Fighting the Good Fight Since 1949
December 10, 2009
Quick links+
The old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” is sure to come to mind upon reading this letter to all locals and districts from former IAM International President Al Hayes.
The letter, dated December 22, 1949, encourages locals to provide members with information about National Health Insurance, a top IAM legislative priority at that time.
The letter also describes a massive propaganda campaign coordinated by the American Medical Association (AMA), which was funded by a special assessment of $25 per AMA member.
Sixty years later, the AMA is supporting health care reform, but there is no shortage of opposition to reforming the massive health insurance monopoly in the United States. Led by corporate lobbyists, conservative lawmakers and their talk radio allies, their opposition is political as well as philosophical, with the obvious goal of reaping political advantage from defeating the president’s top legislative priority.
