U.S. Congress Passes Historic Health-Care Bill, 220-211
After more than a year of public and media discussion of President Obama’s proposal for national health-insurance, Democrats succeeded in passing a health-care bill on March 21, after more than eight hours of heated debate in Congress,  by a  vote of 220-211, with 33 Democrats joining Republicans in opposition.

The bill, which will be signed by President Obama, would extend health insurance to 32 million people who are not now covered. It would prevent insurance companies from rejecting customers because of  pre-existing  medical conditions, and would extend coverage to children and insured family members up to age 26. Supporters of the bill  said that it would help small businesses through tax cuts, so they could buy coverage for  their employees. They said this was the first time in a century that  a health care bill was ready to be enacted, and that Americans should not pass up the opportunity.

Opponents of the bill objected to its trillion dollar cost, and the Obama administration's tax-and-spend policies.  They scoffed at the assertion of the bill’s supporters that, despite the expenditure of providing 32 million people with health insurance, the government would save about 140 billion during this decade and more than a trillion in the next decade. The opposition said that some 37 states intended to test the constitutionality of the measure in the courts.

AFL-CIO’s Top Leaders in  Campaign Tour to ‘Make Wall Street Pay’
A new AFL-CIO campaign  will be launched this week with a two-barreled theme: “Make Wall Street Pay!” and “Good Jobs Now!” The AFL-CO’s three top officers—President Richard Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and Executive Vice President Arlene Holt—will appear at union-sponsored events in more than  60 cities and counties across the country.

It is not clear what messages the three labor leaders will bring to  troubled union members at each of these rallies and marches. There is no evidence  they will propose a specific  reparations plan to make Wall Street pay for the harm they’ve done to millions of working people.

As for  “Good Jobs Now,” the AFL-CIO could do much better if it demonstrated at the home districts of anti-labor members of Congress during their two-week recess. For most union members, the rallies are mainly to see their leaders in the flesh and listen carefully to what  proposals they have to offer to make Wall Street pay.

Showdown with President  Arroyo over 43 Detained Health Workers
An unprecedented showdown between the official human rights institution and the Philippines president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is taking place March 19 in Manila over the fate of 43 community health workers who were abducted by 300 military and police personnel on Feb. 6, 2010. The military has been holding the 43, alleging that they are members of the rebel New People’s Army.

 The human rights movement  and the families of the detained are alleging that the 43 are being tortured to coerce them into confessing to be members of the NPA. “The reckless arrest of these 43 health workers is directly related to the May 10 presidential elections and the ongoing deadly political repression in the guise of a counter-insurgency program,” said Peter Murphy of the Philippines Australia Union Link.

The Commission on Human Rights issued an order on Feb. 26 that required President Arroyo and 14 other high officials, as well as a number of military and police officers to explain in detail, within 10 days of the order, their actions in relation to the February detention and arrest of the 43 health workers, under pain of contempt if they failed to comply. The military have been ordered to bring the 43 detainees to the March 19 hearing on their case.

Greece  Paralyzed by  General Strike over Austerity Plan
Greek public transport was halted, flights grounded and state hospitals left with emergency staff only on March 18, as workers held another general strike to protest painful spending cuts.  Journalists, teachers, doctors and air-traffic controllers are among those on strike, while police officers, firefighters, and coast guard employees plan  to join protest rallies.

Under intense pressure from  the European Union to quickly show fiscal improvement, the government announced an additional euro 4.8 billion ($65.33 billion) in savings through public sector salary cuts, hiring and pension freezes and consumer tax boosts. The government says the tough cuts are the only way to dig Greece out of a crisis that has hammered the common European currency and alarmed international markets, grossly inflating the loan-dependent country’s borrowing costs.

Greece insists it doesn’t need a bailout, and its European partners are reluctant to fund one. But it has called for European and international support for its program, saying that if its effort to borrow on the market fails, it could appeal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.

Big Business in Australia Wants a two-Year Wage Freeze
The demand by big business for a two-year delay  in any wage increase for about 1.4 million workers would drive down living standards and harm the economy, say  the unions.   With business and the economy recovering from the downturn, and major companies posting $1 billion in profits, the push for an extended pay freeze is motivated solely by greed and self-interest.  

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said low paid workers have not had a wage increase since 2008, and employer submissions to the annual wage review  would extend this freeze up to Jan. 11. The ACTU is calling for a $27 a week, or 72 cents an hour, increase in  the minimum wage. If  granted, it would lift the national minimum wage from $543.78 to $570.78 per week.

The ACTU claim represents a pay rise of 4.2 percent for the average worker. “People earning less than $15 an hour should not have to wait that long without a pay increase,” Lawrence said.

Court Orders GM to Reinstate Russian Auto Leader
A Russian district court ordered General Motors to reinstate Evgeny Ivanov,  leader of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), and pay him three and a half months’ wages in arrears and compensate him for moral harm. Ivanov  was fired after the union began an “Italian” strike at the plant on Nov. 11, 2009, demanding a wage increase, introduction of clear annual vacation rules and a normal 40-hourworkweek.

In a few days of the work-to-rule strike, workers managed to slash the plant’s production rate. However, GM’s  managers broke down the unity of the workers and took action against the “troublemakers.”  On Nov. 20, Ivanov was fired and forcefully ejected from the plant. At the same time, GM created a “yellow union” to downplay the role of ITUA.

The violation of Ivanov’s rights is one of the examples included in a complaint recently submitted to the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labor Organization (ILO) by the All-Russian Federation of Labor The violations include physical attacks on union leaders; denying union leaders access to members’ workplaces; government interference in trade union matters, and a ban on the right to bargain collectively.

A Correction

In our column of March 13, we stated that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had filed a lawsuit against Goldman Sachs. We have been informed that the suit was actually filed by  the pension fund of IBEW Local 98 in Philadelphia.

To keep informed on what is happening to workers and their unions in other countries, read our weekly “The World of Labor,” posted here and on our web site:  (www.laboreducator.org).