July 27, 2004
Dear Local Lodge W12 Member and Family,
In November, we have a chance to support a candidate for president who is determined to control the cost of health care for working families and passing those savings on to workers. That leader is John Kerry.
We are all familiar with the crisis of skyrocketing health care costs in this country. Year after year, the cost of a visit to the doctor and the prices of prescription drugs are going up and up. Since George W. Bush took office, the cost of family health insurance has increased more than $2,700 a year. Prescription drug prices for the most commonly used drugs have increased nearly 24 percent since 2000.
And we all have experienced what I want to share with you next concerning our
wages: The cost of health care has risen four times as fast as wages in the past
year.
For many families, the cost of health care is the single-largest strain on our
budgets. Higher health care costs are affecting our take-home pay by increasing
workers’ insurance premiums and by making contract negotiations for wage hikes
more difficult. We cannot allow this to continue.
Under the Bush administration our contract negotiations are more difficult
and our wage increases are cut because health care costs are out of control.
The Woodworkers Local Lodge W12, is asking you to support John Kerry for U.S. president because he has a real plan to solve the health care crisis we are facing. The Kerry plan will control costs and make affordable health coverage for everyone a reality. He will do this by providing tax relief to employers who offer health care and by rolling back Bush’s tax cut for millionaires. His plan will also bring down costs by cutting out waste and fraud, lowering the costs of prescription drugs and shielding ratepayers from the costs of catastrophic illnesses.
Much is at stake this year. But the most important thing I think is at stake is our ability to increase our wages and reign in rising health care costs. How you vote is a personal decision. I only ask that you learn where the candidates stand on health care issues and who has put forward a real plan that will lower the cost of health care. I think John Kerry’s heath care plan is the right remedy to lower the cost of health care in the country, and I think if you look at the facts you will come to the same conclusion.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and thinking about who deserves your support in November.
In Solidarity,
Marty Demaris – District W1-BR