Union boss calls for ObamaCare repeal

Before ObamaCare became law, many labor unions – including the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LiUNA – supported it. But over the last several months, labor unions have become more and more alarmed over the actual effects of the law. Now Terry Sullivan, General President of LiUNA, has gone further than any other union leader...

Before ObamaCare became law, many labor unions – including the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LiUNA – supported it.

But over the last several months, labor unions have become more and more alarmed over the actual effects of the law. Now Terry Sullivan, General President of LiUNA, has gone further than any other union leader in his critique of ObamaCare.

The scene was the AFL-CIO’s convention in Los Angeles, where the labor federation was debating a resolution critical of ObamaCare. Here’s what Sullivan had to say.

“We have concerns that [the resolution] does not go far enough …”

“Brothers and sisters, if the Affordable Care Act is not fixed, and it destroys the health and welfare funds that we have all fought for and stand for, then I believe it needs to be repealed …”

“We’ll be damned if we’re going to lose our health insurance because of unintended consequences in a law!”

Many lawmakers, public interest groups and other Americans have been making these points for years. It is a sign of how little integrity there is in the labor union movement that it is something of a big deal that, so far, only one union leader had the audacity to suggest that there might be a situation in which working men and women would be better off if ObamaCare were repealed.

It is particularly amusing to witness Sullivan’s shock as he realizes that the absurdly complicated Affordable Care Act has had unintended consequences. But as the union movement slowly catches up with the awful reality of ObamaCare – there have been increasingly harsh statements coming from union officials for months – this was an important step forward from ignorance to understanding.

Other union leaders are voicing concerns about ObamaCare, as evidenced by the recent AFL-CIO conference resolution. But they didn’t go far enough. An earlier draft also said that ObamaCare should be repealed if the AFL-CIO’s numerous concerns could not be addressed. That particular part got edited out of the final version, which is why it is good that Sullivan said what he did.

Sullivan, like the rest of the AFL-CIO, still thinks that ObamaCare can be fixed. He’s wrong about that. But he’s moved closer to the truth, and for that he deserves a pat on the back, and reassurance that if he ever decides that ObamaCare really does need to be repealed, there are people out there who would be happy to help him with that.