts," in addition to organizing telephone town hall gatherings.

But while the union conglomerate seems poised to flex its political muscle on Obama's behalf, it may find some friction on the policy front. Detailed in Sweeney's memo are certain legislative priorities that are clearly at odds with what seems likely to be produced in the Senate Finance Committee's compromise bill.

Sweeney describes it as a "requirement that ALL employers 'pay or play,'" that the final bill have "a robust public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers and drive down health costs," and that the legislation contain "relief for company/union funds providing pre-Medicare retiree coverage, and no taxation of health benefits!"

The AFL-CIO also promises to "Redouble our efforts on Capitol Hill against taxation of benefits OF ANY KIND, for including ALL businesses in the requirement to provide coverage, and for a robust public health insurance plan option."

According to reports on Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee is considering compromise legislation that will contain no public option for insurance and would tax health-care benefits of the most generous plans.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/unions-to-take-on-conserv_n_252720.html

[Jim__]

1. Yes!!! Good for the AFL-CIO! - n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Ah uh. This could cause the end of all town hall meetings for all time.

[Inuca]

9. True

I am not sure this is such a great idea. But on the other hand I don't know what else would be a good idea either...

[Hugabear]

3. Looks like these rethug hooligans bit off more than they can chew

I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't mind seeing a few of these rethugs get roughed up a bit.

[JawJaw]

4. Good For The Unions!

They obviously "get it" that the time for polite debate is over, and that assess on town hall seats and FACTS are necessary to push this vital reform through.

[pleah]

5. K&R

[T Wolf]

6. Let's hope the union members show the same "restraint" they showed toward anti-war protesters

during the Vietnam era...

Just saying that it would be nice to see how dedicated the hypocritical repukes are when confronted. Let them see how a "government-run healthcare system (Medicare) operates when they need it. Maybe they will see the error of their manipulated behavior.

Naw. Repukes never see their own hypocrisy.

[ellenfl]

16. all they have to do is fill the halls so the 'mobs' cannot get seats. eom

[cliffordu]

7. Now THIS could get interesting.

Hard to be a disruptor with a steamfitters' boot up your ass.

[ensho]

8. more power to the Unions - good on them

nt

[Winterblues]

10. This is a start but to really get the message out the Unions should shut down all freight carriers.

Stop delivering any and all freight throughout America and people would start paying attention..The ONLY way we will get REAL Health Care Reform is if the PEOPLE Demand it. Get their fucking attention...

[lpbk2713]

11. Momentum

Now we're starting to make progress.


:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[demwing]

12. So, put the geezers/disruptors in the hospital

and force them to use their Government supplied Medicare benefits, eh? Socialized medicine for the battered masses?

Weirder, and weirder...

[vadawg]

17. jeez mate, what happens if people do start to get hurt or even killed

can you see the headlines talking about union thugs attacking innocent americans aaaarrrrgghhhhh i for one hope nothing violent happens..

[kentuck]

13. This should be fun!

Let the loudmouths try to bully the IBEW or the Teamsters. :-)

[kentuck]

14. kick

Because these disruptors need to know what they are walking into before they start running their mouths.

[ellenfl]

15. who wrote this?

"A showdown between unions and grassroots conservative organizations"

these are NOT grassroots conservative organizations. that kind of phrasing needs to go. we need to call them what they are . . . 'insurance industry-backed groups', not 'grassroots' anything.

i'm surprised to see that it is sam stein repeating those rw words.

ellen fl

[meegbear]

18. Sam Stein at HuffingtonPost.com

[lonestarnot]

19. Some fireworks with purpose! I'm down with the cast!

:bounce: K & R