Cincinnati Tea Party

For Ohioans who worked long and hard to pass the Health Care Freedom Amendment, it is very satisfying to read The Hill report regarding labor unions who are now coming out publicly against Obamacare. Last week, the OLC published an article about the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers and their dissatisfaction with with the law, and this week, we are learning about another labor union coming out against the ACA, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

James Hansen, President of the UFCW, published an op-ed in The Hill discussing his concerns that many businesses, big and small, share. Through its penalties and mandates, the ACA is set up to discourage employers from offering health care to part time workers and to workers on the lower end of the income scale. Hansen states, “This creates unstoppable incentives for employers to reduce weekly hours for workers currently on our plans and push them onto the exchanges where many will pay higher costs for poorer insurance with a more limited network of providers. In other words, they will be forced to change their coverage and quite possibly their doctor. Others will be channeled into Medicaid, where taxpayers must pick up the tab.”

Back in January, The Wall Street Journal reported that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO, and Unite Here has also voiced their concerns with Obamacare.

For the Ohio Project petitioner who was mocked and abused by many a left-leaning idealist as they politely asked for signatures, the news that even Obama’s base is turning against the ACA, entitles them to one free, “I-told-you-so” moment.  It does not seem like much in the way of compensation, but with the way things are going for Obamacare, there are sure to be more opportunities to gloat on the horizon.

Read the full Hill report here.

The UFCW statement can be found here.

The Wall Street Journal article can be found here.

Other OLC reporting on this issue can be found here.