Marchers Demand Health Care Reform Now From Sen. Scott Brown

BOSTON/Downtown Crossing - As a response to the recent electon of Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and a continuation of the push to pass a national health care reform bill the Service Employees International Union Local 615 hosted a rally and march from their headquarters at 26 West Street on Saturday. Other sponsors included MoveOn Boston Northeast Action Jobs with Justice United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1445 and the Alliance to Develop Power. Gillian Mason council coordinator for MoveOn Boston led the rally which also included speeches by SEIU president Rocío Sáenz SEIU executive board member Hector Conde International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 201 vice president Alex Brown and Norris Kamo regional director for the Massachusetts chapter of Doctors for America. Photos by Diana Mai. Copyright 2010 Diana Mai. “We believe in one thing – when we fight together we win together and we’re going to win a reform that is comprehensive for everybody!” Saenz said to the crowd. “I know three weeks ago we all suffered a punch but we know that we are the voice of the people of this country and we are going to keep this together working together because no one should die because they don’t have they can’t afford health care and no one should go broke because they get sick.” Speaking through an interpreter Hector Conde talked about his experiences in Colorado where he worked with SEIU’s Change That Works campaign a national grassroots organization that pushes a progressive agenda. “This was a campaign in which we were trying to educate people but also to create awareness among these people because so far we are 47 million who are not covered by medical insurance ” Conde said. “Now is the time for us to call our Congressmen to call all of our representatives at a national level and state level and we ask for change this is the time. It’s about time.” Alex Brown addressed the concerns of her union’s members and why she believed some came out in support for Sen. Brown. “The fight for health care it’s about who pays right?” asked Brown. “Taxing workers’ benefits is bad politics too so I have a message for the politicians – don’t ignore the working class. We campaigned for change in 2008 and it hasn’t come on health care yet. Our members who voted for Scott Brown saw that.” Brown’s speech continued to address the deep class conflicts she believes are inherent in the debate over health care reform. “We need reform that goes at the waste and the profit of the health care millionaires and the big pharma pimps and insurers that deny little Suzy her operation and the corporations like GE who also makes health care products and makes billions off of it and the elite hospital CEOs. Their profits and salaries they’re sky-high. We need a good bill worth fighting for. Let the Republicans filibuster it.” Norris Kamo 5th year Harvard Medical School student related accounts of people he had witnessed suffer or die because of coverage denied by the current health care system. “A 2007 Harvard Law School study revealed that medical bills account for nearly two-thirds of personal bankruptcies in this country ” Kamo explained. “Make no doubt about it – the health care status quo will also eventually fail you or somebody you care about. Tell Senator Brown Tell Senator Kerry and your Congressman that the health care status quo is unacceptable.” The rally also presented two large “report cards” comparing Sen. John Kerry’s (D-MA) and Sen. Brown’s stances on health care. The five points were 1) covers everyone when they need it 2) affordable to everyone in and out of work 3) holds health insurance companies accountable 4) fair funding - not taxing middle-class benefits 5) choice of a public option to hold down costs. According to the group Kerry has outspokenly supported all but the fourth point. The card showed that Brown has not supported them and it is unclear whether he would tax middle-class benefits. After collecting signatures on each card organizers gathered the group outside the SEIU building. Shouting slogans such as “What do Want? Health Care!” and “People Not Profits!” about 200 people marched with signs banners and bullhorns from SEIU through Downtown Crossing and City Hall to drop off the first report card in front of Kerry’s office building at One Bowdoin Square. Along the way the march received support from passersby including a few policemen. The next and final stop was the Mass. Republican Party headquarters at 85 Merrimac Street where the second report card was left for Sen. Brown. Cynthia Ward executive director of Northeast Action and Mass. director of the Health Care Reform Now campaign spoke about the importance of the rally and march in today’s political climate. “We’ve been working for over a year to get health care reform and we’re very close to getting it ” she said. “We don’t believe that losing one seat in the Senate should be what changes what’s needed for so many people in Massachusetts and across the country.” Russ Davis executive director of Mass. Jobs with Justice spoke about his organization’s role in bringing about meaningful health care reform. “It’s an issue that cuts across all sectors whether it’s the unions or immigrants or young people or seniors ” Davis said. “We’re here to say that people need to march and fight for the health care they really need and not let the lobbyists determine what kind of health care we’re going to end up with.” Gillian Mason of MoveOn Boston said that she believes the American people stand with the rally’s cause. “If they know what’s good for them [the politicians] will respond ” Mason said. “Our values haven’t changed. We value universal health care no matter what kind of compromises the Democrats are making in the Senate right now. The bulk of America supports the public option still after all this time. We know that the people are with us and we want to make that statement to our elected representatives.” According to Kerry's Boston press secretary Brigid O' Rourke the Senator apologized for missing the rally and is supportive of the public option. "He wanted to ensure those involved that he’s doing everything he can to get a comprehensive bill to the President’s desk " O' Rourke said in an email. "The Senator has championed passing a health care bill using reconciliation if necessary and recently joined some of his colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Reid asking to pass a bill with a public option by reconciliation. There’s still a lot of work to do and the Senator appreciates all the hard work being done at the grassroots level.” The Mass. Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati