Commentary

SEIU’s Henry: House Bill Would Lower Wages and Take Away the Healthcare People Get Through Work


WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–January 7, 2015.  In response to reports that H.R. 30 will be taken up by the House of Representatives, SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement:

“A bill (H.R. 30) to be voted on by the House tomorrow (Thursday) would put 6.5 million workers at risk for part-timing by increasing the Affordable Care Act’s hours threshold used to determine full-time employment from 30 to 40 hours.

“This proposal would make it easier for bad-actor employers to manipulate the work hours of working women and men, depriving them of both benefits and wages. This bill would give employers a huge incentive to drop a person’s hours from 40 to 39 just to kick them off their healthcare plans–and reduce wages while they’re at it. According to estimates, about 1 million workers would lose their employer-sponsored healthcare plans.

“Just like the corporations that force taxpayers to pick up the tab for low-wage, no benefits jobs, bad-actor companies are trying to evade their responsibility to pay their fair share by lowering workers’ hours and shifting an additional $53 billion in health care costs to American taxpayers.

“Just this morning, we learned that the Affordable Care Act has pushed the rate of uninsured to a record low, below 13 percent, compared to 18 percent two years ago. Why is one of the first bills from the new Congress one that puts healthcare, wages and the ability to raise a family at risk for millions of working men and women?

“I urge members of Congress to vote against this anti-working families bill.”

Source: www.seiu.org


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