The June 3 bargaining session began at 9:00 a.m. with UE presenting its proposals on healthcare. “Our proposal is to go back to Health Care Preferred as the primary insurance plan based on coverage and contribution levels in place during 2010,” said the union’s chief negotiator, International Rep. Gene Elk. HCP was the primary GE health plan for hourly workers prior to 2011. “Our members have suffered too much and too long under this Rube Goldberg plan,” he said, referring to the outrageously complex medical plan imposed by the company in 2011.
UE’s proposals also call for raising the wage band levels used for determining employee contributions to factor in wage and cost-of-living increases since 2011 and going forward. This would protect workers from “bracket creep” into higher contribution levels. The union also proposed that co-pays for brand name prescription drugs should be at generic levels when no generic exists. When company spokesman Mike Luvisi objected that this would add to the company’s costs, several union bargainers responded. Mike Divins, president of UE Local 618 has had problems with botched deliveries by the company’s mail order prescription vendor, CVS Caremark, and questioned the need to get long-term prescriptions re-certified every year. “That’s bullshit!” Larry Nimly of the IAM in Milwaukee described his personal experience and that of members he represents under GEHB, as the company is trying to steer people toward inappropriate but cheaper substitute drugs.
Another UE proposal calls for all pharmacies to be considered in-network, and several people questioned the favored status GE has given to CVS Caremark, Walmart and Sam’s Club. “Keep pushing CVS and you’ll end up with no competition,” said Local 506 President Scott Slawson. “Do you want to put all the small pharmacies in the country out of business?” asked Elk. Gary Jordan of the UAW said, “We can’t be the ‘good consumers’ which you say you want because you’ve narrowed our choices.” Local 506 Vice President Mike Ferritto added, “CVS is rigging the market and they don’t pass on their savings.”
Elk then presented UE’s proposals to improve vision care, and to eliminate the triple penalty for using a “non-preferred” or “out-of-network” hospital, citing an example of a worker, who was not named during the discussion, who lost his life savings when he had no choice but to use an out-of-network hospital. “We’ve been trying to help this guy for three years. Why do we have to bring this to the bargaining table?” asked UE General President Bruce Klipple.
“Your damn system’s broken!” said Klipple in anger. “Why do we have to go through this?”
When Luvisi tried to dismiss this case as an “isolated example,” Elk raised other examples. “This is our frustration,” said Klipple. “Why would we agree to pay more for something like this? We have more examples,” he added. “We could line them up outside the door, if that’s what you want.”
Local 506 Chief Plant Steward Leo Grzegorzewski asked how members who don’t have computers are expected to keep track of their health insurance or getting their bills paid. “This healthcare is disgusting. People spend hours every week and they still can’t figure it out. They can’t sleep at night worrying about it. They just want to pay their bills!” Grzegorzewski asked the company, “How can you tell us it’s good insurance?”
Elk reminded the company that they’ve been hearing these complaints about GEHB since 2012, and even some company administrators have told union members that the payment system is broken. “GE’s own benefits experts have thrown in the towel and tell our members not to use the WageWorks debit card to pay doctor’s bills. If you’re expecting increases for this rotten system, we’re heading for something neither of us want.”
Later Elk presented UE’s proposals for dental care improvements, and to provide an on-site health insurance counselor at major GE locations who can assist employees in navigating the health plan and getting health services paid.
UE AND GE AGREE ON GE'S FINANCIAL HEALTH
Also on Wednesday the company brought in GE’s Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bornstein for a presentation on the company’s economic health and its business strategy. The picture he presented was extremely positive. He admitted that GE had a backlog of more than $250 billion in orders and specifically cited Tier 4 locomotives, LEAP aircraft engines, and H-Class turbines, all produced by UE and CBC members.
Bornstein explained GE’s plans in several industries and regions of the world. The planned shift out of financial services will reposition GE as a company which is 90 percent industrial. But he also emphasized GE’s commitment to so-called consumer-driven healthcare and to move away from defined benefit pensions, which he described as trends being pursued by all major corporations.
Elk commended Bornstein for finally listening to UE’s advice by getting out of financial services and instead focusing on the industrial segment, where UE and CBC members work.
UE Research Director Karl Zimmerman presented UE’s analysis of GE’s financial performance and strategy. GE remains one of the Fortune 10 – the 10 largest companies in the U.S. GE is far ahead, in revenues, profits and profit per employee, of any of the companies with which it competes. GE also “dwarfs” its international competitors.
His analysis also examined the performance of GE’s industrial segments, with a special focus on GE Transportation, where most of UE’s GE members work. GE’s profit growth since 2010 has been three times higher than the next highest segment; its profit margins more than doubled in the past four years, from 9.3 to 20 percent; and it’s the second most profitable segment of GE, just slightly behind aviation.
Zimmerman also questioned the wisdom of GE’s plan to spend $50 billion on what will likely be the largest corporate stock buyback in history. This may boost the stock price, but it will do nothing to increase the productivity of GE businesses or give our members greater job security.
Finally the presentation examined pay issues, including CEO Jeff Immelt’s 74 percent increase in total compensation since 2010, to $37.4 million, how UE members’ pay increases since 2011 were largely eaten up by inflation and healthcare cost shifting, and how the COLA formula only covers 44 percent of increases in the cost of living. The upshot of UE’s financial analysis is that GE can easily afford all of the improvements the union is seeking.
After Zimmerman concluded his presentation, company negotiator Luvisi remarked that the UE presentation was quite similar to the financial overview that GE’s Bornstein had provided before lunch.
Elk then presented UE’s proposals on pay issues, including substantial pay increases, COLA improvements to provide “penny for penny coverage” for increases in the cost of living, and several contract language changes to correct inequities in compensation. He reminded GE that in 2011, it projected paying 11.7 percent in wage and COLA increases to our members, but that GE had only provided 10.2 percent in wage increases due to lower inflation.
Bargaining resumes on Thursday morning, June 4.
UE was represented by President Bruce Klipple, International Rep. Gene Elk, Local 506 Business Agent Frank Fusco, President Scott Slawson, Chief Plant Steward Leo Grzegorzewski, and Vice President Mike Ferritto; Local 332 President Melvin O’Dell and Business Agent Sherice Stark; Local 618 President Mike Divins; Local 601 Recording Secretary Fred Harris; UE General Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker, Director of Organization Bob Kingsley; Northeast Region President Peter Knowlton; Research Director Karl Zimmerman; and UE News Managing Editor Al Hart. Field Organizer Omar el-Malah represented UE at the IUE-CWA bargaining table. Other CBC unions joining UE at the bargaining table were the UAW, IAM, IBEW and USW.