They're Striking For a Profoundly Important Reason

They are members of three of the most un-alike groups of working men and women imaginable –mass-transit mechanics and service attendants, supermarket clerks, and county deputy sheriffs. Their professional worlds intersect only tangentially, whenever they do meet. The unions that represent them often face a completely different group of management personnel, issues and bargaining priorities. Yet, they now are united, both in public perception and in reality, as they stand on their picket lines (or, in the case of the sheriffs, conduct a “blue-flu” campaign), fighting for a fundamental right:

Affordable, comprehensive medical-health coverage for themselves and their families.

Over time, and through hard, patient bargaining, Local 18 members have won effective, wide-ranging and affordable medical, dental, vision and other coverage for ourselves and families. We are proud of this achievement, and regard it as one of the landmark accomplishments in our on-going dealings with the Department of Water & Power and our other agencies. We literally sleep better at night, knowing that a secure, life-saving “medical safety net” stretches under us.

We are, however, very fortunate. Our medical-insurance package appears secure, but those of our brothers and sisters in the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU, Local 1277), the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW, Local 770) and ALADS (Alliance of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs) are under siege, threatened by a diverse management corps—the MTA, ownership of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons markets, and Los Angeles County—that wants to strip away their basic right of health insurance in the “holy name” of bottom-line profitability.

These union members who now are on strike—losing wages and benefits, and stirring passions throughout greater Los Angeles—form the cutting edge of one of the biggest political/economic /social fights that has ever loomed before the American people: how will tens of millions of uninsured, and inadequately insured, individuals and families get desperately needed, affordable medical-health coverage?

The outcome of this struggle will impact most Americans, determine how billions, even trillions of dollars will be spent, and may well be the pivotal issue in next year’s Presidential election.

The King Kong of 800-Pound Gorillas

Adequate, affordable medical-health coverage is the issue that towers over most states and across the country. Like the proverbial 800-pound gorilla, it thrusts itself into most political debates, social planning and economic considerations. It strikes at the heart of our country’s essential health and welfare, promising universal coverage and a healthy populace, while threatening the most dire consequences if such coverage fails to materialize and be maintained.

Our economy, according to the Los Angeles Times, spends some $1.6 trillion on health care. That’s trillion, with a t. Despite that incomprehensible figure, more than 43 million Americans are without any medical insurance, and millions more have only bare-bones minimal coverage.

Something is drastically wrong when the most powerful country in the world, possessor of the greatest economic engine ever, cannot—or simply will not—provide basic health coverage to 15% of its population. And, let us be very clear about this, our shocking failure to provide such coverage is not due to a lack of workable, relatively affordable proposals to remedy the situation. Our health-care system is breaking down everywhere, and our “leaders’” primary response seems to be finger-pointing and rhetoric rather than the “let’s-fix-it-no-matter-what-it-takes” determination that built this country, won us two world wars and put a man on the moon.

Much of the problem stems from either a) a lack of real political will and leadership, and/or b) bottom-line corporate (the health-industry establishment) greed that prefers profits to preventive and curative health care. Health-insurance premiums have been spiraling upward for years, even as the scope of coverage for those insured has narrowed, and an increasingly number of people are discovering that they can no longer afford adequate insurance (and this, of course, does not even include the people who are completely uninsured).

Employers say they can no longer keep up with the increases, they cannot continue to provide health coverage for their employees (the root cause of the three current strikes in greater Los Angeles). What, then, happens to uninsured (or grossly under-insured) people and families when medical crises arise? They go to public hospitals and physicians. But the problem here is that these institutions are now providing more “unpaid-for” care than they get in premiums from insured people. They are hemorrhaging money, and, ultimately, we, the taxpayers, have to help make up the difference.

The key issue here, suggested in the Times study, appears to be “that [health-care] costs are rising so fast that the burdens are growing unbearable for employers and employees. Controlling costs will require many steps, including slowing the rise in prescription drug prices. But most experts agree it won’t be possible to restrain health-care costs without significantly reducing the number of uninsured.”

Ideas abound on how to do this, but they all founder on the familiar reef of “who pays?” Some of the more talked-about proposals include:

• Shift more of the burden to businesses that now do not provide health-care coverage (much like SB 2, recently signed by Governor Gray Davis). Problem: it may be asking too much from low-wage employers, especially in these uncertain economic times.
  
  
• Use taxpayer revenue to fund coverage for the uninsured (the nine Democrats running for President in 2004 are all offering variations on this theme). Problem: these plans could well strain the federal budget beyond its bursting point. (Still, it is no stretch of the imagination to suggest that the Democratic candidate who best articulates a practical, affordable health-care insurance program for all Americans is the one who will finally emerge from the pack and be in a position to challenge President Bush next year).
  
  
• The uninsured pay for their health coverage through tax credits (President Bush’s idea, though it would provide only partial coverage at best). Problem: the uninsured would still have to pay so much that most of them could not afford coverage, even with a tax credit.

The solution may well be found where most answers lie: in compromise. In a more balanced and fair division of health-care costs between employers, individuals/families and government. This would not necessarily work out to an equal division of the costs (the $1.6 trillion tab being split in thirds between the three parties), because most of the uninsured, by definition, cannot afford to pay too much for coverage. A proposal suggested by an HMO would mandate that employers provide health coverage, that individuals (including young, healthy people, who often opt out, figuring they don’t need it) purchase coverage, and that government helps subsidize both groups.

It’s an idea, a starting point for discussions and thinking. The bottom line is something must be done. As the Times notes, “In an economy that already spends $1.6 trillion on health care, the cost of universal coverage is almost trivial: about $75 billion more a year. But it won’t be possible to find those funds unless business, individuals and government all shoulder their share of the load.”

Looking Back: Ten Years Ago

As many of you may remember, a decade ago at this time of the year, Local 18 members struck the Department of Water & Power, primarily over wages and the benefit package. Much like our brothers and sisters now on the lines, we fought for adequate, affordable medical-health coverage for ourselves and our families. Fortunately, for all concerned—Local 18 members, the Department, and the people of Los Angeles who relied on our work and dedication—our strike was relatively short. And we won much of what we sought.

Our job action represented a strong, unified and determined effort by our members, who knew what the stakes were for themselves and their families, and vowed to win what they deserved. Similarly, today, members of ATU Local 1277, UFCW 770 and ALADS are out there, fighting for an essential right, a basic component of human security and dignity: health insurance that they can truly afford and that unequivocally provides for their needs. We salute these working people and their leaders, and stand with them, both in spirit and understanding and, of course, by honoring their picket lines!

In unity,

BRIAN D’ARCY, Business Manager