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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16705 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM
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remarks of senator hillary rodham clinton at uaw legislative conference of 2/8/06 How do we go forward and not back? Let’s start with healthcare. I tried to do something about this and the UAW was one of my greatest partners. I still have the scars to show for how difficult it was, but I’m not giving up, we need to fix our healthcare system, and give people quality affordable healthcare. You know the statistics. We were driving down the number of uninsured in the 1990’s, now it’s back up. More than 45 million of your fellow Americans are uninsured. We are spending 16 percent of our entire national income on health care. I’ll give you a little inside information: we don’t even get as good healthcare as people who spend less than we do. Here we are spending all this money. We’ve got 45 million uninsured. 50 million people, mostly working people and their children who get their healthcare from Medicaid. And we don’t even get the best quality healthcare by spending all that money because we spend so much of it on intermediaries. I’ve been in six pharmacies in the last month. It’s heartbreaking to see people trying to get their prescriptions filled. Most of them poor people, sick people, people with disabilities. They’ve been assigned to some insurance company. They’re not even getting the drugs that their doctors prescribed and we’re taking billions of your hard earned tax dollars and giving it to insurance companies to get them to provide prescription drugs to our elderly and people with disabilities. That’s not efficient, that not cost-effective, that’s wasteful. And that’s the kind of direction that this Administration wants to take us in healthcare. And the rising costs are making it harder and harder for employers to afford healthcare. And what are some doing? You know very well. They’re cutting it back, they’re requiring more pay, and even worse, they are moving jobs offshore. If we don’t get a consensus about what to do about healthcare, we are going to lose our competitive battle in the global economy. We need to, first, do everything possible to stand against the President’s budget which came out Monday. As bad as things are now, this budget is unbelievably bad. You will see the proposed budget slashes $36 billion for Medicare. It cuts $500 million from veterans’ healthcare, increasing enrollment fees and drug costs for veterans. This really gets me. I don’t know how many veterans are out here, and I don’t know how many of you go to the VA system, but the VA system is the most efficient, highest quality institution in our healthcare system because starting in the 1990’s, we began to push it forward into the future. Electronic medical records, giving the government the right to negotiate for drug prices. Now the Administration wants to make it too expensive for veterans to use. We’re going to stand against that. Anybody who has served this country deserves to have access to a VA system that takes care of them for life. One more thing: I have fought, for the last three years, to make sure we gave healthcare to National Guard and Reserve members. We’re getting there, we’ve finally got it passed. But that’s another issue I care deeply about. I don’t know if many of you knew this, but when National Guard and Reserve members started being called up, 25 percent of them did not have health insurance. That’s the country we’re living in, folks. Where is the money going? Well, you know what choices are in this budget. Cut Medicaid, raise costs for veterans, but don’t mess with their tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans. This budget has half a trillion dollars in tax cuts aimed at the wealthiest of Americans. Its embarrassing, isn’t it. We’re cutting not only veterans benefits, we’re cutting childcare, healthcare for children, we’re cutting law enforcement, we’re cutting everything. Just so millionaires can have their tax cuts.
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NY Times 1/1/94 interview of uaw president owen bieber "You can't just keep talking about good high-paying jobs," he said. But Mr. Bieber acknowledged that his union had suffered because of inroads overseas competitors had made in the auto industry, seizing about a quarter of the domestic market for new cars and trucks. To help stem the flow of industrial jobs overseas, Mr. Bieber said, the U.A.W. will continue fighting for Mr. Clinton's health-care plan. While the union favors a single-payer approach, Mr. Bieber said, Mr. Clinton's plan, as presented, offers the best hope for restraining health-care costs for large employers, which will help keep their labor costs competitive. |
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Replying to: grbeck (Jan 09, 2009 7:47 am) I know what value added and touch labor is. You certainly can't be saying that insurance companies are value added in any respect. Anyone can buy this product online in this day in age. |
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Replying to: lumoy (Jan 09, 2009 2:26 pm) recently, i went to the pharmacy to get a prescription for pain medication. no it wasn't for those little blue pills that the UAW supposedly consumes so many of.  luckily, i didn't need it and i only bought it because the co pay was $10. while i was waiting i saw all those plastic pill boxes. you know with 7 day or 30 day compartments in them. i would rather turn in my life card than end up like that.
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Replying to: lumoy (Jan 09, 2009 2:26 pm) And again you have side stepped the real issue. How will GM survive unless everyone in the UAW takes a cut in pay? Not just Wagoner. Though I think he belongs in the unemployment line.
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Replying to: explorerx4 (Jan 09, 2009 4:08 pm) I used to feel the way you do about pills. It's different when you actually have the decisions to make. I still work and have young kids so I'll be around a bit yet....
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Replying to: fezo (Jan 09, 2009 5:06 pm) we have somewhat parallel responsibilites to our kids and parents as the UAW leadership does to their members. i still would 'not like' (don't say hate) a life of taking pills. if i walked a mile in your shoes, maybe i would feel differently. i hope you decide to try out giant slalom skiing when you are 100 years old. 
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 09, 2009 5:00 pm) i don't understand your point about why couldn't the uaw or the clintons get national health care under the clintons. are you suggesting that they could have done it at any time they wanted but really didn't try? are you suggesting that control of congress is all that is necessary to get a law passed? by that way of thinking, Bush could have passed the amnesty for illegal immigrants bill or privatized social security any time he wanted? ( think of having your SS investments in the stock market now!! for you, that would mean 'being hoisted on your own petard' twice! ) I started at the UAW in 1970--all i can tell you is that from day one i was well aware that passage of national health care was one of the UAW's principal legislative goals. does everyone else but you realize that national health care has not been enacted in the usa (unlike every other industrialized country) because of opposition from insurance and drug companies, most doctors and the republican party. that traditional opposition and the "socialized medicine" boogie man is not going to work this time. the usa's current health care system has failed about as bad as bush.. our health care system's astounding steady annual cost increases and the huge numbers without insurance coverage just cannot be ignored any longer. if you cannot see this, then I can only diagnose you as suffering from such an acute case of ideological blindness so bad that no cure is possible. fortunately, the major player and real owner of congress has changed sides. the employer community has finally had the scales fall from their eyes. they, along with almost everyone else, can finally see what has to be done. The employer community no longer wants to be the primary health care payers for the country with the responsibility for trying to control costs and/or shift those costs to their employees . this switch finally will bring us much needed national health care-for you to see or at least experience. someday soon..
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Replying to: dino001 (Jan 09, 2009 10:02 am) So if Ford Motor Company knew that its Pinto would catch on fire at a relatively slow rear impact. Knowledge of this, and doing a cost benefit calculation, they saw that the recall would cost more than lawsuits. So they sat on their hands and never ever imagined that a grossly hideous plaintiff would show up for trial. A jury of our peers, sane and rational folks like you and I, decided to teach them a lesson. Ford had ample opportunity and a highly paid legal team to defend them. I think that criminal charges should also have been filed for the reckless behavior. They wanton and willingly had malice of forethought and acted in a reprehensible manner. Tort reform is a double edge sword. California set caps on awards. An OBGYN made a mistake. $250,000 is what the malpractice insurance paid out. Unfortunately the taxpayers will have to fork out the $2,000,000 to take care of this child for the rest of his/her life. Gee, thats progress??? |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 09, 2009 5:00 pm) I recall the insurance industry, drug makers, and all those special interest groups airing commercials and propaganda. The very folks who claim to be concern for our well being/health came out loud and clear. They are more concern about money. Greed is the reason that rural America is under served and poor folks are not getting medical attention. Its a disgrace that the real reason for going into medicine is greed. Few if any go into medicine for the right reasons and the same could be said about politics.
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