SEIU Launches Nationwide Actions To Question Health Insurance Industry Tactics

Last month, SEIU and its allies in HCAN (Health Care for American Now) held a massive demonstration outside of the launch of the insurance industry’s sham health care “listening tour.” Along with the upcoming events beginning Tuesday, SEIU will have helped stage more than a dozen actions nationwide to highlight insurance industry tactics that prioritize profits over people.

DETAILS ON TUESDAY’S EVENTS FOLLOW:

Des Moines, Iowa

Nolan Plaza

12:00 p.m. CT

Manchester, New Hampshire

City Hall Plaza

10:00 a.m. ET

Salem, Oregon

State Capitol press conference room

10:30 a.m. PT  Read more 

Unions Back Plan that Could Kill Off Real Health Care Reform

The AFL-CIO’s and SEIU’s endorsements of single payer appear to be window dressing. They are putting all their energies into “guaranteed affordable choice.” They do it in their own names, and as members of the Herndon Alliance and the Health Care for America Now coalition, which became public July 8. These coalitions criticize single payer as “not politically feasible.”  Read more 

Vulnerable old people can make you rich.

SEIU Now and Then: May Democracy Be With You

The internal struggle and accelerating debate within the SEIU over union democracy is a positive and encouraging development. While democracy, dissent and member empowerment are on the horizon in SEIU and even in vogue in West Coast locals, it wasn’t always so. A reform movement and the uprising of Public Employees for a democratic Union within the former L790 serves as a case study.

Rob Russell for Tennessee’s 1st District  Read more 

60 SEIU workers protest at meeting where Carlyle head speaks

BALTIMORE - About 60 union workers protested Monday at a conference where the head of a private-equity firm spoke to business editors and reporters.

Workers from Manor Care (nyse: HCR - news - people ) nursing homes around the U.S. protested David Rubenstein’s speech, chanting and passing out flyers, said Julie Eisenhardt, a spokeswoman for the Service Employees International Union.  Read more 

Here is an interesting line of thought form Andy Stern at Drinking Liberally . I agree on one thing, a platform closer to the reality of existence and not based on polling quotes.  Read more