The 2,000 member Local 83761, IUE-CWA, in Louisville, Kentucky, has
endorsed HR 676, the national single payer legislation, Expanded and
Improved Medicare for All, introduced into the House of Representatives by
Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan.

Local 83761 members make General Electric refrigerators, washing machines,
dishwashers, and other major appliances. The local is growing and expects
to add another 460 members by the end of February.

Steven Wimsatt, Chairman of the Local’s COPE committee and State Political
and Legislative Director of the Kentucky IUE-CWA, introduced the
resolution to endorse HR 676.

“Health care is important to our members and one of the biggest benefits
that you can get from a company,” said Wimsatt, “but it’s getting harder
and harder to negotiate a contract with health care in it.”

Explaining why the local took this step, Wimsatt said, “So, very simply,
if we had a national health care plan that all members could be in, then
we wouldn’t have to be in a confrontational position over health care with
GE during the contract negotiations.”

Wimsatt added, “There is an excise tax that will come in a few years under
the health reform that passed that will make it almost impossible to
afford a plan, and it would be a penalty for having a good health care
plan. Because of this it’s even more important that we win single payer
health care.”

The endorsement of HR 676 was passed unanimously at the December Executive
Board and membership meetings.

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 74 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 587 union organizations including 139 Central
Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 40 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, NJ, 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://unionsforsinglepayer.org
01/17/2012