SEIU NURSE INTRODUCES OBAMA AT IOWA HEALTH CARE EVENT

http://www.seiu.org/media/pressreleases.cfm?pr_id=1415

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2007

CONTACT
Stephanie Mueller
202-730-7842

SEIU NURSE INTRODUCES OBAMA AT IOWA HEALTH CARE EVENT
Pauline Taylor, an RN and SEIU member from Iowa City, introduced Senator Obama today at a campaign event to unveil his health care plan.


“Health care has to change, and we need the next president to finally do something about it,” said Taylor, who has been a nurse at University Hospitals in Iowa for 30 years. “I’ve seen firsthand the failings of the current system not only with my patients, but also within my own family. My husband recently passed away after being on dialysis for ten years, and we had to pinch pennies just to be able to cover the care he needed. It’s not right that anyone should have to go struggle to be able to afford health care in this country.”

SEIU members have asked all candidates for president, Democrats and Republicans, to release a health care plan by August 1 of this year. According to a recent poll of primary and caucus voters conducted by SEIU’s Americans for Health Care, health care is the top domestic issue in the presidential campaign. However, a majority of Republican and Democratic voters agree they haven’t heard enough from the candidates about health care. As a result, SEIU members are asking each of the candidates to release detailed plans by August 1 with information on the number of people their plan would cover, as well as how much their plan will cost.
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With 1.8 million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America. Focused on uniting workers in three sectors to improve their lives and the services they provide, SEIU is the largest health care union, including hospitals, nursing homes, and home care; the largest property services union, including building cleaning and security; and the second largest public employee union.