Today IWV sends the letter below to each of the labor union leaders asking them to join us in having their members sign both the #ObamaCareTimeout pledge and the #NoWashingtonExemption pledge.

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Dear Labor Leader,
September 17, 2013

Health reform in the United States has reached an important juncture. Our federal government is moving ahead with implementation of the Affordable Care Act, but they are ignoring important problems with the law – problems that will affect your membership and millions of other Americans.

They have listened to big corporations, delaying the employer mandate for one year, but they are ignoring the workers who will ultimately suffer.

If big business gets a one-year delay, why not the rest of us?

President Obama, Congress, and state-level leaders need more time to consider the consequences of this health reform. You know as well as anyone that the health law threatens the 40-hour workweek and the health plans of millions of Americans. That’s why we have created the bipartisan ObamaCare Timeout Petition. It is vital that Americans of all political stripes join together now to ask for a one-year delay of health reform’s major provisions. Please consider asking all of your members to sign this petition. Together, all of our voices cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, as a leader in the labor movement, I know you understand and value equality among people. Members of Congress and their staff should have to live under the same law as the rest of us, and if they want it changed for themselves, they need to change it for the rest of us. Sadly, this isn't the case: They have received a special exemption, allowing them to carry large employer-provided subsidies into the health insurance exchanges.

No other workers are allowed to do that. We oppose this special treatment, as do 92% of Americans of all political stripes, regardless of their views on the ACA, and we ask you to consider joining our cause at NoWashingtonExemption.org.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Heather Higgins
President and CEO Independent Women’s Voice