TDU: Summary of Central States healthcare coverage with co-pay and deductible

[pretender]

Would you rather pay up to $4,680 toward your healthcare premiums or co-pays and deductibles which you have more control over? As I stated above, my net out of pocket for medical expenses in 2012 was 192.04, of which $225 was for lenses for my back-up pair of glasses. This means that if I had chosen not to upgrade my glasses I would have had a net profit of $32.96. I submit all medical claims to my supplmental health insurance provider, Combined, for reimbursement.

I'm just a dumb truck driver but I would prefer co-pays and deductibles that I can control over a weekly payroll deduction for healthcare premiums.

As for the pension, mine is a multi-employer plan so, yeah, I would much rather be in a single employer plan where I know my interests will be protected and contributions from the company will not be used to pay for retirees from other companies.

I retired last December, so I am paying $400 per month in healthcare premiums. Are you saying that if the union takes over my healthcare, that I would no longer have to pay this? If so, then I agree with you in theory that co-pays and deductibles would not necessarily be a bad thing. However, I would be shocked if that was the case. Also, as someone else previously stated, if UPS retains healthcare responsibility, you would at least know your premiums for the next five years (or whatever the length of the contract). If the union has control of our healthcare, they could raise our premiums whenever they want.

The only reason I was able to retire in Central States, is because UPS took over the pension. Two years ago, in preparation, I switched over to the "new" UPS insurance, and the retirement process was seamless and I now enjoy the exact same benefits I did while I was employed. It would be a giant step backwards to have the union control my healthcare.

If the union does take over healthcare, then I think the benefits should be the same for everyone across the country...

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

The Union does not pay for retiree health benefits.

 

[brownmonster]

People will pay thousands of dollar a year maintaining their vehicles but think they don't have to pay a dime to maintain themselves. I have excellent insurance but still end up paying 3 grand last year out of pocket. I can handle the small stuff, I need to be covered for the catastrophic.

 

[Anonymous 10]

It sucks. You seem like you would be all for a big steaming pile of crap if it came outta Hoffa or Hall.

I've got these benifits you big steaming pile of crap. They aren't bad and I've often wondered why part timers have better benifits that full timers. This is our career and it their partime job.

 

[Bagels]

I doubt this serves as a blueprint for a single, union-controlled health plan. Adding more than a 100,000 employees of different demographics would heavily change the dynamics of the plan. It wouldn't surprise me to see, for example, PTers offered the option of a no-cost HMO with in-network coverage similar to what they currently enjoy (but with the hassles of an HMO), and perhaps the option to buy up to a PPO.

Consequence of action.
51% voted for Obama and 100% have to deal with the consequences of
"Obama Care".
Hold on to your panties, this roller coaster ride hasn't even started.
Cause and effect.

...and if our Presidency was elected through popular vote - as opposed to the electoral college system - he would've likely taken closer to 60% of the vote. (And let's not forget that when more people voted for Gore than Bush, the majority vote had to suffer through the Bush-era Administration ... including the Iraq war.)

Not that it matters, really. Over the course of the past two contracts, health care costs have been exploding (and the problem was worse under a Republican-controlled White House/Congress). Only this time the union didn't have the option of putting the CS pension withdrawal & PT toward a PPO system on the table.

Let's not keep pretending that heath care costs haven't been an issue for many years, or that UPS's total labor costs aren't catching up to it.

 

[rudy5150]

I've got these benifits you big steaming pile of crap. They aren't bad and I've often wondered why part timers have better benifits that full timers. This is our career and it their partime job.

Hello maybe cause full timers make almost $33 an hour compared to $8.50 part timer.......

 

[Catatonic]

People will pay thousands of dollar a year maintaining their vehicles but think they don't have to pay a dime to maintain themselves. I have excellent insurance but still end up paying 3 grand last year out of pocket. I can handle the small stuff, I need to be covered for the catastrophic.

Bingo ... What you need is insurance which is what most self-employed people I know have bought.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Hello maybe cause full timers make almost $33 an hour compared to $8.50 part timer.......

It's a part time job with a guarantee of 3:5 hours a day. It's a career for a full timer and we have inferior health care benifits. Think about this.

 

[Bagels]

It's a part time job with a guarantee of 3:5 hours a day. It's a career for a full timer and we have inferior health care benifits. Think about this.

There are oodles of career "PTers" at UPS who work in excess of 40-hours per week.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

There are oodles of career "PTers" at UPS who work in excess of 40-hours per week.

Very few in my center work double shifts.

 

[Anonymous 10]

There are oodles of career "PTers" at UPS who work in excess of 40-hours per week.

Yes we have a ton of them also. They don't take 22.3 jobs. Why not?? Why would they? Better benifits and fourty hours a week 15 which is overtime. It's not supposed to be a career. Think about it. Part timers have better benifits than full timers. Why should this be?? Part time isn't a career. Full time is a career part time is a part time job.

 

[Atomic_Smurf]

Remember all the speeches Obama gave promising that "families will see their healthcare premiums lowered by $2500.00 per year, just for starters"...That was Hilarious...

 

[toonertoo]

I like my healthcare now. I don't want to pay anymore than I do. I guess that is human nature. I will vote no, if this is our offer.

 

[Bagels]

Yes we have a ton of them also. They don't take 22.3 jobs. Why not?? Why would they? Better benifits and fourty hours a week 15 which is overtime. It's not supposed to be a career. Think about it. Part timers have better benifits than full timers. Why should this be?? Part time isn't a career. Full time is a career part time is a part time job.

At our peak, we had 700+ permanent PTers (three inside shifts + AM/PM air drivers) in my building. There's NEVER been a 22.3 job here. Not one. There's another, much smaller UPS building 7.5 miles from mine that employees about 20 Preloaders, and more than half are 22.3 jobs. We've never been given a definite reason as to why that is.

Secondly, have you looked through employment ads within the past several years? FT jobs for persons without a four-year degree are virtually nonexistent in many areas. Companies have increasingly been re-flagging FT jobs as PT (as well as "independent contractor") to justify inferior compensation, despite demanding FT hours & responsibilities. (It's even creeping into the professional levels... schools, police departments, law firms, accounting offices, etc.) UPS is no exception. Many UPSers work FT hours for PT compensation. For the first ten years of my career here, 8-12 hour days were normal for my Preload. Even today, when I typically work 3.5-4, the nature of the job (getting up in the middle of the night, the physical wear & tear, etc.) fatigues me much more than an 8-hour shift would at Walmart.

Not to mention most incumbent PTers hired in thinking they'd be driving within a few years. 13 years or more later, they're still waiting......

Remember all the speeches Obama gave promising that "families will see their healthcare premiums lowered by $2500.00 per year, just for starters"...That was Hilarious...

You still believe that even if it wasn't for ObamaCare, UPS would not be asking for us to contribute toward our premiums. Still can't accept reality, huh?

But yeah, Romney / McCain would be better for UPSers. The ultra-conservative persons that would've been appointed toward the NLRB would've been GREAT for us Teamsters!!!

 

[Anonymous 10]

At our peak, we had 700+ permanent PTers (three inside shifts + AM/PM air drivers) in my building. There's NEVER been a 22.3 job here. Not one. There's another, much smaller UPS building 7.5 miles from mine that employees about 20 Preloaders, and more than half are 22.3 jobs. We've never been given a definite reason as to why that is.

Secondly, have you looked through employment ads within the past several years? FT jobs for persons without a four-year degree are virtually nonexistent in many areas. Companies have increasingly been re-flagging FT jobs as PT (as well as "independent contractor") to justify inferior compensation, despite demanding FT hours & responsibilities. (It's even creeping into the professional levels... schools, police departments, law firms, accounting offices, etc.) UPS is no exception. Many UPSers work FT hours for PT compensation. For the first ten years of my career here, 8-12 hour days were normal for my Preload. Even today, when I typically work 3.5-4, the nature of the job (getting up in the middle of the night, the physical wear & tear, etc.) fatigues me much more than an 8-hour shift would at Walmart.

Not to mention most incumbent PTers hired in thinking they'd be driving within a few years. 13 years or more later, they're still waiting......





You still believe that even if it wasn't for ObamaCare, UPS would not be asking for us to contribute toward our premiums. Still can't accept reality, huh?

But yeah, Romney / McCain would be better for UPSers. The ultra-conservative persons that would've been appointed toward the NLRB would've been GREAT for us Teamsters!!!

I see your point bagels but I still believe what I believe.

 

[pomf]

Yes we have a ton of them also. They don't take 22.3 jobs. Why not?? Why would they? Better benifits and fourty hours a week 15 which is overtime. It's not supposed to be a career. Think about it. Part timers have better benifits than full timers. Why should this be?? Part time isn't a career. Full time is a career part time is a part time job.

Hmm.. lets do think about that for a minute. Full timers are paid more money, guaranteed more hours but refuse to pay for health benefits and then complain that part timers have better benefits. Part time employees have been crapped on contract after contract and this one coming up will be no different.

You better plan on having your retirement secured and not have to count on any "entitlements" from UPS. Once you retire, your turn to get crapped on will come.

Later fellow Teamster "brother".

 

[saintrick]

Yes we have a ton of them also. They don't take 22.3 jobs. Why not?? Why would they? Better benifits and fourty hours a week 15 which is overtime. It's not supposed to be a career. Think about it. Part timers have better benifits than full timers. Why should this be?? Part time isn't a career. Full time is a career part time is a part time job.

For the amount of money the company dumps into Teamster health and welfare funds there is no reason for your benefits not to equal the company plan.

 

[Inthegame]

For the amount of money the company dumps into Teamster health and welfare funds there is no reason for your benefits not to equal the company plan.

There is actually a very good reason why your statement is inaccurate.
1)The Teamster non-profit Taft Hartley funds can only "spend" what they take in.
2)When actual costs exceed planned costs, UPS self insured plans can re-allocate company assets into covering expenses. UPS has been re-allocating dollars into insurance coverage, retiree and active, at a rate they aren't comfortable with and they're attempting to reduce/eliminate those allocations.
So coverage levels in Teamster plans are limited by their pooled assets while UPS plans are limited by UPS's wealth.

 

[realbrown1]

Your wrong, part-timers have not been crapped on every contract. In one or two of the contracts, they actually got more in raises than full-timers.
People who haven't started working for UPS yet, have been crapped on every contract.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Your wrong, part-timers have not been crapped on every contract. In one or two of the contracts, they actually got more in raises than full-timers.
People who haven't started working for UPS yet, have been crapped on every contract.

People who haven't worked for UPS yet are called the unborn. They will always get sold out.