During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama was sharply critical of Senator John McCain for wanting to tax health care benefits. Currently, administration officials have not ruled out such a tax which was floated by Democrats in the Senate. On June 24th, at an ABC News televised town hall meeting, President Obama refused to rule out the taxing of health benefits.

A majority of international unions have signed on to a letter to all U.S. Senators opposing any health reform proposal that would tax health care benefits saying, “…(W)e wish to express our strong opposition to any proposal that would pay for this reform by altering the tax treatment of employer provided health care.”

Vincent Panvini, Director of Government Relations for the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, who was instrumental in organizing the letter, said that opposition to any bill that included taxing of health care benefits would be “tremendous.” “You haven’t seen nothing yet,” he added.

The list of the signers of the letter is below.

A June 18th article in Roll Call tells how and why the unions put the letter together. http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_148/news/35990-1.html?type=printer_friendly

The full text of the letter can be found on the website of the Teamsters at: http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-urge-congress-reject-proposals-tax-employer-provided-health-benefits

• Air Line Pilots Association
• Amalgamated Transit Union
• American Federation of Government Employees
• American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada
• American Federation of Teachers
• American Postal Workers Union
• Association of Flight Attendants
• Association of Professional Flight Attendants
• Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union
• Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way
• Communications Workers of America
• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and
• Reinforcing Iron Workers
• International Association of Fire Fighters
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union
• International Longshoremen’s Association
• International Union of Police Associations
• International Union, UAW
• Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO
• National Air Traffic Controllers Association
• National Association of Letter Carriers
• Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
• Seafarers International Union
• Sheet Metal Workers International Association
• Transport Workers Union of America
• United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters
• United Mine Workers of America
• United Steel Workers
• United Transportation Union