Bargaining Report: Proposal on Health Benefits

CWA District 1 / IBEW Local 2213 Regional and Local Bargaining Teams as well as the IBEW New England Committees met with the Company today.  At the Regional table the Company gave us a proposal on Health Benefits. Verizon management had made it clear in their opening remarks on Wednesday that their goal in this round of bargaining was to erode our standard of living and the many hard fought for gains we have made through our more than sixty years of contract negotiations.

The Company proposed today to replace the MEP HCPPO and the HCN plan with two inferior plans and to vastly increase deductibles, out of pocket maximums and to add employee contributions. This proposal would also add considerable cost to retirees by implementing this plan. Retirees would begin paying annual contributions as well as paying more for their benefits with higher deductibles and higher out of pocket maximums.

The committee spent the day discussing these new plans with the company and will evaluate the plans over the weekend. The Company seems intent on making the plans so expensive that no one will be able to afford to use them.

We have told the company that we are prepared to work with them to help them cut cost with the Health Benefits but we are not prepared to shift the cost of those benefits to our members. We fought too hard for these plans, these benefits and our members and their employees deserve the best health care coverage from a company that is extremely profitable.

We have recessed for the weekend and will reconvene with the Regional Bargaining Committee on Tuesday. Most of the Local committees will be reconvening on Monday.

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