(The Fort Worth Star-Telegram posted the following story by Dan Piller on its website on October 7.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Unions representing railroad train crews at Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads have urged their members to approve a contract with the carriers that will, for the first time, require monthly premium payments by workers for health insurance.
The plan negotiated by the United Transportation Union, representing about 46,000 non-locomotive train crew members nationally, will require monthly payments from the workers of $119 for the first six months of next year and $100 monthly thereafter. In return, the workers will be covered for one physical exam per year, childrens’ immunizations, pregnancy visits and allergy shots.
The UTU members also will get to keep their prescription drug benefit plan, which has $5 co-pays per prescription for generic drugs and $10 co-pays for brand-name prescriptions.
UTU members will vote on the plan over the next month, with the results tallied Nov. 4. The UTU represents about 9,000 workers each at Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads.
The railroads declined to comment on the plan, awaiting the ratification vote. Union leaders urged their members to accept the package and warned that the recent experiences of other unions with third-party mediation probably will not result in a better deal.
“If you reject this agreement, we are not going to get a second bite of the apple,” said Dan Johnson, UTU general secretary and treasurer. “Rejection will lead immediately to third-party arbitration.”
Johnson noted that arbitrators have given other unions what he described as less-attractive packages during the current round of negotiations.
UTU medical consultant Dr. Norman Brown, whom the union said has more than 40 years’ experience, said in a message to workers, “If you ratify this agreement, UTU members will have a plan with better benefits and lower overall costs.”
The union carried a statement by former National Mediation Board Chairman Maggie Jacobsen, who was a facilitator between the UTU and carrier negotiating teams. She said, “If you reject this agreement, I think a third-party arbitrator will impose something less to your liking.”
No information has been revealed about the status of wage negotiations between the union and the railroads.
Health care costs have emerged as the major focus in the current round of negotiations between the UTU, the nation’s largest railroad workers union, and the carriers. Railroads said this year that they spend about $10,500 per employee on health costs, which are rising about 20 percent per year.