Unions move toward health-care reform deal

Soaring costs have also hurt workers. JoAnn Volk, a health-care lobbyist for the AFL-CIO trade union organization, said many low-paid workers have "health-insurance policies in name only, which do not cover most services."

Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, some 45 million Americans have no health insurance coverage at all.

And with American labor unions suffering declining membership -- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed 12.5 percent of Americans belonged to a union in 2005, down from 20.1 percent in 1983 -- this audience with little or no health coverage is seen as ripe territory for union recruitment, as the unions argue they backed reform on behalf of all Americans.

Health care is now a major issue for U.S. trade unions, particularly in sectors like the domestic automobile industry, which faces vast retiree health-benefit costs. Ford Motor Co. officials say health care adds $1,200 to a vehicle's cost, about $600 more than that of its foreign competitors.

"Health insurance is a crucial issue in every contract we negotiate," said United Steelworkers' spokeswoman Barbara White Stack.

The AFL-CIO's Volk said that "providing universal coverage for all Americans is a top priority for us."

'STRANGE BEDFELLOWS'

To find a way to provide coverage for everyone , some groups like the Service Employees International Union have joined the Better Health Care Together coalition -- which calls for universal health coverage by 2012 -- even if it means aligning themselves with longtime corporate foe Wal-Mart.

"We don't like their (Wal-Mart's) business model, we don't like their labor practices," SEIU spokesman Eric Hauser said. "But we want to build a groundswell of support for reform so broad, Washington has no choice but to solve this crisis."

"We must work together for the national good," he added.