Brown, Ohio Workers Discuss Legislation to Protect Striking Workers' Health Insurance
Press Release
Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) discussed his Striking Workers Healthcare Protection Act which would require employers to continue providing health insurance to workers exercising their right to strike, so working families aren't forced off the health coverage they've earned and aren't forced to pay out-of-pocket for potentially lifesaving health care.
"Any union worker knows, strikes are always a last resort. Workers want to reach a fair agreement, so they can keep going to work and providing for their families. Workers almost never recover all the lost wages from a strike. But sometimes it's the only option," said Brown. "Our bill would protect workers' and their families' health. And it would give workers the peace of mind that if they're backed into a corner, they can stand up to corporate abuse, without the fear of losing their families' health insurance."
The bill would create a separate unfair labor practice category, punishable by fines, for when employers cut or alter workers' health insurance while the workers are on strike. The fines would vary based on their history of violations, size, the scope of the harm, and the public interest.
Brown's guests on the call were two members of Toledo's United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 14 - Tony Totty, President of UAW Local 14 and Bryan Paulson.
Both men were a part of the 2019 national UAW strike. Paulson's then 4-year-old daughter Chesney needed surgery during the strike but couldn't see her specialist because General Motors canceled health insurance of striking members.
"As a union member and a family man, I shouldn't have to worry about losing my health care during negotiations for a fair contract," said Paulson during today's call.
"Health care is the top issue for every single one of the strike lines I visit. Other first-world countries don't do this to their workers. This legislation levels the playing field between powerful companies and everyday Americans," said Totty.
As the pandemic has illustrated, health insurance can be the difference between life and death, prosperity or financial ruin. As more workers go on strike across the country, more companies are using this harmful tactic to try to break worker strikes.
GM dropped workers' health insurance, including the coverage of workers in Ohio like Paulson, during a 2019 national strike.
Earlier this year, members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM) Local 37 went without health care benefits while on strike from their jobs at Rich Products at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Santa Fe Springs, California.
During the United Auto Workers strike last fall, John Deere threatened to cancel the health care coverage of thousands of striking employees across the Midwest before deciding to continue that coverage until a final contract was reached with UAW workers.
Warrior Met strikers represented by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) had their health care coverage cut off when they went on strike in April 2021 and the union has been paying for health care coverage for those members since the strike began.
The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03).
It also has the support of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers (BCTGM), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Communications Workers of America (CWA), United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), International Association of Iron Workers (IW), United Steelworkers (USW), and the Teamsters.
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