AFL-CIO Launches Healthcare Drive

The AFL-CIO launched a nationwide drive for healthcare on Labor Day, pledging "to put the full force of its 10 million members and nearly 3 million union retirees behind winning secure, high-quality health care for all by 2009." A new website provides the latest health care news, videos and outlines the key principles to fix America's health care system. "The fight for secure, high-quality health care continues when Congress returns to work after Labor Day," the AFL-CIO noted. "The House and Senate are working to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover millions of uninsured children" in the face of a potential President Bush veto. "It is disgraceful that in the richest country in the world, nearly 9 million of our children don't have the care they need to stay healthy," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney - who will join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress, singers Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer and hundreds of children and activists today to demand that Bush sign the SCHIP legislation. Meanwhile, the latest U.S. Census figures show the number of Americans without health insurance increased by 2.2 million from 2005 to 2006. The number of uninsured Americans now stands at 47 million, 22.3 percent more than in 2000. Locally, 11.6 percent of DC, 13.8 percent of Maryland and 13.3 percent of Virginia residents are without health insurance. Click here to find out more.