Educators for Single-Payer, a group of California union educators organizing for healthcare justice as a public education issue, is profoundly disappointed in the decision by Appropriations Committee Chair Buffy Wicks and other Democratic committee members to hold AB 2200 “in suspense”, effectively killing the single-payer healthcare bill. Our students, schools, educators, and communities are being increasingly harmed, directly & indirectly, by the current healthcare system and this unnecessary roadblock to the systemic change needed will only cause more years of needless suffering and stress.

We are further frustrated by the dishonest justifications being given for holding AB 2200 in committee. Chair Buffy Wicks stated that she had to hold the bill because of the current fiscal situation in the state. This is a blatant lie. The bill was a policy framework only; its passage would have allowed the federal waiver process to begin and funding mechanisms to be worked out. AB 2200 had no fiscal impact and if passed, CalCare still would not have gone into effect until all funding was responsibly secured. Additionally, the Appropriations Committee Legislative Analysis stated that AB 2200, once enacted, would cost considerably less than the status quo. A cost-savings for the state during a fiscal deficit seems like something the Appropriations Committee should have been eager to move forward.

Ultimately though, AB 2200 was killed in secret behind closed doors, denying it the full, public floor vote it deserved. This is a pattern we have seen repeatedly from California Democrats over the past decade. They want to keep the charade of “support” for single-payer healthcare going for campaign purposes in a state where it is wildly popular, but they don’t actually want to have to go on record with a vote or to have it pass. 

Educators for Single-Payer will not back down. This issue is too important. We will continue raising awareness and support for single-payer healthcare as a critical public education issue. We will organize within our state and local unions to hold politicians accountable for saying they support single-payer while working to covertly sabotage it. We will work in our communities to elect leaders that actually represent what the majority of Californians want. We will continue to fight alongside the extraordinary California Nurses Association, and the broad CalCare coalition of over 250 organizations they have assembled, in order to achieve true healthcare justice in the Golden State.

This isn’t over. We WILL win.

— from Educators for Single Payer

Editor’s note:  Buffy Wicks, who led the suppression of a vote on CalCare, represents the East Bay, from Oakland to Hayward to Fremont and out to eastern Alameda County.

Students— and Educators— Need CalCare

As a teacher (until last June), I was often aware of how lack of decent healthcare had an impact on my students – for instance “Joe,” who missed half of his freshman year, and two-thirds of sophomore year, when he was in my class, because his family needed him to stay home to care for his ailing grandmother. Therefore, I became active in the campaign for CalCare (medicare for California). 

I joined the CNA-led Nurses Campaign to Win CalCare, and an allied group of union educators called Educators for Single Payer (ED4SP). We successfully got CTA and CFT and several locals, including BFT, OEA, and UTR to endorse AB2200, the CalCare policy bill. We did some canvasing, and met with many members of the CA Assembly. However, Buffy Wicks, assemblyperson for much of the East Bay north of Oakland, eluded us, and it was Wicks who as chair of the Appropriations Committee, killed CalCare, at least for the year. 

Our students need healthcare to be able to learn! And many of us educators have to pay some or all of the costs for our own healthcare. In Berkeley, I paid $1200/month for my family. Therefore, I urge all educators to join the struggle! Talk to your local and state union presidents about prioritizing the issue. While we endorsed CalCare, we need to go further: coordinated rallies and even job actions. Also, join Educators for Single Payer.

Dan Plonsey, BFT retired

Cal Care CalCare Charter Schools Class Size Community Schools Contracts COVID Democracy FCMAT ICE Inequality Math Organizing Palestine PERB Privatization School Closures School Finance Special Education Statewide Action Strikes STRS Teaching vouchers We Can't Wait