Printed from Urbana-Champaign IMC : http://www.ucimc.org/
UCIMC Independent Media 
Center
Media Centers

[topics]
biotech

[regions]
united states

oceania

germany

[projects]
video
satellite tv
radio
print

[process]
volunteer
tech
process & imc docs
mailing lists
indymedia faq
fbi/legal updates
discussion

west asia
palestine
israel
beirut

united states
worcester
western mass
virginia beach
vermont
utah
urbana-champaign
tennessee
tampa bay
tallahassee-red hills
seattle
santa cruz, ca
santa barbara
san francisco bay area
san francisco
san diego
saint louis
rogue valley
rochester
richmond
portland
pittsburgh
philadelphia
omaha
oklahoma
nyc
north texas
north carolina
new orleans
new mexico
new jersey
new hampshire
minneapolis/st. paul
milwaukee
michigan
miami
maine
madison
la
kansas city
ithaca
idaho
hudson mohawk
houston
hawaii
hampton roads, va
dc
danbury, ct
columbus
colorado
cleveland
chicago
charlottesville
buffalo
boston
binghamton
big muddy
baltimore
austin
atlanta
arkansas
arizona

south asia
mumbai
india

oceania
sydney
perth
melbourne
manila
jakarta
darwin
brisbane
aotearoa
adelaide

latin america
valparaiso
uruguay
tijuana
santiago
rosario
qollasuyu
puerto rico
peru
mexico
ecuador
colombia
chile sur
chile
chiapas
brasil
bolivia
argentina

europe
west vlaanderen
valencia
united kingdom
ukraine
toulouse
thessaloniki
switzerland
sverige
scotland
russia
romania
portugal
poland
paris/�le-de-france
oost-vlaanderen
norway
nice
netherlands
nantes
marseille
malta
madrid
lille
liege
la plana
italy
istanbul
ireland
hungary
grenoble
galiza
euskal herria
estrecho / madiaq
cyprus
croatia
bulgaria
bristol
belgrade
belgium
belarus
barcelona
austria
athens
armenia
antwerpen
andorra
alacant

east asia
qc
japan
burma

canada
winnipeg
windsor
victoria
vancouver
thunder bay
quebec
ottawa
ontario
montreal
maritimes
london, ontario
hamilton

africa
south africa
nigeria
canarias
ambazonia

www.indymedia.org

This site
made manifest by
dadaIMC software
&
the friendly folks of
AcornActiveMedia.com

Comment on this article | Email this Article
News :: Labor
AFL-CIO Study Documents Wal-Mart's Race To The Bottom On Health Coverage Current rating: 0
21 Oct 2003
Wal-Mart Exemplifies Harmful Trend Among Large Firms to Cut Employee Benefits
WASHINGTON - October 21 - Wal-Mart exemplifies the harmful trend among America�s large employers to shirk health insurance responsibilities at the cost of their workers and the community, according to a new report by the AFL-CIO. With reduced coverage and increased workers� premium fees, Wal-Mart -- the largest private employer in the U.S. -- sets a troubling standard. Fewer than half of Wal-Mart workers are insured under the company plan -- just 46 percent. This rate is dramatically lower than the 66 percent of workers at large private firms who are insured under their companies� plans, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study released today which documents the growing trend among large employers to drop health insurance for their workers. Wal-Mart�s workers also pay an exceptionally large proportion of health plan coverage. The typical employee at large companies pays 16 percent to 25 percent of total health plan premiums, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report. The AFL-CIO�s study reports that Wal-Mart requires its workers to make exceptionally large contributions to health care costs -- 42 percent of the total cost of the plan.

As 70,000 grocery store workers are on strike to keep affordable health care, Wal-Mart�s role as the force driving the race to the bottom in health care benefits has risen to center stage. �The grocery store workers striking with the UFCW are taking a stand for all American working families who are being squeezed beyond their limits by our broken and inadequate health care system,� said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. �As Wal-Mart continues to leech off communities, forcing taxpayers and workers to pick up health care costs, it does tremendous damage as it drives other companies to do the same.� While historically providing good health benefits to their employees, the supermarkets now argue that they must shift greater costs onto workers in order to counter the cutthroat competition they face from Wal-Mart.

Workers who do not receive health coverage on the job and cannot afford the rising cost of private plans seek out health care from the public system, or go without, according to both studies. �This downward spiral translates into even greater demands on public health care programs, and ultimately our nation must find a policy and legislative solution to take this burden off working families and communities,� said Gerald Shea, the AFL-CIO�s Director of Governmental Affairs. Shea pointed out that the state of California recently passed a health care bill that mandates employers to cover their employees. �This policy attempts to end the cost shifting onto its public health care system by employers. Federal policy to moderate rising costs of private health care is also needed,� Shea said.

To receive a copy of the new Wal-Mart report, please contact Sarah Massey at (202) 637-5018 or download the report here:
http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/healthpolicy/upload/Wal-Mart_final.pdf
See also:
http://www.aflcio.org/
Add a quick comment
Title
Your name Your email

Comment

Text Format
To add more detailed comments, or to upload files, see the full comment form.