By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress made history last month with a sweeping reform of the nation’s health care system — our country’s greatest advance in social justice in half a century. I am proud that we in District Council 37 were part of making a change as momentous as Social Security, Medicare and the Civil Rights Act.

This landmark legislation will provide coverage for 32 million people who have been kept from meeting this most basic need under the current system. The next issue of PEP will publish a complete description of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but here are a few of the great improvements that affect members. The new law:

I am thrilled that after a long and tough battle, we have taken this giant step. We are a strong and wealthy country, and it’s about time for us to use our resources so all our people can be healthy. But I was dismayed at the blatant fear mongering the Republicans used to fight reform, such as the lies that said “death panels” would pull the plug on grandma and called a majority vote in the Senate a “totalitarian tactic.”

As the lawmakers passed the bill, we saw incredible bitterness that reminded me of the 1950s, when the Supreme Court ended racial segregation in the schools and some stood in the doorway to block equality. One right-wing writer called health care reform “affirmative action on steroids.” A “tea party” mob shouted racist epithets and spat on African American Congressional representatives, including civil rights movement hero John Lewis. The invisible sheets became very visible that day.

But in the end, it became a day of pride for America, as people of decency and good will overcame the ugliness, President Obama won the toughest test of his political power, and our country took a giant leap ahead on the march to justice.

I am proud that our New York Congressional delegation stood up for the needs of the people. I am particularly proud of our union, which went all out to elect Obama and backed health care reform 100 percent, using phone banks in New York and demonstrations in Washington to press for passage (see pages 1 and 10). And I am proud to be part of the American labor movement, which helped pass Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, Medicare and Medicaid. In the 1990s, labor saved Social Security from former President George Bush’s attempt to dismantle it, and now we have played a huge role in winning health care reform.

In the long drive to pass the law, President Obama showed patience, tenacity and toughness. He revived the bill when it appeared dead, appealing to lawmakers’ better angels and urging Congress to “let our light shine.” In the end, he put his presidency on the line to improve the lives of all Americans. We should be proud that we helped win the fight to make health care a right and not a privilege.

Obama’s lesson: Never give up

President Obama’s victorious persistence is a towering model for our drive to cut contracting out. We need legislation to end the wasteful giveaways to the city’s 18,000 private sector consultants and contractors while human needs cry out for action. We need laws to ban layoffs where contractors are doing the same work at a higher cost, and ban contracting out where public employees are targeted for layoffs.

No responsible government can in good conscience cut vital services and lay off dedicated, hard-working employees while real savings are within reach. We will never give up until we win our battle against wasteful contracting on behalf of the people of New York City, the taxpayers and our members