Tue Jul 16, 2013, 05:43 AM

dkf (37,305 posts)

Union Letter: Obamacare Will ‘Destroy The Very Health and Wellbeing’ of Workers

Dear Leader Reid and Leader Pelosi:

When you and the President sought our support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat. Right now, unless you and the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.

Like millions of other Americans, our members are front-line workers in the American economy. We have been strong supporters of the notion that all Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care. We have also been strong supporters of you. In campaign after campaign we have put boots on the ground, gone door-to-door to get out the vote, run phone banks and raised money to secure this vision.

Now this vision has come back to haunt us.

Since the ACA was enacted, we have been bringing our deep concerns to the Administration, seeking reasonable regulatory interpretations to the statute that would help prevent the destruction of non-profit health plans. As you both know first-hand, our persuasive arguments have been disregarded and met with a stone wall by the White House and the pertinent agencies. This is especially stinging because other stakeholders have repeatedly received successful interpretations for their respective grievances. Most disconcerting of course is last week’s huge accommodation for the employer community—extending the statutorily mandated “December 31, 2013” deadline for the employer mandate and penalties.

Time is running out: Congress wrote this law; we voted for you. We have a problem; you need to fix it. The unintended consequences of the ACA are severe. Perverse incentives are already creating nightmare scenarios:

First, the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week. Numerous employers have begun to cut workers’ hours to avoid this obligation, and many of them are doing so openly. The impact is two-fold: fewer hours means less pay while also losing our current health benefits.

Second, millions of Americans are covered by non-profit health insurance plans like the ones in which most of our members participate. These non-profit plans are governed jointly by unions and companies under the Taft-Hartley Act. Our health plans have been built over decades by working men and women. Under the ACA as interpreted by the Administration, our employees will treated differently and not be eligible for subsidies afforded other citizens. As such, many employees will be relegated to second-class status and shut out of the help the law offers to for-profit insurance plans.

And finally, even though non-profit plans like ours won’t receive the same subsidies as for-profit plans, they’ll be taxed to pay for those subsidies. Taken together, these restrictions will make non-profit plans like ours unsustainable, and will undermine the health-care market of viable alternatives to the big health insurance companies.

On behalf of the millions of working men and women we represent and the families they support, we can no longer stand silent in the face of elements of the Affordable Care Act that will destroy the very health and wellbeing of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans.

We believe that there are common-sense corrections that can be made within the existing statute that will allow our members to continue to keep their current health plans and benefits just as you and the President pledged. Unless changes are made, however, that promise is hollow.

We continue to stand behind real health care reform, but the law as it stands will hurt millions of Americans including the members of our respective unions.

We are looking to you to make sure these changes are made.

James P. Hoffa
General President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Joseph Hansen
International President
UFCW

D. Taylor
President
UNITE-HERE

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/07/12/union-letter-obamacare-will-destroy-the-very-health-and-wellbeing-of-workers/

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195 replies	Author	Time	Post
Union Letter: Obamacare Will ‘Destroy The Very Health and Wellbeing’ of Workers (Original post)	dkf	Jul 2013	OP
Of course this is a horrific corporate monstrosity.	MrSlayer	Jul 2013	#1
Bingo.	Scuba	Jul 2013	#4
And which 60 Senators would have voted for Medicare for All?	pnwmom	Jul 2013	#149
The problem is that Medicare is perceived as fiscally unsustainable, as is.	MH1	Jul 2013	#154
Buy-in Medicare for all	ErikJ	Jul 2013	#169
This law will allow me to buy medical insurance again.	kestrel91316	Aug 2013	#192
Because wanting a real system means I want you dead.	MrSlayer	Aug 2013	#193
They never loved him anyway.	JoeyT	Jul 2013	#2
This fits right in with the comments at the article.	cui bono	Jul 2013	#94
knr	forestpath	Jul 2013	#3
But..but...can't he just sign an executive order	davidpdx	Jul 2013	#5
O.K. everyone, let's start digging into these guys personal lives.	vi5	Jul 2013	#6
I take it you're not a morning person.	Scurrilous	Jul 2013	#10
+1	L0oniX	Jul 2013	#46
James P. Hoffa ?? really? n/t	Locrian	Jul 2013	#7
Yeah, really.	Cal Carpenter	Jul 2013	#25
just an infamous name... any relation?	Locrian	Jul 2013	#56
Yes, that's his father who was also Teamsters pres	Cal Carpenter	Jul 2013	#58
well, look who just caught up	Doctor_J	Jul 2013	#64
Yeah, he's my union president	Generic Other	Jul 2013	#77
The ACA was a disaster from the get-go	Morganfleeman	Jul 2013	#8
It was a scam from the get-go.	woo me with science	Jul 2013	#65
Which is why the insurance companies were the ones with the back door deal.	cui bono	Jul 2013	#95
Message auto-removed	Name removed	Aug 2013	#176
Uh huh. Cool story! Yet all my Canadian friends are very pleased with their system.	uppityperson	Aug 2013	#178
Bless Your Heart....	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#180
Welcome to DU. Using a moniker that is	JimDandy	Aug 2013	#183
They're just racist libertarian Paul-bots.	TransitJohn	Jul 2013	#9
the veneer is starting to crack, the rot inside exposed.	KG	Jul 2013	#11
the unions need to separate themselves from the democratic party and form a labor party	leftyohiolib	Jul 2013	#12
I have noticed	Lee-Lee	Jul 2013	#14
Yeah!	Scurrilous	Jul 2013	#16
we are already divided - go along to get along isnt helping	leftyohiolib	Jul 2013	#34
because shuddup, that's why.	frylock	Jul 2013	#60
we're already divided, unity is a two way street.	Sirveri	Jul 2013	#118
+1,000,000	zeeland	Jul 2013	#63
Isn't this the part about the outrageously expensive health plans	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#13
So unions should STFU?	blackspade	Jul 2013	#18
No, a tweak is not removing the tax	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#21
That is not a progressive tax.	blackspade	Jul 2013	#74
Look up progressive ta/.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#82
Excessive tax free benefits?	blackspade	Jul 2013	#110
Lowest common denominator at 2x average	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#111
Your entitled to your opinion.	blackspade	Jul 2013	#114
No it wouldn't, it would increase the cost of	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#126
That is your opinion.	blackspade	Jul 2013	#129
Not an opinion, it is fact that	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#130
What exactly is an exceptionally generous healthcare plan?	Generic Other	Jul 2013	#79
Do you know what people in other developed countries call those "Cadillac" plans?	eridani	Jul 2013	#112
yep, even folks in Canada BUY their own "Cadillac" plans.	Schema Thing	Jul 2013	#115
Yes, they buy them with their taxes	eridani	Jul 2013	#125
Sounds like you favor a "race to the bottom" with healthcare plans	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#80
Hoffa knew the law when it was written.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#89
What deductions?	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#93
$25,200 per year for a family plan	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#128
No mention of lowlife scab assholes in the ACA either.	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#132
Scab is a strike breaker	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#133
Some people just lack the opportunity but still deserve the name	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#139
What an oppressed baby.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#146
Do you know what people in the rest of the developed world call those "gold-plated" plans?	eridani	Jul 2013	#113
Do you know we have ACA and the letter from Hoffa	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#127
Every other developed country citizen gets the equivalent of our "wealthy" plans	eridani	Jul 2013	#142
So what, which of those other countries does Hoffa think he lives in?	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#145
Other countries control health care costs through global budgeting	eridani	Jul 2013	#148
Again so what, that doesn't address	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#150
And you are advocating for a race to the bottom where everyone gets worse	eridani	Jul 2013	#167
No I'm not, you are advocating a tiered health system	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#168
No other country has parasitic insurance companies gouging obscene profits	Jackpine Radical	Jul 2013	#152
I thought we were talking about Hoffa's special health care	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#153
The only thing they could achieve is repea	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#39
A corporate union rep?	blackspade	Jul 2013	#73
James Hoffa, the writer of the piece	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#85
I have to repeat the question... what the hell is that?	cui bono	Jul 2013	#97
Labor unions are corporations.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#98
Unions are a democracy.. We vote for our leaders.	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#99
There's a Teamsters for a democratic union group	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#105
sigh	cui bono	Jul 2013	#103
LOLWHUT.	Starry Messenger	Jul 2013	#134
Look it up and Hoffa is President of one. nt	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#135
Look it up yourself.	Starry Messenger	Jul 2013	#137
This is not about unions, this is about Hoffa	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#138
You sound pretty bitter	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#81
James Hoffa is an nexample of a corporate	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#83
You are clueless	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#96
It's the Teamsters that supported Reagan	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#100
Obama didn't hold it against the Teamsters when they endorsed him	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#101
Ok until 2008, the Teamsters supported drilling in ANWAR.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#104
Nothing about mobsters? Thugs?	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#106
Not yet, a lot of Kennedys liked	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#107
How does that work?	freedom fighter jh	Jul 2013	#19
The law is in place, there is no way to change irt now.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#20
Oh, I thought you said the "more real objection" might be	freedom fighter jh	Jul 2013	#22
We should wait until the law is in place	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#24
You just said the law is in place.	freedom fighter jh	Jul 2013	#26
I should have said until the law is	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#29
Thanks for asking. That was rhetorical.	freedom fighter jh	Jul 2013	#32
Haven't been following the news, have you?	brentspeak	Jul 2013	#27
Already planning	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#31
I've found that in many cases, "something" is NOT better than "nothing," because	Nay	Jul 2013	#156
Wel Congress and the President thinks the ACA	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#161
No	zipplewrath	Jul 2013	#35
This says it all.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#38
Why do you assume these workers are "high wage" earners.	Jesus Malverde	Jul 2013	#45
Because they have expensive health plans	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#51
Those union members aren't necessarily "high wage earners"	zipplewrath	Jul 2013	#47
Teamsters with high priced (taxable) health insurance	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#50
Not anymore	zipplewrath	Jul 2013	#54
Link to teamsters contracts	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#55
So screw 'em to the wall?	zipplewrath	Jul 2013	#66
Scabs who trash unions	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#84
You don't know what a scab is.	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#86
I wanted to use asshole but though better of it	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#88
Yes you are	Progressive dog	Jul 2013	#91
You go, Jeff.	Nay	Jul 2013	#157
Can we get links to non-union contracts?	cui bono	Jul 2013	#102
I've never understood where that $40 an hour came from	KentuckyWoman	Jul 2013	#140
4 percent right now	Life Long Dem	Jul 2013	#40
4 percent of what	zipplewrath	Jul 2013	#49
Exactly. I bet Walmart is one, and they are the largest employer in the US. nt	Nay	Jul 2013	#159
Everyone has their price. nt	AllINeedIsCoffee	Jul 2013	#15
and I guess we know yours..	frylock	Jul 2013	#62
Not everyone.	Fearless	Jul 2013	#69
Can't have the Insurance Industry Subsidy Act accidentally helping non-profit plans...	a2liberal	Jul 2013	#17
Oh, those stupid stupid Union people. Don't they know that the ACA is perfect in every way?	Safetykitten	Jul 2013	#23
the administration can't afford this loss.	cali	Jul 2013	#28
I thought that the Unions were in support of Obamacare?	Horse with no Name	Jul 2013	#37
They read it .....	oldhippie	Jul 2013	#41
If unions wanted exemptions from the ACA.	vi5	Jul 2013	#48
I really hope no one is surprised about this.	Brickbat	Jul 2013	#30
Unions are opposed to anything	ProSense	Jul 2013	#33
Very interesting point. Makes the letter in the OP look like crocodile tears. nt.	MH1	Jul 2013	#155
K&R'd!	snot	Jul 2013	#36
When the ACA was passed	edhopper	Jul 2013	#42
Thank you. That's been my point for a while. The ACA is not just a diversion from the	Nay	Jul 2013	#162
So should we get behind the republicans?	Kingofalldems	Jul 2013	#43
I guess if you meet the criteria Hoffa has put forward.	AllINeedIsCoffee	Jul 2013	#44
It has helped me and that is all that matters.	frylock	Jul 2013	#61
As my out of pocket expenses spiral ever upward I'll take solace in what you wrote.	pa28	Aug 2013	#194
It's sure not gonna hurt MY life. Access to healthcare via decent insurance	kestrel91316	Jul 2013	#52
Adjuncts are already being hit with hour reductions.	Starry Messenger	Jul 2013	#53
The UFCW spent years selling out part time employees	Trekologer	Jul 2013	#57
But we'll blame them for next November's catastrophe	Doctor_J	Jul 2013	#59
A letter from Jimmy Hoffa's son	Rex	Jul 2013	#67
Wow, just wow	Fearless	Jul 2013	#70
So who wants single payer now?	Fearless	Jul 2013	#68
Always wanted single payer option and saw the writting on the wall	Rex	Jul 2013	#71
It would	Fearless	Jul 2013	#72
Me! Me! Me!	roamer65	Jul 2013	#90
Sure. Let's do it	Cali_Democrat	Jul 2013	#120
By getting them to stand against it	Fearless	Jul 2013	#123
Corporations recieved consideration regarding the employer mandate	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#75
That is odd IMO. Why only give concessions to opponents?	dkf	Jul 2013	#76
It is odd isn't it. But not a surprise	Teamster Jeff	Jul 2013	#78
"a hint that a Republican wrote this steaming pile of a law"????	dflprincess	Jul 2013	#109
The fix for this steaming pile of dog duty...	roamer65	Jul 2013	#87
K & R &	AzDar	Jul 2013	#92
Soon there will be only seven Democrats in the US that have not been...	Safetykitten	Jul 2013	#108
Exactly. When are we going to wise up? I'm beyond disgusted, into fire-breathing territory. nt	Nay	Jul 2013	#165
First they suppressed wages, now they are gutting benefits.	kenny blankenship	Jul 2013	#116
So now you like Unions?	Capt. Obvious	Jul 2013	#117
Seriously. eom	uppityperson	Jul 2013	#122
LOL	Cali_Democrat	Jul 2013	#141
Case by case basis...sometimes unions overreach and sometimes their issues are completely legitimate	dkf	Jul 2013	#147
Spot on - you are fucking laughable	Capt. Obvious	Jul 2013	#170
I do agree with the letter...	dkf	Jul 2013	#171
Post removed	Post removed	Jul 2013	#119
Riiiiight. Tell it to THIS girl	JaneyVee	Jul 2013	#121
K&R	B Calm	Jul 2013	#144
kick n/t	ChazII	Jul 2013	#124
kick	progressoid	Jul 2013	#131
Union bashing in half the responses on a supposedly Democratic website. Astonishing.	1-Old-Man	Jul 2013	#136
Stunning isn't it?	pa28	Aug 2013	#191
International Brotherhood of Teamsters	B Calm	Jul 2013	#143
They also supported Vietnam.	Jackpine Radical	Jul 2013	#160
One partial solution is to define 25-hrs./week as full time. nt	Deep13	Jul 2013	#151
Then there will suddenly be a lot of service workers	Jackpine Radical	Jul 2013	#158
Maybe, but a lot of places can't run with just pt help.	Deep13	Jul 2013	#164
But...But...But...private enterprise can do	tsuki	Jul 2013	#163
Obama to Union: $orry, I'm too busy cajoling Repugs to accept chained CPI to read your letter.	MotherPetrie	Jul 2013	#166
Forgot Dear Leader Boehner. Fail. n/t	Orsino	Jul 2013	#172
Message auto-removed	Name removed	Aug 2013	#173
Cool Story, Bro....	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#174
He's a Libertarian. FRP, eh?	uppityperson	Aug 2013	#182
Shocked I Am, Ma'am, Stunned To Learn It, I Tell You....	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#184
I got chided for my alert.	uppityperson	Aug 2013	#185
Sounds Like Some Real Duds And Duffi Drawing Duty Today, Ma'am....	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#188
And An Epic Jury Fail, Too, Ma'am	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#186
Uh huh. Huh. Tell us, who did you support for Pres last election. And uh. huh.	uppityperson	Aug 2013	#175
Post removed	Post removed	Aug 2013	#179
FRP. This is Democratic Underground, not RP underground. FRP. eom	uppityperson	Aug 2013	#181
Jury + MIRT solves another problem in record time!	Rowdyboy	Aug 2013	#187
Not One To Crow About, Sir, This Episode: Took Three Swings, Shouldn't Have Taken More Than One	The Magistrate	Aug 2013	#190
Luckily I was just one of the jurors and am not on the MIRT team....	Rowdyboy	Aug 2013	#195
ACA will save $300 billion a year by 2020	NoOneMan	Aug 2013	#177
The entire law is a Republican concept. Now we're shocked it's being used as a tool to hurt labor.	pa28	Aug 2013	#189

Response to dkf (Original post)

Tue Jul 16, 2013, 06:36 AM

MrSlayer (22,143 posts)

1. Of course this is a horrific corporate monstrosity.

Medicare for all. That's all you had to say. That's all you had to drum into the heads of the morons out in zombieland. Public support for it would have been overwhelming. But nooooooo, we have to have the Heritage Foundation's corporate, for-profit blowjob.

This law, while containing some good elements, sucks donkey balls overall.

Union Letter: Obamacare Will ‘Destroy The Very Health and Wellbeing’ of Workers

1. Of course this is a horrific corporate monstrosity.

4. Bingo.

149. And which 60 Senators would have voted for Medicare for All?

154. The problem is that Medicare is perceived as fiscally unsustainable, as is.

169. Buy-in Medicare for all

192. This law will allow me to buy medical insurance again.

193. Because wanting a real system means I want you dead.

2. They never loved him anyway.

94. This fits right in with the comments at the article.

3. knr

5. But..but...can't he just sign an executive order

6. O.K. everyone, let's start digging into these guys personal lives.

10. I take it you're not a morning person.

46. +1

7. James P. Hoffa ?? really? n/t

25. Yeah, really.

56. just an infamous name... any relation?

58. Yes, that's his father who was also Teamsters pres

64. well, look who just caught up

77. Yeah, he's my union president

8. The ACA was a disaster from the get-go

65. It was a scam from the get-go.

95. Which is why the insurance companies were the ones with the back door deal.

178. Uh huh. Cool story! Yet all my Canadian friends are very pleased with their system.

180. Bless Your Heart....

183. Welcome to DU. Using a moniker that is

9. They're just racist libertarian Paul-bots.

11. the veneer is starting to crack, the rot inside exposed.

12. the unions need to separate themselves from the democratic party and form a labor party

14. I have noticed

16. Yeah!

34. we are already divided - go along to get along isnt helping

60. because shuddup, that's why.

118. we're already divided, unity is a two way street.

63. +1,000,000

13. Isn't this the part about the outrageously expensive health plans

18. So unions should STFU?

21. No, a tweak is not removing the tax

74. That is not a progressive tax.

82. Look up progressive ta/.

110. Excessive tax free benefits?

111. Lowest common denominator at 2x average

114. Your entitled to your opinion.

126. No it wouldn't, it would increase the cost of

129. That is your opinion.

130. Not an opinion, it is fact that

79. What exactly is an exceptionally generous healthcare plan?

112. Do you know what people in other developed countries call those "Cadillac" plans?

115. yep, even folks in Canada BUY their own "Cadillac" plans.

125. Yes, they buy them with their taxes

80. Sounds like you favor a "race to the bottom" with healthcare plans

89. Hoffa knew the law when it was written.

93. What deductions?

128. $25,200 per year for a family plan

132. No mention of lowlife scab assholes in the ACA either.

133. Scab is a strike breaker

139. Some people just lack the opportunity but still deserve the name

146. What an oppressed baby.

113. Do you know what people in the rest of the developed world call those "gold-plated" plans?

127. Do you know we have ACA and the letter from Hoffa

142. Every other developed country citizen gets the equivalent of our "wealthy" plans

145. So what, which of those other countries does Hoffa think he lives in?

148. Other countries control health care costs through global budgeting

150. Again so what, that doesn't address

167. And you are advocating for a race to the bottom where everyone gets worse

168. No I'm not, you are advocating a tiered health system

152. No other country has parasitic insurance companies gouging obscene profits

153. I thought we were talking about Hoffa's special health care

39. The only thing they could achieve is repea

73. A corporate union rep?

85. James Hoffa, the writer of the piece

97. I have to repeat the question... what the hell is that?

98. Labor unions are corporations.

99. Unions are a democracy.. We vote for our leaders.

105. There's a Teamsters for a democratic union group

103. *sigh*

134. LOLWHUT.

135. Look it up and Hoffa is President of one. nt

137. Look it up yourself.

103. sigh