US Politics Mega-thread - Page 429

Locked-out union members are blasting National Grid for stopping payment to their health care plans, but the company says it won’t give out benefits while the workers refuse to give up the ability to strike.

National Grid locked out more than 1,000 members of United Steelworkers Locals 12003 and 12012 on June 25 after contract negotiations broke down, and is using managers and outside contractors to oversee complaints during the stoppage. The two sides have clashed over National Grid’s proposed changes to the company’s health care plan and benefits for new hires.

The workers have not received wages, but as of July 1 are no longer getting health care through the company, Local 12012 president John Buonopane said, and while the union is trying to use its emergency medical plan and register people with MassHealth, he was concerned workers without coverage may choose not to address medical issues.

“None of this is easy on anybody, it’s a shame the company is taking a hard stand,” Buonopane said. “We’re hoping to eventually get everyone covered, but it’s not going to happen right away. I would hate to hear of someone avoiding having treatment for an issue because they don’t have the health care right now. That’s a real possibility.”

National Grid spokesman Robert Kievra said the company has been bargaining in good faith but began the lockout to prevent any strikes that could affect safety, and the company is looking to negotiate a no-strike clause as well as add deductibles and coinsurance to employees’ health plans.

“Currently, employees in these two unions, unlike the overwhelming majority of our unionized employees in Massachusetts and other states, enjoy health insurance plans with no deductibles or coinsurance,” Kievra said in a statement. “In the absence of a tentative agreement on all outstanding issues, which would include a no-strike promise, the company made the difficult decision to implement its work continuation plan to ensure uninterrupted and safe gas service for our customers until we reach a final agreement.”

Buonopane said the health care cut was a negotiating tactic.

“I’m definitely surprised they cut health care, especially so quick,” Buonopane said. “It’s definitely a bargaining position to pressure people into accepting their offer.”

On July 08 2018 08:19 GreenHorizons wrote:
Pretty sure ineffective unions and exploitative bosses are part and parcel of why socialism is gaining in popularity. That and the internet helping people understand that most of what they learned about US history is straight up corporate propaganda.

On July 08 2018 08:27 Slydie wrote:


I am very curious to see how far the exploitation can go. Of course the power elite will do their best to keep the population divided, but at one point, mass strikes and riots will be unavoidable.

The key for China and Russia to stay stable is that the living conditions of most people are improving. If the Republicans can't do the same, they will be in major trouble!

On July 08 2018 07:20 Gorsameth wrote:
"Please sign this contract that removes your only means of negotiation so we can then mercilessly exploit you".
Waiving your right to strike should not even be possible, same for lawsuits.

On July 08 2018 08:27 Slydie wrote:


I am very curious to see how far the exploitation can go. Of course the power elite will do their best to keep the population divided, but at one point, mass strikes and riots will be unavoidable.

The key for China and Russia to stay stable is that the living conditions of most people are improving. If the Republicans can't do the same, they will be in major trouble!

On July 08 2018 08:11 zlefin wrote:
I'm a bit surprised a no-strike clause would be legal in massachusetts; as it's a very blue state.
no-strike clauses should be illegal it seems to me; if strikes are prohibited, it should only be by law for select categories, not something available via contracts (though maybe it's cuz they're in a special category already that it's possible?)

however I'd agree that the union employees should accept a deductible and at least some level of coinsurance on their health plan. though that could just be done via wage mechanisms as well.


oh, and i'd say the reason for people like socialism more is largely unrelated to stuff like this.
I'd say it's because young people didn't face a soviet union, so there's no/less socialism/communism association to deal with; and these days the term "socialism" is more and more likely to get associated with a social democrat party.
i.e. they may be more prone to say they like "socialism" but what they actually mean by socialism is quite different from what it used to be.

On July 08 2018 08:56 Plansix wrote:

Contracts are not magic and cannot stop people from striking. The company can fire and replace the striking employees with scabs. But that has a history of only escalating issue.

Alexandria supports the federal legalization of marijuana, ending for-profit prisons and detention centers, the release of individuals incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses, the end of cash bail, and automatic, independent investigations each & every time an individual is killed by law enforcement. We must also fully fund the offices of public defenders, decriminalize poverty, end arbitration clauses that shield corporate abuses of everyday Americans, and provide comprehensive mental health care to both incarcerated communities and law enforcement.

In times when we’re told that there’s not enough money, Republicans and corporate Democrats seem to find the cash to fund a $1.1 trillion fighter jet program or a $1.7 trillion-dollar nuclear weapon “modernization” program. The costs are extreme: the Pentagon’s budget for 2018 is $700 billion dollars, all to continue fighting an endless War on Terror and re-fighting the Cold War with a new arms race that nobody can win.

Hour Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free

On July 08 2018 17:44 a_flayer wrote:
The kind of socialism that I like is the kind where the collective production of society is not geared towards making weaponry, war and keeping prisoners, but providing health care, education and housing to free men. That's basically it. There's many disagreements on specifics (get rid of ICE, merge it with INS, open borders or not, etc), but that's really mostly irrelevant.- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The only major issue that I see is that socialists want to vote for people who point out the root causes of problems in their platform. But all the candidates keep running on platforms that have the duplicitous meaning of "we must drop bombs everywhere, cops should get surplus military grade equipment to oppress people, and it's too expensive to provide health care and education because we need all those bombs and equipment" and a lot of things similar to that where public funds are invested in all sorts of dehumanizing practices. Meanwhile self-described "moderate" people keep voting for those obvious extremist oppressive assholes for some reason.
- Eugene V. Debs.

On July 08 2018 20:25 gobbledydook wrote:


Defense is so expensive not because of all the new tech. It's expensive because it's a huge scam for contractors to make money off the government.
Apparently the last time they audited the Pentagon they found it had wasted hundreds of billions of dollars and no one got fired for that.

On July 08 2018 08:56 Plansix wrote:

Contracts are not magic and cannot stop people from striking. The company can fire and replace the striking employees with scabs. But that has a history of only escalating issue.

https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1015311987117625345

In other news, the separated families issue continues to get worse. Reports of kids being verbally abused, sleeping without blankets, no shoes and socks for day wear. One kid was returned to his mother with lice because he had no been bathed in 85 days. Our state sponsored child abuse continues. But Republicans are still trying to run for re-election, rather than taking control of the problem and fixing it.

On July 08 2018 17:38 Gorsameth wrote:
Wait what?
Strikebreakers are legal in the US?
Why does this even surprise me at this point...

On July 09 2018 00:17 ticklishmusic wrote:


Imagine a hypothetical situation where the unionized workforce walked out because they wanted wages increased to $100 an hour or something similarly ridiculous, and the employer was not allowed to bring in contractors, etc. to continue work. That would be a little unfair. The FLSA puts a fair amount of power in the hands on the employees, generally speaking, but that would be a little much.

As P6 alluded to, a "no strike" clause means striking is not protected and employees can be fired for it. But that is typically not a good idea for the employer because good luck replacing your skilled workforce when you've shown you're willing to screw them over.

On July 09 2018 00:32 Gorsameth wrote:
Funny how the rest of the world doesn't seem to suffer from that problem despite many countries having outlawed them.

Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.

When that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the cross hairs.

The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.

The showdown over the issue was recounted by more than a dozen participants from several countries, many of whom requested anonymity because they feared retaliation from the United States.

Health advocates scrambled to find another sponsor for the resolution, but at least a dozen countries, most of them poor nations in Africa and Latin America, backed off, citing fears of retaliation, according to officials from Uruguay, Mexico and the United States.

“We were astonished, appalled and also saddened,” said Patti Rundall, the policy director of the British advocacy group Baby Milk Action, who has attended meetings of the assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, since the late 1980s.

“What happened was tantamount to blackmail, with the U.S. holding the world hostage and trying to overturn nearly 40 years of consensus on best way to protect infant and young child health,” she said.

In the end, the Americans’ efforts were mostly unsuccessful. It was the Russians who ultimately stepped in to introduce the measure — and the Americans did not threaten them.

A Russian delegate said the decision to introduce the breast-feeding resolution was a matter of principle.

“We’re not trying to be a hero here, but we feel that it is wrong when a big country tries to push around some very small countries, especially on an issue that is really important for the rest of the world,” said the delegate, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.