NStar cancels striking workers' health benefits By Associated Press
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - Updated: 06:19 PM EST BOSTON - NStar has
canceled the health benefits of more than 1,900 striking workers - a
tactic one labor expert called unusually aggressive and an indication
that the electric and gas utility is digging in for a long strike. NStar
linemen, engineers and other workers walked off the job Monday after a
five-year contract expired and negotiations toward a new agreement
collapsed. That same day, the company canceled union members' medical,
dental and vision benefits through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of
Massachusetts, NStar spokeswoman Caroline Allen said Wednesday. Utility
Workers of America Local 369 said it learned of the cancellation from a
Blue Cross representative and called the tactic a ``harmful
retaliation.'' ``Their actions are unconscionable and put the safety and
health of members in jeopardy with no advance warning,'' local president
Gary Sullivan said. Allen said striking workers can extend their
benefits through so-called COBRA coverage, which allows workers leaving
a job to continue participating in the company plan for a limited time,
as long as they pay the entire cost. ``When employees do not report for
duty and instead strike the company, those employees surrender their
compensation, including pay, health care benefits and all other aspects
of compensation,'' Allen said. ``We cannot ask our customers to pay for
wages or benefits for employees who are choosing not to work.''
Professor Tom Juravich, director of The Labor Center at the University
of Massachusetts- Amherst, called NStar's move ``an extremely aggressive
tactic which is not typical of most disputes. ``To me it indicates that
this company is not trying to settle this dispute, but really trying to
prolong it and set itself up so that maybe they can break the union,''
Juravich said. Companies facing strikes typically do not bother with the
paperwork and expense of canceling benefits unless they believe the
dispute will last more than a few weeks, he said. No new talks are
scheduled between NStar and the union, which includes nearly two-thirds
of the company's 3,000 workers. The Boston-based, investor-owned utility
is relying on managers and contractors working overtime to continue
service to customers in eastern and central Massachusetts.
Contract issues include the proposed elimination of vision and dental
care for retirees, forced overtime, and pension benefit cuts for new
workers. NStar also wants to change a work scheduling rule it considers
antiquated, and the union accuses the company of reducing staff so
drastically that crews can no longer do preventive maintenance to
address safety problems. NStar serves about 1.1 million electric
customers and 300,000 natural gas customers in the Boston metropolitan
area, Worcester and coastal areas from Cape Cod to Cape Ann. |
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