Hall/Hoffa Prevent Improved Health & Welfare Benefits for part-time UPS Employees

[InsideUPS]

Our Local Union currently receives full-time health & welfare benefits from a large healthcare insurance provider in our area. These H&W benefits are superior to that of the "Enhanced C6" plan offered by TeamCare of Central States. The entire part-time work force in our local wishes to receive benefits from the same insurance provider as their full-time coworkers.

Question(s): Why would the IBT (Hall/Hoffa) prevent our Local from including the part-time work force with this same healthcare insurance provider as their FT coworkers? The reason given is that the National Master was passed which precludes any and all language of the supplemental agreements. While this may be the case, why wouldn't the IBT give each Local the autonomy to negotiate their own health care benefits for their part-time members as they are able to for their full-time members?

From the IBT Website: Review your local union bylaws. Each Teamster local is autonomous and has its own set of rules and guidelines.

Hall/Hoffa - Please know that you are making a serious mistake by not allowing our Local as well as others to negotiate their own health and welfare benefits. You make us join an inferior plan that benefits someone else rather than UPS Teamsters. The CS Enhanced C6 and R6 plan is inferior to the plan that our Local is able to negotiate with our area health insurance provider just as it is inferior to the UPS plan we have now.

Our Local has unanimously signed a petition asking you (Hall) to allow us to be in a plan with our full-time brothers and sisters. Please know that each and everyone of us will only become more disillusioned with the IBT if we are not able to stand with our Local Brothers and Sisters and share in their superior H&W plan. This issue was a significant factor in the failure of our regional supplement and state rider.

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[Bagels]

You're confused. Fully insured health plans are negotiated benefits. UPS PT is -- and will continue to be -- self insured (set benefits -- in other words, not negotiated).

The PT health plan is negotiated between UPS & the IBT. UPS contributes a finite amount of money to PT health care, administers the plan and utilizes a plethora of regional providers to manage it; the providers determine payments & dispense UPS's money to cover your bills. If you disagree, you appeal to the administrator (UPS). In transitioning to TEAMCARE, the only thing that's changing is that TC will become the plan's administrator. There will likely be a continued menu of regional providers, since it is a PPO and TC needs the best possible discounts -- Kaiser can deliver in California (where it dominates) but not in the Midwest (where it doesn't operate).

The contribution amount was already negotiated. If you're suggesting that each local use this money to determine its own co-pays, deductibles, etc., I hope you realize that the cost of health care varies heavily regionally. E.g. once you travel outside of Cook County in IL, the cost of seeing a doctor decreases by 33% on average; elsewhere, an operation may cost $10K in one area but $3K in another. Thus, rates within each local would be dependent on the number of members, the demographics & usage of the membership, and local health care costs. Thus, some locals may be able to provide its membership with completely "free" health care, while others will have steep co-pays & deductibles. And when it comes to vote... the number of angry SoCalers paying steep prices for their health care will outnumber those in Gators Creek, GA enjoying "free" health care. If PTers in red states joined the union. Or if those in blue states voted at all.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Bagels, PTers here are covered by the same union plan as the FTers.

 

[UPS Preloader]

Bagels, PTers here are covered by the same union plan as the FTers.

That might be so, but the coverage is not the same. At least here in New England it isn't.

 

[stink219]

Bagels, PTers here are covered by the same union plan as the FTers.

That might be so, but the coverage is not the same. At least here in New England it isn't.

It is in our local (251). However, depending on your hours, there are 2 plans both under united.

 

[Bagels]

Bagels, PTers here are covered by the same union plan as the FTers.

Yes, I concede that a small percentage of PTers are covered by a union plan, but that doesn't change what I wrote, which is that if each local established its own fee structure nationally, some will be completely "free" while others will cost the employee much more than what UPS initially proposed.