News from USWA: USWA Welcomes Governor Taft's Cooperation in Providing Affordable Health Care for Trade-Impacted Workers.Business Editors CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2003 The United Steelworkers United Steelworkers (USW) historic labour union representing workers in steel, aluminum, and other metallurgical industries for much of the 20th century. In the U.S. of America (USWA USWA United Steelworkers of America USWA United States Wrestling Association USWA United States Windsurfing Association USWA United States Wristwrestling Association ) today said that the Union appreciates the work the Taft Administration has done to help launch the federal Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC HCTC Health Coverage Tax Credit HCTC Hazard Community & Technical College (Kentucky) HCTC Hotel & Catering Training Company HCTC Hill Country Telephone Cooperative HCTC Horizon Cellular Telephone Company ), which will provide approximately 12,000 Ohio Steelworker retirees with assistance paying their health insurance premiums. "I would like to thank Governor Taft for his commitment to fairness and justice for Steelworker retirees who have been injured by unfair trade," said David McCall, USWA District 1 Director. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, signed into law by President Bush in November 2002, establishes the Health Care Tax Credit, which provides advance payment of 65% of the insurance premium for eligible individuals. Although the HCTC is a federal tax credit, individual states must sponsor the program by working with insurance companies to develop qualifying plans. The Taft Administration worked out acceptable qualified plans for Ohioans with both Anthem and Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. . "Yesterday's announcement was the first step in a long struggle to restore health insurance benefits to approximately 200,000 USWA retirees nationwide who lost their health care coverage because of unfair trade, bankruptcies and industry consolidation," McCall said. McCall, Governor Taft, Ohio Department of Insurance Director Ann Womer Benjamin Ann Womer Benjamin is an American politician of the Republican party in Ohio. Benjamin currently serves in the Cabinet of the Governor of Ohio (Robert A. Taft II) as director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. , Ohio AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. Industrial Unions Representative Patricia Tutoki, Steelworker retirees and representatives from Anthem and Kaiser Permanente participated in a brief press conference at the USWA district office in Warrensville Heights on Tuesday afternoon for the announcement. Advance payments under the HCTC begin nationwide on August 3, 2003. |
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