Unions Help Improve Health Care Bill For All Workers

Union leaders have been working hard behind the scenes for the last few days to improve the health care bill for all working people.

Since they know the so-called "Cadillac Plan" tax would unfairly impact union members who have given up wages and other benefits in order to preserve their health care plans, they've been working with the White House and Congress to improve that part of the health care plan. And it looks like union leaders have helped make significant improvements:

• Workers covered by collective bargaining agreements, including state and local employees both union and non-union, will be exempted from the tax until 2018.

• For all workers, the threshold for the tax would be higher for both families and individuals than the Senate bill has proposed.

• After 2015, dental and vision would not count towards the tax, which means employers will not try to cut costs by cutting dental and vision from health care plans.

This is all great news for union members and non-union workers alike. And it's thanks to union members like you making calls to your members of Congress and putting constant pressure on them, and because of our union leaders working tirelessly with the White House and Congress to get the best health care deal for workers.

But like most things in life - there is still work to be done. The bill still is catastrophic for one in four Americans who work part-time, and puts millions at risk of having their hours reduced so their employer can avoid paying for their health care.

UFCW locals across the country are working hard to lobby Congress and get this dangerous provision changed. Join us, and call your member of Congress. Visit www.fixthebill.org to learn more and take part in our effort.

Good News for the Middle Class? Potential Movement on the Unfair Insurance Tax

Potential good news for union members: it looks like President Obama and members of Congress may be willing to negotiate so that fewer people would be affected by the so-called "Cadillac Plan" tax, including fewer union members. AP reports that although many ideas are under discussion, Obama:

is open to adjusting the tax so it would affect fewer people. There has been discussion of raising the threshold for the tax from $23,000 to $25,000 or higher. It has already been raised for first responders and workers in certain high-risk fields, and the levy could be softened for more unionized professions.

The foregone revenue from tweaking the insurance tax would be made up from the investment accounts of upper-income earners. (Pensions and retirement accounts would not be taxed.) The Senate bill already calls for raising the Medicare payroll tax on wages to 2.35 percent for couples making over $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000.

Union leaders, including UFCW President Joe Hansen, met with President Obama yesterday to discuss the tax and its negative impacts on middle-class families and union members. And while it's still too early to say if enough progress has been or will be made, the negotiations are certainly a step in the right direction.

What to Watch for in the Health Care Debate: House and Senate Version

Paul Waldman lays it all out in this rundown in the American Prospect: what we should watch for as the House and the Senate attempt to wheel and deal and merge their bills.

This part in particular should be of great interest to UFCW and other union members who are furious (and rightly so) at the unfair so-called "Cadillac plan" tax in the Senate bill:

Funding: This may be the stickiest difference between the two bills. The House version raises a substantial chunk of the needed revenue by imposing a 5.4 percent surtax on incomes over $500,000, or $1 million for couples. Meanwhile, the Senate bill raises revenue through an excise tax on "Cadillac plans." Many wonks believe the tax will put downward pressure on spending by making these expensive plans less appealing, but there's still concern that the tax could hit many middle-class people. The conference could just split the difference, implementing versions of both taxes.

h/t Ezra Klein.