Health Care

Health care is a basic human right.  America’s labor movement has worked for more than a century for guaranteed high-quality health care for everyone.  The Affordable Care Act is a historic milestone on this journey, but we still have a long way to go.

America must continue moving forward toward a more equitable and cost-effective health care system. Moving forward means working with employers to demand health care payment and delivery reforms to control costs, allowing people of all ages to buy into the equivalent of Medicare through a public plan option and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.  Of course, the most cost-effective and equitable way to provide quality health care is through the social insurance model (“Medicare for All”), as other industrialized countries have shown. 

The worst thing we could do is move backward by repealing the Affordable Care Act or its key provisions; privatizing Medicare or turning it into a voucher program; raising the Medicare eligibility age; increasing Medicare co-pays and deductibles or otherwise cutting Medicare benefits; or taxing employment-based health care benefits. 

More about this issue:

Mar 15, 2024 | News Story

Workers at the Empire Justice Center, who provide civil legal services to New Yorkers in need across the state, won a decisive victory to unionize on Monday, March 4.

Mar 15, 2024 | News Story

After just three days on strike last week, teaching fellows, teaching assistants, course assistants, research assistants, and tutors at The New School, represented by United Auto Workers (UAW), reached a long-awaited tentative agreement at the New School.

Mar 15, 2024 | News Story

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) gathered with other labor leaders, including AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, and union members across the labor movement in front of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to call on Congress to pass the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act.

Mar 15, 2024 | News Story

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) and IATSE Local 494 have succeeded in thwarting an elaborate effort by local production company La Celda, LLC to chill both the union’s rights and the rights of produc

Mar 8, 2024 | News Story

After more than six months of bargaining their successor contract, teaching fellows, teaching assistants, course assistants, research assistants, and tutors at The New School, represented by United Auto Workers (UAW), went on strike Wednesday, with supporters including the CLC joining them for th

Mar 8, 2024 | News Story

Writers Guild of America East members at New York-based Spotify Studios (formerly Gimlet Media and Parcast) and The Ringer have both reached tentative agreements with Spotify on new collective bargaining agreements.

Mar 14

Calling all women interested in pursuing a career in the construction trades!

Mar 1, 2024 | News Story

Workers United and Starbucks this week announced this week that they have agreed to begin discussions on a foundational framework to achieve collective bargaining agreements for represented stores and partners, the resolution of litigation between the union and the company, including brand litiga