Negotiators for automakers face same issue this summer May 22, 2003
More than 100 UAW workers in Warren have gone on strike over demands the workers pick up more of the cost of their health care benefits such as prescription drugs, precisely the kind of issue likely to be debated at national contract talks with the Detroit automakers.
The 115 active workers at Michigan Rivet Corp., a supplier of nuts, bolts and other small metal parts to the auto industry, went on strike May 12. Their contract expired April 6, and they worked without one until the strike.
UAW workers say they offered to pay some of their health care costs, such as increasing their co-payment for prescription drugs or office visits, but not as much as Michigan Rivet management demands. Several calls to Michigan Rivet on Tuesday and Wednesday were not returned.
"We are willing to give some relief on health care costs, but we can't go as far as they are pushing," said Dan Donnellon, UAW shop chairman at the Warren plant and a worker there for 17 years. "I think we are fighting over exactly what the Big Three will be dealing with later this year. A lot of other locals have been supportive of us, knowing that."
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group are to begin UAW national talks in mid-July. The UAW national contract covering 275,000 auto workers expires Sept. 14.
The UAW has more than 950 locals nationwide, with eight of them currently on strike. This strike at UAW Local 155 is the only one in Michigan.
Donnellon said his union's last offer was to increase co-pay on prescription drugs from $5 per prescription to $10 for generic drugs and $20 for name-brand drugs. He said Michigan Rivet was asking for $40 co-pays on name-brand drugs.
"That would be too much for our retirees who have four or five drugs they have to take for like a heart problem," said Donnellon. He said there are about 60 UAW retirees from the plant.
He said the UAW also proposed a 90-10 split of health care costs within the employer-approved network, with the union paying 10 percent. It also proposed an 80-20 split outside the network. He said Michigan Rivet countered with an 80-20 split inside the network and 60-40 outside. Previously, these costs were 100-percent covered by Michigan Rivet, he said.
UAW workers at the plant make between $12 and $20 an hour, with the average about $17.
"We've got a lot of older guys here who built this plant. We are willing to work with the company, but they are gouging us. If health care isn't the No. 1 issue for our union yet, it's going to be," said Frank Stuglin, a UAW servicing representative.
The 54-year-old firm, which traded publicly until 2001, employs about 300 and had sales of more than $40 million in 2000, according to its last Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
