On April 10, labor leaders and activists from around the bay area participated in a single payer briefing at the ILWU in San Francisco. The event featured Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Pilar Schiavo Statewide Coordinator with the Campaign for a Healthy California, and Lenny Potash, Co-chair of Labor United for Universal Healthcare. The meeting was to discuss the importance of broadening support within the labor community for single payer, and increasing labors’ presence in the movement. The goal of the meeting was to establish a committee that would meet regularly to coordinate and promote education around single payer in the bay area and northern California. A group of leaders are scheduled to meet next month, and begin developing plans for organizing around this issue in the coming year.
The meeting was sponsored by the San Francisco Labor Council, Alameda County Labor Council, San Mateo Labor Council, North Bay Labor Council, the Campaign for a Healthy California, Labor Campaign for Single Payer and Labor United for Universal Healthcare.
Later that evening, 50 healthcare activists attended a community meeting in San Francisco sponsored by the grassroots group Single Payer Now. The meeting featured Mark and Pilar, as well as Karen Joubert from Service Employees International Union Local 1021. SEIU 1021 represents 54,000 workers in northern California. They recently formed a single payer committee in their local. Pasted below is the resolution for SB 810, the California single payer legislation.
RESOLUTION
SEIU 1021 SUPPORT FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE, SB 810 (LENO)
Prepared for March 26, 2011 Executive Board meeting
Whereas SEIU 1021 has consistently supported state and federal Single Payer legislation, including introducing a resolution at the 2008 SEIU International Convention in support of the concept and specific legislation; and
Whereas other public sector Unions and important community and advocacy organizations such as CA Teachers Association, CA Federation of Teachers, CA Alliance of Retired Americans, Delores Huerta Foundation, California Council of Churches have endorsed SB 810; and
Whereas ever-increasing health care costs to our public employers places an escalating strain on our governments' ability to provide needed public services; and
Whereas public sector workers in California, and throughout the U.S., are under intense attacks sponsored and led by billionaires and right-wing politicians, including unjustly blaming government workers for skyrocketing health care costs even though the workers are not to blame; and
Whereas the U.S. spends twice as much as other developed nations on health care, yet ranks a dismal 37th in the world in indicators of good health according to the World Health Organization; and
Whereas Medicare is a good model for health care financing that is cost-effective, and it makes good sense to expand this concept to cover all residents in California, with potential savings of $29 billion in the first year;
Therefore be it resolved that SEIU 1021 continues to support a "Medicare for All" style single payer health care reform plan for California, specifically endorses and supports SB 810 (Leno), and will actively participate with other Union and community allies in the legislative efforts to make it law; and
Be it further resolved that SEIU 1021 will incorporate education and advocacy for a "Medicare for All" style single payer health care reform plan for California in our work in our Industries, regional bodies, Chapters, and websites as appropriate, to educate our members and encourage them to participate in lobbying, advocacy, and education about this needed reform; and
Be it further resolved that SEIU 1021 will recommend to other SEIU Local Unions in California, and the CA SEIU State Council that they endorse SB 810 and make passage into law a priority in the State Council’s legislative priorities.
Published April 17th, 2012Like this post? Consider sharing it on
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