AFL-CIO Takes on Wal-Mart

The AFL-CIO is going head to head with not just Wal-Mart, but with the core of what is wrong with corporate America: socialism for the rich.

As part of the AFL-CIO “Fair Share Health Care” campaign, activists will work with state legislators to win legislation to require companies to pay their fair share for health care. Fair Share Health Care legislation will reduce the bill taxpayers pay to cover profitable employer’s employee expenses, ease the financial strain states face in growing Medicaid costs and help level the playing field between companies that provide good jobs and benefits and those that don’t.

The Seattle Post reports:

Labor unions announced Thursday they would pursue legislation in 31 states this year to require large employers, including Wal-Mart, to spend more on health care benefits or contribute to Medicaid...

and, as we would expect:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the unions' effort, if successful, would make it harder for companies to survive. Bruce Josten, the group's executive vice president, said U.S. companies already have to pay for health care costs, unlike competitors in Europe and Asia.

What did they expect?   They, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, asked, they pleaded, they connived, and they forced  unfair international trade on the American people.  If there was ever proof that they wanted to lower the standard of living and the wages for the average American worker down to the sweatshop wage slave in China, this is it.

Watch what happens in Congress. Obviously, the AFL-CIO knew they were wasting their time with this legislation in the House of Representatives.  The strategy to take a multi-state approach will work.  Within a year or two, moderate Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats will see the writing on the wall and will be fashioning their own legislation to keep up with the states.

Southern states and so called right-to-work states will spiral to the bottom as they suffer the dual slides of an unhealthy workforce and the public tab for paying for it.

Comments

[E. Montgomery]

With all due respect, you're full of crap. As a Southern ex-patriot (Birmingham, AL) I can tell you that the "Right To Work" southern states who do not have a forced-union law are doing quite well, thank you. Your comments of them "spiralling downward with unhealthy workers, (low wages, etc.)..." are dead wrong. They are, in fact, booming economically. There has been many new auto factories built, for instance, including GM, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes and others. The wages and benefits are very good starting at nearly $15.00 per hour and averaging over $20.00 per hour with full benefits, including insurance. I know because my brother has one at the Birmingham Mercedes plant started up in 2002. They didn't even consider a Northern state, primarily because of the restrictive business laws, forced unionism and higher business taxes -- those are the real facts.

[Paul]

I guess the difference between us is that I am not impressed with $20 an hour, even if it is with benefits-especially when that wage earner had to provide a big tax subsidy to create the job.