Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press Published 11: 30 am ET Sept. 26, 2019Updated (********************************************************************************: 38 pm ET Sept. 26, 2019
In a significant reversal, General Motors has told the UAW that it will continue to pay for health coverage of striking workers.
GM told the union after it went on strike Sept. 16 at company sites nationwide that it was kicking health care costs to the union, a move that UAW leaders said blindsided them, even though they had anticipated picking up those costs at some point through the strike fund.
GM said Thursday it “has chosen to work with our providers to keep all benefits fully in place for striking hourly employees, so they have no disruption to their medical care, including vision, prescription and dental coverage.
“If they have an insurance claim, they should submit it. GM will continue to provide them the coverage they rely on given the circumstances, “the company said. The company set no end date.
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“This is truly an attempt to do what’s right for our employees, “spokesman Dan Flores said.
A person familiar with the talks said the company’s change was done to eliminate confusion and in hopes of focusing ********
The UAW said Wednesday that “all unsettled proposals are now at the main table and have been presented to General Motors and we are awaiting their response. This back and forth will continue until negotiations are complete. “
But negotiators went home early Wednesday evening, after having worked later each previous day of the strike, suggesting the sides
The health care reversal comes as GM has endured withering criticism over its initial decision.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders used the issue along with GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra’s $ 21. (million) compensation to shame the company as he rallied workers Wednesday outside the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.
“They think they’re going to force you into submission. Imagine a company where the CEO gets $ 22 million and then they cut the health care benefits of their workers, “
A source with knowledge of the talks charged that GM didn’t mind using the issue as leverage but chose to reinstate health care because its image has been tarnished.
Terry Dittes, who is leading negotiations with GM for the UAW, noted in a letter Thursday to Scott Sandefur, GM’s top negotiator, that GM’s “irresponsible actions “related to health care had been” toying “with the lives of UAW families.
Labor experts had also questioned the tactic.
“They’re pouring gasoline on the fire,” Harry Katz, the Jack Sheinkman professor of collective bargaining at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, told the Free Press last week. “This induces the workers to get more angry. GM thinks this will scare them or get them to rethink the cost of their benefits. I think it’s going to backfire. It’s quick, rash and insensitive. “
Even as the health care issue for striking workers has been a focus, a different sources with knowledge of the talks said there has been progress during negotiations.
“We’re continuing to talk and that’s good,” the source said.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence at e[email protected].Follow him on Twitter@_ ericdlawrence.Read more onautosand sign up for ourautos newsletter.
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