White House: Obama Has 'Productive' Meeting With Labor Leaders

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Wall Street Journal

White House: Obama Has 'Productive' Meeting With Labor Leaders

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The White House called President Barack Obama's meeting with labor leaders "productive," but didn't indicate if the president had been swayed by union opposition to taxing high-cost health insurance plans.

"The president and labor leaders had an exchange of views and had a productive discussion about their shared commitment to health reform that will lower health costs for American workers and their families, protect them from unfair insurance company practices, and enable employers to create jobs and raise wages," an administration official said.

Obama met with union officials, who oppose a Senate plan to tax family health plans worth more than $23,000, late Monday. The session, however, was closed to reporters, and the labor leaders didn't address the media at the White House.

The White House hasn't signaled if Obama would sign health-care legislation that doesn't include the tax on so-called "Cadillac" insurance plans.

"He supported the Senate bill and that provision was in that bill for what it does in terms of changing the direction of health-care costs," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier Monday. "Obviously, the president has a position, and I think we'll talk to them about why he sees this as something that's important in the bill."

Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, urged lawmakers in a speech Monday to back an excise tax on the rich rather than the Senate's proposed tax. Organized labor's preferred approach--also backed by House Democrats--is contained in the House version of the health-care bill, which must be merged with the bill that passed the Senate last month.

Labor unions oppose the payment plan in the Senate bill because they say many of their members, who have traded higher wages for more comprehensive benefits packages, would be penalized by it.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100111-715734.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

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Remember the Cold War when the US and USSR would issue joint statement about productive discussions, meaning that there were unresolved disagreements between the parties?

Here we go again!

It is significant that the AFL-CIO has not issued a statement. Not yet anyway!

[Zhade]

1. The phrase "an excise tax on the rich" confuses me.

Isn't an excise tax, by definition, one that's passed on to customers?

[rateyes]

2. Obama had better listen to the unions. He screws them over

by going back on his promise, and accepting McCAIN'S idea to tax "cadillac plans," and he is a one termer for sure.

[sandnsea]

3. McCain's plan treated premiums like income

Everybody whose employer pays their premiums would have had it included as income under McCain's plan. The two plans aren't anything alike.

[placton]

5. PREDICTION: Obama WILL screw over the unions

after all, that is what he does to his base

[defendandprotect]

8. Yep --

[dysfunctional press]

14. i don't think that he cares about being a two-termer...

his place in history as the first black president is assured- and you don't get a different severance/pension package for those extra four years.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. I Hope They Brought Lube

Dear God, they need a lot given what's being inserted.

[t0dd]

6. Probably made some empty promises on the EFCA.

in return for health insurance reform support.

That he won't keep.

I hope Labor didn't fall for it.

[Proletariatprincess]

7. I have been waiting all day to hear something...anything about this meeting.

And this is all so far? I'm not encouraged by this. Just hope that Trumpka and the unions stick to their guns on this.
Eugene C. Debbs said that it is better to vote for what you want and lose than for what you don't want and win.
...I haven't voted for a Dem in years. We need a real Labor Party.

[mzmolly]

9. We do need a labor

party. I hope the unions were able to make progress.

[IndianaGreen]

10. That sounds too much like the disastrous Labour Party in the UK

A party that was FRAKKED by the war criminal Tony Blair and his "New Labour" poodles. Gordon Brown will lead Labour to an ignominious defeat this year.

What the US needs is an American version of the UK's Liberal-Democrat Party. Nick Clegg's Liberal-Democrats are a viable alternative to the reactionary Tories of David Cameron, and the discredited Labour.

[mzmolly]

12. I worded that poorly.

I meant we need Dems to better represent labor. ;)

[IndianaGreen]

13. I am reminded of Jesus warning about serving two masters

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other

Democratic Party can either serve the working class, or the capitalists that exploit the workers. It cannot do both!

[mzmolly]

15. I agree.

:hi:

[Juche]

11. I'm not opposed to an excise tax

The concept seems somewhat feasible as a way to reduce health care growth and increase wages.

However a strong public option, drug negotiations and drug reimportation would also slow health care cost growth and increase wages (since less money has to go to health care). They would force private insurance and pharma companies to lower their prices and increase effeciency in order to remain competitive. If pharma didn't lower their prices, people would just reimport from Canada. If private insurance isn't competitive, people go to the public option.

To me what is a really, really bad sign is that there are different ways to improve health care by improving quality and decreasing costs that piss off certain groups. Reimportation and negotiation pisses off pharma. A public option pisses off the hospitals and private insurers. An excise tax pisses off unions.

But of all those plans, only the one that pisses off unions gets any meaningful traction in congress and the white house. That is a really bad sign.

Didn't unions put about $500 million into the 2008 election cycle?