Today's entry is by guest blogger Eileen Fonseca, of Philadelphia's UFCW Local 1776.

Posted on November 2, 2006
 
"Each month it gets harder to keep up with my medical bills and pay the mortgage."
 
"I have health care, but the premiums are a huge chunk of my salary. I can barely afford to fill my prescriptions!"

"My employer won't pay for family coverage health care anymore, and now my wife is uninsured. Will the hospital treat her if she gets sick or in an accident?"

These are the concerns I hear from voters when I call or knock on their doors.

I'm a member of UFCW Local 1776 in Philadelphia. I've been a shop steward at the grocery store where I work for 22 years. This election I've been volunteering with other Change to Win activists, talking with other working voters about the issues that matter most to our families.

Health care often tops the list, because our system is broken, and it's only getting worse.

That's exactly why I decided to do more than just vote in this election. I am organizing canvasses, phone banks, and recruiting others to volunteer their time to help elect candidates who will make health care their top priority in office.

This crisis affects all of us, union and non-union alike, insured, underinsured, and those without any coverage at all. I have benefits through my union contract now, but I worry about how my child in college will get coverage. More and more employers - even responsible, union companies - are shifting costs and rolling back coverage. I don't want to fight for solutions at the bargaining table… I want all Americans to have the health care they need.

The president and Congress have a good, affordable plan, so why aren't they finding ways to cover all Americans?

We need new leaders in Washington who will roll up their sleeves and get to work. And we need to stand with the politicians who have. My governor, Ed Rendell, has helped expand access to PA kids, and that's just what this state needs more of. I'm supporting a pro-worker state legislature who will help him continue to work on solutions to the crisis.

We need more than a band-aid - we need a cure. Be a health care voter on Election Day!
 
A Note from Anna: Are you supporting candidates who are committed to finding ways to make quality, affordable health care part of the American Dream? Pledge to be a "health care voter" at www.ImAHealthCareVoter.org and find out where candidates in your community stand on the issue. Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to do the same before they go to the polls on November 7. Join me, Eileen and hundreds of thousands of other voters in the movement to achieve quality, affordable health care for all!