Striking Textron Aviation in Wichita workers lose health insurance

Dreena Reed has Medicare coverage, so she wasn’t personally affected when Textron Aviation cut off striking workers’ health insurance. But she’s worried about her daughter’s family.

Her son-in-law is also on strike, and the company-sponsored health insurance covers him, Reed’s daughter and their kids.

“That just goes to show that they’re not caring about their employees,” she said.

Thousands of striking workers now face difficult choices: risk going without health insurance, pay high premiums while not taking home a paycheck, or cross the picket line to keep their families covered.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 774 began their strike on Sept. 23 after the majority of the union’s 5,000 members rejected a contract from the aircraft maker.

One week later, the company ended striking workers’ health insurance.

Why Textron Aviation workers are striking

The union is negotiating for higher wages, better and cheaper health care coverage, stronger protections against layoffs and a better retirement plan.

IAM District 70 President Lisa Whitley said in a news release on Friday that the company’s changes in health insurance coverage have been devastating for workers.

Union members face high out-of-pocket costs, Whitley said, and the company has “gutted” dental and vision care.

“These are essential benefits, not luxuries,” Whitley said. “Workers deserve to have them restored.”

While reasons for striking vary, workers told The Beacon they want better benefits to support their families and future employees.

“We’ve got to prepare the way for the younger kids coming in,” said Clint Shockley, an IAM District 70 business representative who has been with Textron for over 20 years. “They’ve got young kids, and it’s expensive.”

Mike Briggs, who has worked at Textron for 34 years, said despite his time with the company, paid time off is limited for him and other machinists.

“We’ve got to come in here when we’re sick,” he said. “That just gets everybody else sick inside there, too.”

How striking workers can lose health insurance

Textron Aviation said in a statement it offers a comprehensive benefits package to employees when they’re working.

“Employees who report to work receive full pay and benefits beginning the day they return to work,” the spokesperson said.

Employers are not required to pay health insurance and other benefits during a strike , unless otherwise specified under the collective bargaining agreement.

Don Aubry, a labor lawyer who represents unions and their members, has seen striking unions lose benefits before.

He said if employers aren’t making any changes to their contract, they can cut off benefits if the contract allows it. He also said workers can lose benefits if the contract requires a certain number of work hours for eligibility.

“If there is a provision already in place, I don’t see that as a unilateral change,” Aubry said. “It’s simply the existing conditions that, you know, they no longer satisfy the prerequisite for receiving the benefits.”

Textron Aviation’s website says the company offers various United Healthcare medical plan options for employees scheduled to work at least 20 hours a week.

Losing health insurance, labor educator Judy Ancel said, can deter workers from striking, especially those with children or sick family members.

“It’s clearly an attempt by the company to get people to cross the picket line and do what labor calls ‘scab’ on their fellow workers and defeat the strike,” Ancel said.

Boeing’s largest union, made up of 33,000 U.S. West Coast workers, has been on strike since Sept. 13, and the company cut workers’ health insurance on Sept. 30.

Impact on Wichita workers losing health insurance

Briggs, a technician, said he prepared for a strike and can go without working for four months.

“Luckily, I’m currently healthy, and so it’s not a big deal for me,” Briggs said. “But I know some people, you know, they have more serious conditions.”

David Slusky, a University of Kansas professor who researches health and labor economics, said lacking health insurance can have several ramifications: higher costs, worse finances and a higher risk of death due to a lack of preventive care.

He said primary care providers are also often less willing to keep existing patients or take new patients who lack insurance.

“The problem here is the tying of American health insurance to your employer, and the lack of Kansas expanding Medicaid,” Slusky said. “Those two are kind of what I would call somewhere between a policy glitch and a policy failure.”

Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, Kansas is one of 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid. To get Medicaid in Kansas, an adult must be a parent or guardian with an income below 38% of the federal poverty level — less than $1,000 a month for a family of four. That has created a coverage gap for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford health insurance.

“If you’re on strike … and you are in a situation where you are actually too poor to get on the (insurance) exchanges, and you’re really, really stuck,” Slusky said. “So it’s a more and more uniquely bad situation here in Kansas versus other states in the country.”

Alternative options for health care

Striking employees can continue their coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Textron said in its statement. Under COBRA, Textron Aviation striking employees must pay the full premium out of pocket, including what’s normally covered by their employer, and the coverage is temporary.

COBRA is not always affordable, Slusky said.

Textron Aviation’s website says when employees are working, the company pays more than 70% of health care insurance premiums for eligible employees.

The union has set up a fund to help striking workers pay for health care costs on an as-needed basis.

Union members can apply for assistance if they are unable to go without insurance due to significant health conditions, need medications or face a health emergency. Union members can visit the strike headquarters at 4646 W. Kellogg and 7223 E. Harry to apply.

In addition, union members who have a minimum of four hours of documented strike-related activity qualify for a weekly strike benefit of $350, which began on Monday, the third week of the strike.

Plane Healthy Wellness Center & Pharmacy, located on Textron Aviation’s west Wichita campus, provides health care services to Textron employees. KAKE reports that the wellness center has stayed open and will still charge a $35 copay for striking employees.

Textron Aviation is expected to meet with the negotiating committee on Thursday, Oct. 10.

Restarting talks doesn’t guarantee that both sides agree on a new contract.

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