In Salem, Illinois, Paul Byars, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 0979 of the United Transportation Union (UTU), reports the local has endorsed HR 676, single payer health care legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).

In Booneville, Indiana, Roger Anderson, President of United Mine Workers (UMWA) Local 9926, reports that his local has also endorsed HR 676.

Roger Anderson said: “The UMWA has been at the forefront of health care. It was one of the first unions to negotiate health care for its working members and retirees and the only union to build hospitals in rural areas to guarantee access to health care for its members and their families. With the present system in place, the members of Local 9926 understand that the health care they have fought for and were promised for life can be taken away overnight.”