Boeing Unilaterally Amends Medical Plan, Leaving SPEEA Family Without Coverage for In-Home Care

[antigop]

Source: Yahoo Finance

The family of a 15-year-old girl will lose necessary in-home nursing care just days before the holidays as a result of The Boeing Company making a unilateral amendment to medical plans with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.

“Boeing did not negotiate this change with SPEEA,” said Ray Goforth, SPEEA executive director. “I cannot overstate how irresponsible this is for Boeing to give this family 10 days notice they are cancelling the medical care they have come to depend on.”

The youth, who suffers cerebral palsy and other disabilities, requires assistance with breathing, feeding, medication, repositioning and daily living tasks. The medical plan will no longer cover the family’s in-home care after Saturday (Dec. 22).

Since Boeing self-funds its employee medical plans, every penny the company does not pay out for medical services is another penny of corporate profit.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-unilaterally-amends-medical-plan-010800849.html

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Fuck Boeing

Disgusting, if true.

[pnwmom]

2. Doing this to this family is inexcusable. So I won't excuse Boeing for this.

But the union's demands this time around -- raises of more than 6% -- seem pretty unrealistic in this economy.

[Bette]

4. No way!

Are you kidding me? Boeing has made a mint in profits and you think a lousy 6% raise is asking too much? And I wonder how much the govt gave Boeing in addition to what they stole from the employees. We wouldn't have this economy if big corporations didn't own our legislators and write their own bills, bills that these same legislators don't even read. We need to re-ignite unions in this country before we lose all rights and protections in the workplace.

[pnwmom]

6. With inflation as low as it is, that's a high increase, especially

compared to the rest of the industry.

I wonder what percent of DUers expect greater than 6% raises this year?

[Angry Dragon]

7. ...........

[Betty88]

8. its probably 6% over several years

That's how my last contract went, for example 2% one year, 2% the next and so on.

[Posteritatis]

11. Yeah, when you see "the union wants a gigantic raise" it's usually something like that

There was a transit strike around here a couple years ago; part of the resolution involved a one percent raise per year for a few years and a small lump sum payment upon signing the new contract (that part was present in the previous one anyway).

The media just latched right on to "they're getting a six percent raise for refusing to work!" and the public latched on to "they're getting a raise when we think they should all be on minimum wage!" of course.

(To make it even sillier, the pay issue was more or less in the contract the city proposed in the first place; the strike was over the city wanting to make all the staff part-time and subcontract drivers as needed.)

[juajen]

9. They will just move to another right-to-work state where they can pay lousy wages

SC is so happy to have Boeing. I am so tired of right to work states, and I seem to be tied to one of them. Of course, we are getting more and more of them. I hope unions can somehow save this country, but I am positive that they need some help from us and legislatures all over the country. Hope they get it.

[LarryNM]

3. Another Reason to have Universal Healthcare

With No Ties to employment.

[JRS]

12. Amen.

I totally agree with you. Health care tied to employment is a relic of a time when employers had to compete for employees with something other than wages. And it is a result of tax incentives. But this approach has morphed into a monster in which an employer or corporation has life and death control over one's life. How about universal non-profit healthcare?

[adieu]

5. Thank you Boeing

Just a few more such actions by major corporations to get the citizens of the United States to see the wisdom and practicality of a single-payer systems and remove ourselves from the healthcare handcuff of the corporations.

As soon as you can't own us with health care benefits, we're going to move around and our wages will rise. You save on health care, you'll pay for it with higher salaries.

[Honeycombe8]

10. Oh, how sad. What a predicament. I wonder if there are other options. nt