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Union Leaders Increasingly Critical of Health Care Law

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Union Leaders Increasingly Critical of Health Care Law
Three Weeks Remain to Enroll
 

(Washington, D.C.) – In general, labor unions were strong supporters of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, when it was enacted in 2010. Since then however, unions have been increasingly critical of the law. The 22,000 member strong United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers called for repeal last year.  The leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the UFCW, and UNITE-HERE have also been strongly critical of Obamacare, declaring last year that it will "destroy the very health and well-being of workers" and "destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class." Unions around the country have been fighting to protect their members from the effects of the law.
 
Now UNITE-HERE is expanding its work to inform members about the damage the law is doing. A study by the organization finds that "the ACA threatens the middle class with higher premiums, loss of hours, and a shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage." UNITE-HERE criticizes Members of Congress for protecting themselves from the damage of the law, saying that "Congress and the President carved out an exemption for staffers on the ACA." With just three weeks remaining for enrollment under the law, Americans are feeling the negative impacts of the new health care system and it is losing more and more of the support it formerly had.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:

"America's labor leaders are making it increasingly clear that this system will hurt their members badly. Instead of expanding choice and protecting plans that workers like, the President's health care law is forcing them to give up benefits they have enjoyed – and hitting their pockets. They are finding that it harms workers' health, and threatens the 40-hour work week that all working Americans depend on. It is simply not what Americans were promised.

The President has made a number of changes to the law to try to protect special interests that are hurt by it, leaving the rest of America with no such relief. That's the wrong approach. The White House needs to stop granting special favors, and work with Congress to enact real reforms that protect the doctor-patient relationship and expand choice – without harming American workers."

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 571-257-3309 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173.