The nation’s largest nurses’ union has condemned the passage of the American Health Care Act by  House Republicans as “cruel and unusual punishment” for millions of Americans.  Following the vote National Nurses United issued a statement saying the bill to overturn the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, would deprive tens of millions of Americans of their health coverage and threaten millions more with bankruptcy. 

On April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe jobs. This year we will come together to defend hard-won victories by working people from attacks by right-wing Republicans and business groups. We will commit to fighting until all workers have safe jobs and the freedom to form unions to seek a better future.

The power and advantage of collective bargaining often outlasts a union member’s active employment. This was demonstrated again by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio when it agreed with the UAW that the lifetime health care benefits the union negotiated for Honeywell workers in Greenville, Ohio, in 2003 are just that: lifetime.