Calling universal health care "a moral right and an economic imperative," the AFL-CIO took its clearest stand yet on working to fix the nation's broken health-care system.

The resolution was approved at the national AFL-CIO convention July 25, amid all the turmoil over the disaffiliation of the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union. It received little attention, but marked a major step for labor in the campaign for universal health care.

"America's health care situation is unsustainable . . . We must act now, and the union movement must lead," the resolution states.

The resolution says labor "cannot deliver on the promise of good jobs" unless the nation commits to "high-quality health care that is affordable and accessible to all."

The health care language, part of a broader list of labor's economic priorities, rips "large companies, such as Wal-Mart, that can afford to provide good and affordable health care for their workers [but] deliberately choose not to do so."

Labor leads the way in states
Though Congress is unlikely to act in the near future, the resolution points toward the necessary solution, said David Newby, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and a leading proponent of the call for universal health care.

The most immediate impact, Newby said, will be in states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, where unions are leading efforts to remedy the health-care crisis. The Minnesota AFL-CIO is pushing "health care for all" ? seeking a constitutional amendment on the November 2006 ballot that guarantees every resident the right to basic, affordable health care.

"As the union movement is seen as a leader in health care reform," Newby said, "that has a tremendous impact on the general public . . . It is a tremendous opportunity for us to make gains not only for our own members, but for all working families."

Partnership builds in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Newby is leading efforts to create a statewide, employment-based health insurance pool ? modeled after the type of labor-management partnership that has supported workers compensation for decades.

The comprehensive plan would cover prescription drugs and "all medically necessary care." It would cost substantially less than what employers now pay if they provide even halfway decent insurance for their workers, Newby said.

The plan works by wringing most of the administrative costs out of the health-care system, he said. Though technically not a single-payer system, the plan would require all of Wisconsin's public and private employers to pay a flat, monthly fee for each employee into a central fund, which finances the system. Workers would not pay premiums, but would have co-pays and deductibles that "in most cases, are lower than what people are paying today," Newby said.

He expects to have enough large companies on board by this fall to make a serious push for approval in the Legislature.