Greetings!
With so many developments going on this year, economic, political and technological, you can't afford to miss out on the next AFCP Publishers Retreat August 13-14, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For more information and to register online, click here!
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Small business needs addressed by NFIB
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2009-07-21
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
When it comes to health care, American small business owners are getting a raw deal.
While the current insurance marketplace offers some options to
larger employers, it too often leaves small business owners on the
outside looking in. They face unpredictable changes in costs, and far
too often they are forced to choose between covering employees and the
very survival of their businesses.
One crucial test of any health reform proposal is whether it offers
a better deal to American small businesses. But the key Washington
lobbies who claim to represent small businesses have been historically
aligned with the political interests most opposed to reform.
To more accurately reflect the diversity of views of small
businesses on health care, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group has
let small business owners to speak for themselves. Three hundred and
forty-three small business owners and managers across the country made
their views heard through a survey which investigated the impact of
health care costs on their businesses.
Survey Results:
Our efforts revealed that small businesses who do not currently
offer coverage would overwhelmingly like to, but are stymied by high
costs, complications and red tape.
We discovered that those entrepreneurs who do make the sacrifices
necessary to provide health care consider it less a moral obligation
than a smart business strategy to increase employee productivity and
attract and retain talented employees.
Finally, we discovered that only a fraction of small business owners
surveyed believed that their voices were being heard in the current
health care debate.
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78% of small businesses who do not offer coverage would like to do so.
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80% of those owners who would like to offer coverage cite cost as a barrier
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17% of those owners who would like to offer coverage say that they do not offer coverage because it is too complicated
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55% of small businesses offering coverage do so to attract and retain good employees
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27% of small businesses offering coverage do so to increase worker productivity
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Only 24% of owners surveyed felt that their interests were represented in the current health reform debate
Download the entire report...
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Lobbyists Spend Millions to Influence Health Care
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By Dan Eggen
Drugmakers, hospitals and insurers continued to pour millions of
dollars into lobbying during the second quarter of this year, hoping to
limit the damage to their bottom line as lawmakers and the Obama
administration wrangle over landmark health-care legislation.
New disclosure reports that began arriving Monday in Congress showed
familiar players at the top of the health-care influence heap,
including $6.2 million in lobbying by the dominant Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and $4 million by the
American Medical Association.
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| Globe Union Faces the Music
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By paulgillin | July 21, 2009 - 1:36 pm
 The battle over concessions by Boston Globe union is over and management won.
Was there ever any doubt? By a decisive 366-to-179 vote, the Boston
Newspaper Guild voted to accept a package of pay cuts, benefit
reductions and other concessions that is harsher than the one the union
rejected last month. Owner New York Times Co. responded to the earlier
contract rejection by unilaterally slashing wages 23%. That forced the
union to dance a jig and recommend a revised package that had even
deeper benefits reductions. Despite considerable grousing in the ranks,
Guild members ultimately decided they'd better accept the current deal
before things get any worse. Still, widespread layoffs are expected.
Meanwhile, Boston Business Journal editor George Donnelly reports that the Globe's cross-town rival Herald just closed its fiscal year with a $2 million profit.
It seems the publisher started cutting costs and working with the union
long ago, while the Globe shoveled money into a pit. So who's more
likely to survive if the recession continues? Ask staffers at the
Seattle Times, who believed that the Post-Intelligencer was the weaker of the two local dailies before Hearst abruptly pulled the plug.
Read more...
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Cheers,
Craig McMullin
Executive Director
AFCP
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For only $20 per newsletter, your logo can build your traffic.
In addition, sponsored articles can be submitted for publication for only $75 per issue. Articles must be limited to 250 words and will be marked as "sponsored".
Contract Craig McMullin at craig@afcp.org.
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