Jesus I can’t believe ppl liked that tweet and dapped your post
Unions negotiate in their contracts that employers must stop paying for health insurance. Just so they CANT hold it over the workers heads. The union starts to make the payments themselves.
We understand strikes are difficult and disruptive to families," GM said in an email to The Hill. "While on strike, some benefits shift to being funded by the union's strike fund, and in this case hourly employees are eligible for union-paid COBRA so their health care benefits can continue."
no one lost health insurance.
.
You're high or doing your best Washington Post fact checker impression:
GM offers 2% raises in UAW contract; ends health care
Rumors had swirled late Monday that striking UAW members were no longer covered by company health care, the cost of which is a major issue in contract talks. To ease the concerns, Terry Dittes, vice president for the UAW's GM Department, sent out a letter saying GM would continue health care benefits through the end of the month for all UAW-represented employees "as provided for in the contract."
But Dittes later told members he received a letter from GM on Tuesday "confirming that our striking members' health care coverage has been cut off by General Motors. During this period, the UAW will provide medical assistance or a COBRA option, if necessary, for you and eligible family members. If you have any questions, please direct them to the auditor assigned to your location by the secretary-treasurer's office. Additionally, this answer provided by GM, today, will be reviewed by UAW Legal to see if any further action is required."
The UAW said online that "the UAW Strike and Defense Fund covers certain benefits such as medical and prescription drugs. Benefits not covered include: dental, vision, hearing and sick and accident. These benefits are either paid directly by the (strike) Fund according to the company’s current plan or by having the Strike and Defense Fund make COBRA payments to the company plan."
The union had $721 million in its strike fund in 2018 and temporarily increased dues in March this year to boost it to $850 million. That fund also will pay striking workers $250 a week.
Sources: GM offers 2% raises in UAW contract; ends health care
GM health care shift during UAW strike poured gasoline on fire
Within 36 hours of the United Automobile Workers strike against General Motors, the Detroit automaker announced a decision to
shift worker health care payments to the union immediately – a strategy that risks dragging out the strike, labor negotiators say.
The UAW said its lawyers are reviewing the move, which forces the union to more quickly tap its strike fund, which exceeds $750 million. Worker coverage would be picked up by COBRA, but the logistics are frightening to families of the 46,000 hourly workers during this time of uncertainty.
"This was done as a scare tactic," said a UAW source close to the negotiations. "It was unnecessary."
Legal experts nationally question the wisdom of the decision.
"This would really lay down the gauntlet," said William B. Gould IV, emeritus professor of law at Stanford University and former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. "It certainly shows GM is playing hardball in a big way. I think it's a calculated decision to pressure the union. But it's like throwing a red flag before the bull."
Sources close to the negotiations say union officials have no problem absorbing the cost of health benefit payments in addition to paying $250 a week in strike pay,
but making the payments retroactive to Sunday's strike start came across as intentionally jarring – in a manner designed to startle GM workers.
Expert: GM health care shift during UAW strike poured gasoline on fire
NLRB: Cancelling health benefits while employees engaged in brief strike was unlawful
By
Ronald Miller, J.D.
An employer acted unlawfully when it ceased providing employees accrued health benefits when they went out on a strike, ruled a divided three-member panel of the NLRB. Cancellation of the benefits was unlawful because, under the applicable collective bargaining agreement, the employees’ eligibility for benefits previously had accrued and was not dependent upon their continued performance of work for the employer. Moreover, the employer failed to establish a legitimate and substantial business justification for discontinuing the striking employees’ benefits. Acting Chairman Miscimarra dissented (
Hawaiian Telecom, Inc., February 23, 2017).
WK WorkDay Blog | Employment Law Daily
'We had no warning:' Wife of GM employee on strike wakes up from surgery without insurance
Thousands of workers are still on strike as the United Auto Workers Union and General Motors still have not reached a deal. To make matters worse, the UAW announced GM is cutting health insurance for those striking.
The news is devastating for families, as they now have to worry about how they're going to pay for everything from medication to major surgery. Union leaders telling FOX 17 News members went in for cancer treatments and to pick up prescriptions on Monday and that's how they found out they were uninsured.
Laura Prater heard the news when she woke up from a $40,000 stomach operation.
"All of a sudden I am risking getting this major hospital bill we honestly couldn't afford,” says Prater, whose husband Clayton is an electrician at the GM plant in Spring Hill.
Up until yesterday, the Prater family of five were carried on a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan through General Motors, but not anymore.
"It makes me feel terrible,” says Prater. “Before I started working for GM, I was Army. I'm a veteran so things like integrity, honesty those things mean something to me.”
Clayton is one of 3,500 GM workers taking to the streets from the Spring Hill plant, one of nearly 50,000 nationwide amid contract negotiations. He says cutting off health care coverage to his family during the strike is a low blow.
"I expect my insurance to be dropped and I will deal with that through the union, but my wife's a pawn and that doesn't sit right with me,” says Prater.
Despite the strike, the Prater family thought they'd be covered until October 1st. Turns out, their insurance got cut off hours before Laura's surgery.
“We had no warning and in fact, I even verified last week before the surgery is this still a go?” says Laura.
'We had no warning:' Wife of GM employee on strike wakes up from surgery without insurance
this Socialism shyt is easy folks
GM just hitting y'all with that compassionate capitalism amirite
