VZ management sent a message to all of its union-represented "associates" in the northeast, which informed them that they must pay more for their benefits now, thanks to Obama's version of "health care reform." Said Verizon:
"Under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an excise tax will be levied on healthcare plans with very generous plan design components (so-called "Cadillac plans").... This excise tax is projected to cost the company as much as $200 million in 2018 when the tax is imposed; however, Verizon is required to account for this cost now. Accordingly, we will need to modify plan designs to avoid the impact of this tax."
President Obama could release a statement saying it is wrong for companies to shift excise tax costs to workers (seven years before the tax goes into effect)-something Obama said would not happen when the legislation passed last year.
An image of President Obama standing on a picket line with workers fighting a profitable company demanding deep concessions could help Obama win re-election in 2012. By standing with Verizon picketers, the president could help heal an uneasy relationship with organized labor, which has been frustrated by Obama's failure to push for labor law reform, his focus on lowering the deficit as opposed to creating jobs, and his push for free-trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. Standing with striking Verizon workers could help capture some of the same energy unleashed by this year's protests in Madison, Wis.
Instead, the White House has been silent.
I'm glad Obama has begun campaigning but it's all going to ring hollow if he doesn't do what he promised in the last campaign. Getting on the lines (figuratively or literally) to defend his plan and warn companies that they shouldn't shift their costs to workers would be a great start.
When will our president listen to real people instead of the corporate backed "tea partiers"? It's time Obama stopped asking for Republican feedback and listened to the people who elected him.
From a quick read, it seems to me that it's hitting all the right notes.
* Public Option on sliding scale
* No lifetime caps
* Mandatory benefits
* Guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions
* Prevention and wellness clinics
I'm truly impressed. Now let's make sure that all that stuff is really in the bill and that the Blue Dogs and their Republican friends don't try to water it down for their corporate sponsors.
If anyone wants to go through the whole 1002-page bill with a fine tooth comb, it's RIGHT HERE.
