Maryland Senate overrides (Erlich) veto of health care bill (Wal-Mart)

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-12T201707Z_01_N12373155_RTRIDST_0_RETAIL-WALMART-HEALTH-UPDATE-1.XML

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Maryland Senate on Thursday overrode Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto and approved a bill that would force Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to spend more on employee health care in the state.

The state Senate voted 30-17 in favor of the bill, surpassing the margin needed to override the veto by one vote.

The override by the Maryland Senate sets the stage for a vote in the Maryland House of Delegates, which was expected to take up the bill at about 5:00 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT).

According to one Republican delegate opposed to the bill, who requested anonymity, the bill's supporters in the House have secured 88 votes there, three more than the number required to override a veto.

The bill would require companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits, or pay the balance into a state low-income health insurance fund.

...more...

Way to go Maryland! :yourock:

[sinkingfeeling]

1. A Victory!!

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Excellent news!

Calling my delegates' offices now! :bounce: Thanks for the heads-up.

[bluestateguy]

3. I hope the law is actually enforced

Is Wal-Mart going to ask activist judges to legislate from the bench and nullify this bill passed by a duly elected legislature? Ehrlich's veto is going to be overriden, but don't we have to rely on him to enforce the law. That makes me uneasy.

[MADem]

4. Aww, Erlich must be pouting--Maybe Fox News will give him a ride in their

news helicopter (ya know, like they did flying him around to ralllies and picnics during his CAMPAIGN for governor) to make the whiney sleazy bum FEEEEEEEEL better!

[rurallib]

5. Will Walmart close their Maryland stores (Like they did in Canada

when the union went into a store in Quebec?) By the God of Bush and Cheyney that'd teach 'em!

[DiverDave]

7. Yep, you nailed it

they will close every store in Md.
That'll learn em, eh?

[pfitz59]

8. Expect they will........

Maryland's a small state. Won't even dent their net worth....

[saigon68]

9. They are Corporate Hooligans

[shireen]

10. i hope so!

Walmart, get lost!

- shireen in Maryland

[primavera]

30. One can certainly hope

Given that MalWart has a habit of reducing thriving communities to impoverished wastelands within the space of a few short years, MD would certainly be better off if Mal-Wart would take the hint and just go away.

[David__77]

6. This is a great idea.

They should put this on the ballot in places like Florida.

[Beall]

11. Good News for MD

VICTORY!!! Thats fantastic!!

[heidler1]

12. How long will it take Wal-Mart to get below the 10,000 employee limit?

[DaveinMD]

13. suceess

in the House.

[cosmicone]

14. Md. Senate Overrides Veto of Wal-Mart Bill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060113/ap_on_bi_ge/maryland_wal_mart

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland legislators voted Thursday to enact a first-in-the-nation requirement that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spend more on employee health care. The measure, touted as a money-saver for the state-supported Medicaid program, takes effect despite the governor's veto of the bill.

Labor unions have said they are seeking similar legislation this year in at least 30 other states. Supporters say the retailing giant unfairly takes advantage of taxpayer-funded health care plans because some workers can't afford Wal-Mart's health insurance.

"The taxpayers are giving a health-care subsidy to the largest retailer on earth," argued Democratic Delegate Kumar Barve. The House and Senate, both controlled by Democrats, both notched the three-fifths margins needed to override a veto last May by Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

The bill requires companies with more than 10,000 Maryland employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee health care or pay the difference into the state's Medicaid fund.

[Laelth]

15. Great news!

Good for the MD Senate!

-Laelth

[brentspeak]

16. I love the response by the Republicans on this:

"This isn't the perfect storm. It's the Bermuda Triangle. Jobs go in, but they don't come out," said Republican Sen. EJ Pipkin."

I think he meant the opposite. But the point is that Wal-Mart destroys all local business around it. Having it out of your area is GOOD for business - just not Mall-Wart's business.

[struggle4progress]

17. Wal-Mart Dealt Legal Setbacks on U.S. Workers' Rights

... In Maryland, the Senate today voted to override a veto of the ``Wal-Mart bill'' requiring companies with more than 10,000 employees to pay for some health-care benefits. A Pennsylvania judge last month granted class-action status to a lawsuit claiming Wal-Mart employees were pressured to work through breaks and after hours.

The latest actions add to legal and legislative setbacks for Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart that may affect how much Wal-Mart provides in pay and benefits to its 1.3 million U.S. employees. The company is already appealing a California jury decision last month that awarded Wal-Mart workers $172.3 million in another off-the-clock case. The company also settled a similar case in Colorado for $50 million ...

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aDYNXv6NxaOY&refer=home

[superconnected]

18. Md. Senate Overrides Veto of Wal-Mart Bill

Md. Senate Overrides Veto of Wal-Mart Bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland legislators voted Thursday to enact a first-in-the-nation requirement that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spend more on employee health care. The measure, touted as a money-saver for the state-supported Medicaid program, takes effect despite the governor's veto of the bill.

Labor unions have said they are seeking similar legislation this year in at least 30 other states. Supporters say the retailing giant unfairly takes advantage of taxpayer-funded health care plans because some workers can't afford Wal-Mart's health insurance.

"The taxpayers are giving a health-care subsidy to the largest retailer on earth," argued Democratic Delegate Kumar Barve. The House and Senate, both controlled by Democrats, both notched the three-fifths margins needed to override a veto last May by Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

The bill requires companies with more than 10,000 Maryland employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee health care or pay the difference into the state's Medicaid fund.

more....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060113/ap_on_bi_ge/maryland_wal_mart

[Flirtus]

19. Way to Go Maryland!!!

[AnnieBW]

20. Kumar ROCKS!!

Kumar Barve, the Delegate quoted here, ROCKS. He's been around since I was volunteering at NARAL in '92. Unfortunately, he's not my delegate, by our guy is pretty cool, too.

[Atman]

21. Wal Mart will simply leave Maryland

So as not to set a precedent. People WILL miss them and get mad, and demand the legislature repeal the law. Americans are idiots. Most of them shop at Wal Mart.

[savemefromdumbya]

22. Maryland = Utopia

don't you wish everywhere was like Maryland - only one blot on the landscape= Gov Ehrlich

[silvermachine]

31. I wouldn't go that far...

...but it's better than Virginia (where I reside) to be sure.

[wordpix]

38. utopia isn't the word--Big Development now rules the state

[Grateful for Hope]

23. This is wonderful news!

Just when I was thinking that corporations will always trump the small person, I read this post.

Thank you for posting this!

[area51]

24. Mal-Wart shouldn't whine.

Instead of complaining, they should use their vast legal resources to lobby for universal healthcare, thus lifting the burden for themselves. God knows, they only care about the Walton family.

[Stinky The Clown]

25. The House overrode it, too. Its a done deal!

A big thing for 'we the people' and a big thing for Maryland's Democratic Party. Not so much for our gov .... Nazi Bob Ehrlich.

[Born Free]

26. the tide is turning for Wal-Mart

I think Wal-Mart is reaching a point where they will have to acknowledge that it's better to give up a minuscule part of their profit to take care of their employees. There are getting to be too may reports, too many lawsuits, too many payouts. The public relations is slowly eating away at their reputation. In the end Wal-Mart may become one of the greatest corporations to work for in America, they know how to make money, all they need to do is learn how to take care of their workers.

[Kaylee]

27. What I can't understand is why anyone would be against....

Walmart paying it's fair share. Why should I as a Maryland taxpayer, pay in addition to my own benefits, the health benefits of their employees through state assistance programs? For the life of me, I can't understand the Republican stance on this issue. Enlighten me, please!

[GalleryGod]

28. Ehrlich is a lower-case version of Santorum.

When he was my Congressman, I refused to shake his hand at a public event, and the pretty boy got this "psycho:crazy: look" in his eyes before being hustled along by the peroxided wifey:puke:

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nickshepDEM]

32. Im still not convinced that they will foot the bill. They'll simply raise

prices and cut wages.

[savemefromdumbya]

33. Maryland does it again!

yeah!

[cosmicdot]

34. Wal-Mart Mulls Legal Challenge to MD law

The thought of having Alito join Roberts on the SCOTUS might be helping Wal-Mart 'mull' ... nothing like election fraud to hijack America ...


Wal-Mart Mulls Legal Challenge to Md. Law

From Associated Press

January 13, 2006 7:00 PM EST

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., faced with a new Maryland law designed to pressure the retail chain into spending more money on health insurance for its employees, is considering a challenge to the groundbreaking legislation.

~snip~

[WhiteTara]

35. we can only hope that other states will do the same

as Maryland. It would be so great if states picked up and stopped the corps from destroying us.

[SoCalDem]

36. "Killing" the wrong beast

SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Fri Jan-13-06 02:28 PM
Response to Original message



2. The problem that no one talks about is this..


Employers should NOT be the ones to deliver health care to their employees. It gives them literally life and death control over them.

Health care access should be a RIGHT to ALL citizens, just like it is in most "enlightened" countries.

The system we have is hopelessly broken.

The whole idea of employer health care came about as a fluke to start with.. When there were wage and price freezes, employers saw this as a clever way to still give raises and hold on to valued employers and to woo new employees.

It actually has harmed the country, because once "someone else" is taking care of something, it's easy for the government to wash their hands of the subject entirely.

There are millions of people who are being held hostage by their employer-offered health insurance.

Most people over the age of 35 has a chronic illness of some kind, or they may have a child with one, so people are NOT free to change jobs. They have little if any bargaining power, because they NEED that coverage.

People have seen their raises eaten up by their share of the medical plans for YEARS.. (Get a $25 raise, and see your share of health insurance go up $40)..

The time has come too, where a TON of people are kept just below the level where they would even qualify for any coverage, and even though the company "offers" it, it's usually only affordable to the full-timers. I have no figures to back this up, but I would guess that in most companies, the part-timers and temps far outnumber the full-timers.

This is the dirty little secret.

I know a young person whose take home pay ends up being around $350 a week, and for her to participate in the "plan", her share would be $300 a month ..She's barely making enough to survive, and has always declined the coverage. Her boss can puff up his chest and say what a good guy he is for offering it, but if the employees are not being paid enough to afford it, where's the benefit?


The beast we need to "kill" is the haphazard method of "medical coverage" for our citizens.

[wordpix]

37. Maryland, my Maryland---born and raised there and I'm PROUD