Showing posts with label Center for American Progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Center for American Progress. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

WalMart Supports Workers' Right to Health Insurance Now

Walmart now supports workers' right to health insurance. This is a pretty drastic change for a corporation which used to hand our federal assistance forms to new employees.

Specifically, Walmart has come out in support of requiring companies to provide health insurance/coverage to their employees. The mandate requiring health coverage and benefits is largely contested by just about every business association in DC, including, but not limited to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Walmart wrote a joint letter with SEIU and the Center for American Progress...yeah, you read that right. This could mean a variety of things, and trust me I'm running through all the devious scenarios that Walmart could be up to. The article implies, Walmart could be attempting to mend fences with the liberals and make friends in Washington. Walmart has expanded benefits for workers in the recent past, but it has also been successfully fighting and winning lawsuits on the state evel which would have required companies to provide insurance.

The typical arguments apply on each side for and against the mandate: it is essential for health care reform and it is an unnecessary burden for small businesses. The letter composed by Walmart, SEIU, and the Center for American Progress calls for varying degrees of contributions by different size companies.

I'm still scratching my head over this one...