White House Scrambles to Silence AFL-CIO Obamacare Criticism

White House officials, including top Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, were on hand at this week’s AFL-CIO convention to pressure union leaders not to voice their growing angst with Obamacare in the form of a strongly worded resolution blasting the president’s government healthcare overhaul. 

The AFL-CIO approved the resolution despite the Obama Administration’s urgings. 

“The nation’s largest labor federation is going on the record for the very first time that Obamacare will be bad medicine for its union members,” reported MSNBC’s Brian Schactman. “The resolution says costs will skyrocket for insurance plans that are jointly run by unions and smaller companies, leaving workers no choice but to drop coverage.”  

Union leaders say they received White House calls to stop the anti-Obamacare resolution. 

“My understanding is that they [Obama Administration] would have preferred that no resolution be brought to the floor,” International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger said. “I know there have been phone calls to several leaders, particularly those directly involved in development of the resolution.”

Schaitberger added: “If it’s good enough for Congress to point out shortcomings, it certainly ought to be good enough for the labor movement to do it without some fear of retribution.”