Union lauds McCollum for health-care efforts

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum’s failure to support legislation that would establish a universal, single-payer health-care system has drawn criticism from some liberal activists. In fact, there’s a fledgling campaign to gin up an opponent to run against her in a Democratic primary in the St. Paul-based 4th Congressional District.

But on Thursday, members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota showed up at McCollum’s St. Paul office to praise her efforts on the health-care front. In honor of the July Fourth holiday they brought a replica U.S. flag emblazoned with the stories of union members’ frustrating encounters with the current health-care system.

“It’s time to declare independence from the tyranny of living under a broken health-care system,” said Rick Varco, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota’s political director.

McCollum wasn’t on hand to accept the flag. That duty was left to Josh Straka, the lawmaker’s district director.

Varco believes the July Fourth holiday was a natural fit for highlighting the nation’s dysfunctional health-care system. “There’s that line in the Declaration of Independence about a ‘long train of abuses,’” he says. “That’s what the American people have suffered from this health-care system.”

The health-care debate is reaching a critical juncture in Washington. Committees in the House and Senate are in the midst of tough negotiations over the details of possible legislative action. President Obama has stated that he hopes to have a bill on his desk by October. In some instances, SEIU and other liberal interest groups have attacked Democratic legislators for being insufficiently committed to the cause.

But Varco insists McCollum doesn’t deserve such treatment. “We were out in Washington, D.C., last week meeting with members of Congress and Congresswoman McCollum was just on fire,” he said.

On Wednesday night, McCollum hosted a town-hall meeting at the Highland Park Pavilion on the topic of health-care reform. Roughly 100 people showed up to share their thoughts on the subject. Advocates of a single-payer system were well represented in the crowd.

When McCollum stated at the beginning of the event that a public option for health-care insurance is “not socialized medicine,” she received a tart response from one member of the crowd. “Yes it is,” he stated, “and it’s good.”

Varco is not troubled by McCollum’s failure to sign on to the single-payer bill, however, even though SEIU supports the legislation.

“We think that the president is right when he says Americans don’t want to be forced to give up their health-care plan,” he said. “Competition with a strong public plan is the best way to get us towards quality affordable health care for everyone.”