Though today it rates a front-page story in The New York Times, the difficult times the United Auto Workers (my union) faces is certainly nothing new. We’ve been losing members for a long time and, though there has been a lot of attention on organizing new members, the numbers have not made up the losses. This is not a criticism just a hard, cold fact.

There is one thing the UAW might do: why not come out of its convention this week with a new commitment to push for single-payer health insurance? After all, health care costs are killing the auto industry (General Motors spends more on health care than it does on steel). Single-payer would throw a lifeline to an industry and a union. In the Times’ article, our union’s president acknowledged health care costs as the overriding issue:

But Mr. Gettelfinger acknowledged that the union’s health care benefits
helped create a ballooning health cost crisis that had become
“unsustainable” in the face of the auto companies’ declining sales.
This, he said, was a reason why the U.A.W. agreed to substantial health
care concessions last year.

And…

But Mr. Gettelfinger, long a proponent of national health care coverage, said the extensive health care benefits, coupled with Detroit’s declining fortunes, had created a situation that was “unsustainable” — a reason the U.A.W. agreed to the benefit concessions.

Sure, some people say it is politically not feasible. But, I don’t buy that. If the UAW–and every other union–made support for single-payer a requirement for any endorsement in the 2006 elections, imagine the difference in the discussion leading up to the elections.