The Hill reports that, in a joint letter to President Obama, Wal-Mart and nemesis SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) have expressed support for passage of a legal requirement for employer provided health insurance.

Excerpt:

“It is significant that Wal-Mart, one of the country’s largest employers, and SEIU, one of the country’s major unions, have joined together to call for the enactment of health reform that will lower costs and assure quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans,” White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle said in a statement. “The president is committed to signing health reform legislation built on those principles this year.”

This is significant on a number of facets, not the least of which is that SEIU is a principal “Partner Organization” of the advocacy group Wal-Mart Watch and has successfully unionized a number of Wal-Mart stores and forced major concessions from the country’s largest employer.

The Hill article offers a good brief on the debate over health care. The letter itself can be found here courtesy of WSJ.

Both worth reading. Continue reading →