IAFF WEEK OF ACTION

The following is an important release from the IAFF
Take Action on Health Care Reform
Tell Congress Not to Tax Your Benefits

The IAFF is joining the AFL-CIO for a National Week of Action on health care reform. The activities kick off November 5 with an ad campaign focusing on finding a fair way to pay for health care reform. The ads will appear in Politico, Roll Call, The Hill and The Washington Post and highlight the U.S. House health care bill as a model for reform.

The IAFF has been lobbying against a plan in the U.S. Senate to tax so-called "Cadillac" health insurance plans. This excise tax would assess a tax on high-value insurance plans and would likely affect many IAFF members' plans that cost more -- not because they offer more generous benefits but because of the dangers of the job or other factors that are more costly.

The IAFF is working to ensure that this excise tax will not be enacted when a final health care bill is signed into law.

In October, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger spoke at a press conference on Capitol Hill calling for Congress to seek alternative sources of revenue. Watch the press conference.

The IAFF is urging its members to contact their U.S. Senator and tell them to leave this excise tax out of the health care reform bill. The goal is to have one million union members write or call Congress.

Call Congress today at 1-877-323-5246 or (202) 224-3121.