Some unions now angry about health care overhaul

SAM HANANEL | Associated Press | Yahoo News | May 24, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some labor unions that enthusiastically backed President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul are now frustrated and angry, fearful that it will jeopardize benefits for millions of their members.

Union leaders warn that unless the problem is fixed, there could be consequences for Democrats facing re-election next year.

“It makes an untruth out of what the president said — that if you like your insurance, you could keep it,” said Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “That is not going to be true for millions of workers now.”

The problem lies in the unique multiemployer health plans that cover unionized workers in retail, construction, transportation and other industries with seasonal or temporary employment. Known as Taft-Hartley plans, they are jointly administered by unions and smaller employers that pool resources to offer more than 20 million workers and family members continuous coverage, even during times of unemployment.

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Walmart Sues Groups For Protesting Its Poor Working Conditions

Andrea Germanos | Common Dreams | Reader Supported News | March 27, 2013

n what some see as an attempt to muzzle critics, Walmart is suing a union and other groups over protests that sought to highlight the retail behemoth’s low pay and poor working conditions.

The lawsuit targets the 1.3 million-strong United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), OUR Walmart, which is made up of “associates” of Walmart, and another group over repeated protest actions in over a dozen states, Bloomberg reports.

Walmart’s suit seeks to stop the groups from being able to picket or protest on its property, Bloomberg reports. Reuters adds:

Wal-Mart alleged that the defendants violated Florida law through coordinated, statewide acts of trespass in several Walmart stores over the last eight months.

What the suit is really about, say some of the defendants, is silencing criticism of Walmart’s corporate, and union-preventing, model.

“Rather than creating good jobs with steady hours and affordable healthcare, Walmart’s pattern is to focus its energies on infringing on our freedom of speech,” Reuters reports OUR Walmart as saying in a statement.

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