Union: U.S. Steel wants workers to pay up to $9,600 per year in health care costs
The union says the
"U.S. Steel has proposed sweeping cuts in insurance benefits for both active and retired USW members, which are too numerous to list," the union said in an update to its members.
U.S. Steel spokeswoman
The current three-year contract expires in September.
USW says U.S. Steel's initial outline of a contract proposal "includes dozens of concessionary demands that would turn back the clock on decades of contractual improvements and benefits for our members and their families."
"While we have yet to receive a formal, detailed proposal from the company, it's clear from this initial outline that U.S. Steel is attempting to use the current industry downturn to gut our contract and weaken our union," the union said in an update to members. "Management will be proposing major changes to health care that would increase costs for both our active and retired members."
Workers would get stuck with premiums of as much as
Steelworkers would have to pay 20 percent on in-network expenses up to
U.S. Steel further proposed eliminating its health care plan for retirees, the USW said.
"Individually, each of these proposals is regressive and prohibitively expensive," the union said. "As a whole, they represent a direct attack on the benefits we have built over decades of struggle."
The steelmaker additionally is looking to reduce vacation pay and eliminate vacation bonuses, according to the union. USW members would lose bidding rights, scheduling rights, and overtime after an eight-hour shift. They would only be guaranteed 32 hours a week. The company also wants to choose the union safety representatives and has balked at union proposals to improve health and safety training.
"These proposals do nothing to address the current climate in the steel industry," the union said. "They are designed instead to take advantage of that climate to weaken our contract. We are going to need the strength and solidarity of all of our members to keep up our fight for a contract that is fair to the company and our active and retired members."
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