Portland, Maine – The major telecommunications provider in Maine, FairPoint Communications says that it will discontinue providing health benefits for its workers who went on the picket line a few days ago against the company.
On Thursday, many workers of FairPoint Communications went on strike on Thursday outside the Portland headquarter of the company. The workers said that they received notices from the telecommunications provider that they will not have any healthy insurance after the 31st of October.
The workers were assured by spokeswoman Angelynn Beaudry that they will still be entitled for benefits under COBRA which is the continuance of health care coverage as mandated by the federal government in case they find themselves brought to urgent care clinics for help. The thing is that they’ll have to shell out money for it themselves for them to get urgent care in case they need it.
According to the union leadership, the move didn’t come as a surprise because the same tactic was used by another telecom company in the past during the strike in Hawaii which leads to the end of that walkout in 2011.
There were around 2,000 unionized workers from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont who went on strike last October 16 following the months of delayed discussions about their contracts with health premiums as one of the major talking points.
Currently, FairPoint Communications is paying 100% of monthly health premiums for its employees but it wants to move part of the cost to its workers of around 20%.
Business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2327 in Augusta Pete McLaughlin said that the move will only lead to hardships for those who might not have any other alternative to seek health insurance. He feels like the action of the company to cut off health care for its employers will only put pressure on the people. In case they need care in an urgent care clinic or hospital, they’ll need to shell out money from their pockets which they didn’t do in the past.
Gray resident Julie Dawkins who’ve been working in the company for over 20 years now, received her COBRA notice just last Wednesday and she said that it came as a shock to her. This is given that her union, a local IBEW chapter, has already said that she may be affected by the company’s action. She said that if she would need to go to an urgent care near me, she won’t be getting any support from the company anymore.
Beaudry on the other hand, did not make any comment as to whether the company’s action to cut off health insurance for its workers would give FairPoint Communications an advantage or not. She only said that those who went on the picket line were not working for the company. They were strikers, she said.
