“In the past, the company had always been the only party that went looking for insurance coverage, and we didn't feel like we had any control or say in it, and really we didn't. (Now the) insurance committee will have sole power to bring in representatives of insurance companies to listen to what they have and to make the decision on what insurance coverage is going to be elected by the union and the company.”
“The company's intent was to cap their costs on health care, and the company came back to the union and said that if your members want to stay with the insurance, they will have to pick up those increases. And there was no way members could afford to do that.”
“It's not that often you see a contract settle without concessions in this day and age. (At the last Central Labor Council meeting) someone reported that a union took a wage freeze but kept their health insurance. Today that's a win.”
