Tentative Deal Reached for Unions to Sell Out Middle Class - Jane Hamsher/FDL

[WillyT]

Tentative Deal Reached for Unions to Sell Out Middle Class
By: Jane Hamsher Wednesday January 13, 2010 2:53 pm

<snip>

You could see this one coming down Sepulveda, ever since the Senate started doing carve-outs for individual unions to exempt them from the excise tax:

Unions tentatively struck a deal Tuesday to exempt collectively bargained healthcare plans from a tax on high-cost plans expected to be used to help raise revenue for the healthcare overhaul.

On the one hand, it’s the job of the unions to look out for their members. With the White House heavily promoting the Cadillac tax since the minute they got into office, it was going to be exceptionally difficult to beat the excise tax back.

But the reason that so many supported Richard Trumka’s tough stance (”We won’t support the bill if it doesn’t have a public option in it”) was because they were deeply affected by the outcome of the health care bill, whether they were in a union or not, and they rallied around his leadership. Without that broad support of the public cheering them on, they would not have had the ability to move the White House at all.

Jon Walker and I were talking about this at lunch today. He started calling the excise tax the “teacher’s tax,” because it affects companies that hire older workers. “If you hire 28 year-olds to make snowboards you can have boob jobs and dental and whatever you want in your plan and you’ll never hit the cap,” he says. “But if you’ve got a bunch of middle aged diabetic women working for you, you’ll barely be able to find junk insurance. It’s pure age and sex discrimination.”

All the aggro coming from members of Congress today about the health care bill is due to the fact that the natural financial constituency of the left is the liberal interest groups, and the unions are the most financially powerful. When they want to shake things up, they can do it. Expect that when the unions settle for toenail clippings in the health care bill for the promise of an EFCA vote that will never happen, most of that “aggro” will disappear.

But the day of reckoning for the unions is fast arriving, too. They’re already under tremendous pressure from their locals and members to demand more on health care, and they’re being pacified by promises of an impending EFCA victory — but only just. That dam isn’t going to hold much longer, and now that the unions have decided to jump in a bunker in an “every man for himself” crouch I don’t forsee much of a public outcry if they don’t get one.

<snip>

Link: http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/01/13/tentative-deal-reached-for-unions-to-sell-out-middle-class/

:banghead:

[thunder rising]

1. The middle class sold out the unions long ago. Now mid-class finds unions have more clout?

[FiveGoodMen]

14. Good point, but two wrongs aren't going to make a right.

[WeDidIt]

2. Nothing says bullshit like LiarDogFake. n/t

[quiller4]

13. So true. n/t

[Mojorabbit]

22. Whatever you may think of the site

the message in the op is dead on correct. Separate and conquer seems to be the dc strategy and it works.

[bluestateguy]

3. Oh, I see, now the unions are the bad guys

It's hard to keep up around here: who is under the bus and who is a flawless saint this week?

[WeDidIt]

5. There is only one flawless saint

Jane Hamsher is Her name.

And Liardogfake is her profit.

[bluestateguy]

8. No, no, no.

It's this person:

[WeDidIt]

12. He could easily end up under that bus

as he could still vote in favor of the final HCR bill.

[Spazito]

4. Holy crap, watch out below....

Unions are about to be thrown to the wolves by Ms. Hamsher joining women (given her joining with Schlafly for political expediency) the poor (given her joining with Norquist for political expediency) and everyone else the teabaggers don't like (given her encouragement to join the teabaggers in their protest).

Wow, just wow.

[bluestateguy]

10. She's so left wing she's a conservative

nt

[Laelth]

6. k&r for labor. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[berni_mccoy]

7. FDL / Hamsher / Norquist / Teabaggers going after UNIONS?!?!

Surprised I am not.

[WeDidIt]

9. LiarDogFake has spun off Joanie Loves Chachi.

:evilgrin:

[berni_mccoy]

11. !

:rofl:

:spray:

You owe me a new keyboard!

[WeDidIt]

16. What else does one do after one has already jumped the shark?

:evilgrin:

[bluestateguy]

19. How about "Checking In"?

Spinoff of the Jeffersons. Shitcanned after 4 episodes.

[WeDidIt]

20. The Jeffersons never jumped the shark

and that happened with Hamsher signing on with Grover Norquist and the teabaggers.

[quiller4]

15. Does Hamsher have any shame? n/t

[berni_mccoy]

17. No.

[grytpype]

18. Damn, no one is pure enough for the Leftbaggers.

[highplainsdem]

21. Hamsher is quoting a report denied by an AFL-CIO spokesman:

http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0110/Unions_strike_tentative_deal_on_Cadillac_tax.html

This story was published originally at Congress Daily.

This is what Politico added:

*UPDATE: AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale e-mails to knock down the story: "It is not true that there any deals. With our national call-in day, and meetings with the White House and Congress, we continue to work hard to get a bill that is worthy of being called health care reform."

[Mojorabbit]

23. This was from earlier today

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4223501

[highplainsdem]

24. Yes, and that's the specific report the AFL-CIO spokesman was saying was incorrect.

National Journal's Congress Daily published it first.

Politico was one of the sites that picked it up.

Politico published the email from that AFL-CIO spokesman, denying the original report.

[Mojorabbit]

25. I guess it is a wait and see then

My opinion is we are all in this together and it will be a sad day if everyone else gets thrown under the bus and the unions accept their exemption. I could not blame them if they do as they have to do what is right for their people but it would be a travesty none the less.