Verizon's demands reveal the reactionary character of Obama's health care law. The plan was never about "extending health coverage to all Americans," as Obama repeatedly asserted. Its intention was to drive down the health care costs for American corporations and the government, while ensuring the profits of the insurance, pharmaceutical, and HMO industries. The punitive taxation of "Cadillac" or :luxury" plans -- euphemistic terms for decent health care plans that cover workers and their dependents -- is an invitation for corporations to slash health care coverage.
It also illustrates the treacherous role of the trade union executives and their cheerleaders in "left" groupings like the International Socialist Organization (ISO). Obama's 2010 health care law was enthusiastically backed by the AFL-CIO, including the two unions involved in the Verizon strike, the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). In little more than one year, that reform has been used as the hammer to dismantle the benefits and incomes of 45,000 CWA and IBEW workers.
-- Tom Eley, "Obama’s health care 'reform' and the Verizon strike" (WSWS).
