Obama Gives Obamacare Waivers to 28 Unions, His BIG Donors

-By Warner Todd Huston

More on the waivers for Obamacare. A look at the president’s waiver list reveals he’s given waivers to 28 food workers union locals so that they can get out from under the oppressive, budget busting requirements in his take over of our nation’s medical system. Curiously enough, the PAC for those unions gave Obama $673,309 to his 2008 election campaign. Quid pro quo? Is there any doubt? Just a coincidence, right?

The list shows that Obama administration issued one-year waivers to 28 chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). These waivers exempt the union insurance plans from being forced to obey rules that prevent the plans from limiting what they will pay for employee’s healthcare coverage.

The UFCW was a vocal supporter of Obamacare and was part of a large coalition of unions pushing the bill early in 2010.

The UFCW was also a big, big supporter of candidate Obama in 2008 and Democrats generally.

The UFCW’s political action committee spent $673,309 in independent expenditures promoting the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

That PAC–the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club–also contributed $1.8 million to Democratic federal candidates in 2008 and $1.7 million to Democratic congressional candidates in 2010.

Previously we reported that Republicans intend to launch probes into these waivers.

List of UFCW waivers:

1. Indiana Area UFCW Union Locals and Retail Food Employers’ Health and Welfare Plan covers 6,885 enrollees.

2. UFCW & Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Health & Welfare Fund covers 107 enrollees.

3. UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund covers 77 enrollees.

4. UFCW Local One Health Care Fund covers 4,335 enrollees.

5. Local 888 UFCW covers 4,004 enrollees.

6. UFCW Local 1262 and Employers Health & Welfare Fund covers 3,028 enrollees.

7. Local 377 UFCW covers 1,142 enrollees.

8. UFCW Local 371 Amalgamated Welfare Fund covers 3,800 enrollees.

9. UFCW Allied Trade Health & Welfare Trust covers 68 enrollees

10. UFCW Local 227 covers 1,125 enrollees.

11. UFCW Maximus Local 455 covers 59 enrollees.

12. UFCW Local 1262 covers 5,390 enrollees.

13. United Food and Commercial Workers Retail Employees and Employers Health

and Welfare Plan covers 98 enrollees

14. United Food & Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund covers 821 enrollees.

15. United Food and Commercial Workers and Employers Arizona covers 516 enrollees.

16. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000 and Kroger Dallas Health and Welfare Plan covers 7,389 enrollees.

17. Delmarva United Food and Commercial Workers covers 2,405 enrollees.

18. United Food & Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Local No. 348 Health & Welfare Fund covers 13,663 enrollees.

19. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 New Hampshire covers 148 enrollees.

20. The waiver for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459 and Contributing Employers Health and Welfare Fund covers just four enrollees.

21. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 464a covers 8,228 enrollees.

22. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 911 covers 582 enrollees.

23. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000 covers 3,855 enrollees.

24. Wisconsin United Food & Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Health Plan covers 775 enrollees.

25. United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Mount Laurel, NJ) covers 4,100 enrollees.

26. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459 covers 1,400 enrollees.

27. United Food and Commercial Workers and Participating Employers Interstate Health and Welfare Fund covers 6,780 enrollees.

28. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1995 covers 2,779 enrollees.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson

Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.

For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.


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