About the Author
The Author
Andrew Heyman lives and works in Seattle Washington USA. His true vocation is political writing and agitating for the radical idea that a society that is governed by, and serves the needs of the people is best.
Andrew is also the member of a wonderful family with his loving wife, Pam, and the proud father of 2 wonderful children, Josie and Adam. They all keep him from becoming immersed in blogging to an unhealthy degree, and remind him of why he cares about what is going on in this world in the first place.
You can email him at kiacyclic-AT-gmail.com.
Steve Burd, Lies to Profit Over People
Now the contract for Southern California, and soon after the rest of the West Coast is up for negotiations again, and everyone is watching to see what kind of deal the workers down there will get.
The consummate public ring-leader of that strike for the employers was Safeway CEO Steve Burd. He is back in the middle of these contract talks, and doing his best to confuse workers on the issue of healthcare. This is from today's LA Times:
Here, after all, is a Fortune 50 CEO who has not only characterized Schwarzenegger's proposal as "innovative" and "an opportunity for California to lead the national debate on healthcare reform," but who has counseled the business community to do even more than the governor is asking.
Specifically, Burd has said, the plan's mandate for companies to provide medical insurance at a cost of at least 4% of their payroll "is frankly too low and should be higher." He is also a prominent advocate of wellness programs and preventive care, which he has described as "probably the most essential element" of any reform scheme.
On both counts, I couldn't agree more. But how, in turn, is one supposed to square Burd's bold remarks with the cold reality facing three-quarters of Safeway's hourly workforce in Southern California? At present, the company's healthcare contribution for this group of more than 9,000 employees amounts to zero percent — nothing, zip, nada.
The reason: These are folks who joined the Pleasanton, Calif.-based supermarket giant after the 4 1/2 -month strike and lockout that ended in February 2004. And under the contract the United Food and Commercial Workers union signed with Safeway, Kroger Co.'s Ralphs chain and Albertsons (now owned by Supervalu Inc.), new employees can't get any health benefits for 12 to 18 months. Their families aren't eligible to be covered for 30 months.
So basically Mr. Burd talks like a progressive when a conservative and anti-worker politician, who he supports, wants to posture like a Democrat; but will fight like hell to gut the healthcare for his employees, while in the process ripping apart their lives, just to make a buck (or a few million of them).
Pure blackwhite.