Striking Over Health Benefits: Sign of a Looming Crisis?

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Transit workers have stranded a half million commuters, Sheriff-s deputies have the "Blue Flu" and 70,000 grocery workers at 850 stores have walked off their jobs. Workers are striking in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri, and they-re poised to go out in Wisconsin. It-s all about health coverage. Supermarket workers in Southern California have one of America-s best health plans for hourly employees. They get full care for themselves and their families without paying premiums. But the big grocery chains say they can-t afford that any more. We hear from the president of United Food and Commercial Workers, a retail analyst, an expert of labor research, a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a health care journalist about the striking over health benefits. Making News: New UN Resolution on Iraq After days of diplomacy and predictions of important abstentions the vote was unanimous. Even Syria voted with all other UN Security Council members for the US-backed resolution calling for more troops and money to stabilize Iraq. Reporter's Notebook: The Holy Warrior Is the Pentagon sending the wrong message to the Muslim world? President George Bush once said that September 11 should inspire a "crusade" against terrorism. But, he quickly retracted what was seen as inflammatory language to Muslims, who have bitter memories of the Christian crusades of the Middle Ages. Today's L.A. Times reports that the job of tracking down and eliminating Osma Bin Laden, Mullah Omar and Saddam Hussein has been assigned to Army Lt. General William "Jerry" Boykin who is an outspoken evangelical Christian.
Transit workers have stranded a half million commuters, Sheriff-s deputies have the "Blue Flu" and 70,000 grocery workers at 850 stores have walked off their jobs. Workers are striking in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri, and they-re poised to go out in Wisconsin. It-s all about health coverage. Supermarket workers in Southern California have one of America-s best health plans for hourly employees. They get full care for themselves and their families without paying premiums. But the big grocery chains say they can-t afford that any more. We hear from the president of United Food and Commercial Workers, a retail analyst, an expert of labor research, a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a health care journalist about the striking over health benefits.
  • Making News: New UN Resolution on Iraq
    After days of diplomacy and predictions of important abstentions the vote was unanimous. Even Syria voted with all other UN Security Council members for the US-backed resolution calling for more troops and money to stabilize Iraq.
  • Reporter's Notebook: The Holy Warrior
    Is the Pentagon sending the wrong message to the Muslim world? President George Bush once said that September 11 should inspire a "crusade" against terrorism. But, he quickly retracted what was seen as inflammatory language to Muslims, who have bitter memories of the Christian crusades of the Middle Ages. Today's L.A. Times reports that the job of tracking down and eliminating Osma Bin Laden, Mullah Omar and Saddam Hussein has been assigned to Army Lt. General William "Jerry" Boykin who is an outspoken evangelical Christian.

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Host:

Warren Olney