Teamsters on strike to save health insurance

Amidst the national debate about health care, a Chicago factory boss has cut workers and their families off from their health insurance coverage. The 70 workers at the SK Hand Tools factory, which is on 47th Street in Chicago, have been on strike since Aug. 25.

That was the date when the company’s French owner, Claude Fruger, stopped paying the workers’ health insurance premiums, a requirement of their union’s collective bargaining agreement.

Chicago picket for health care. WW photo

Many workers found this out the hard way—by going to see their doctors for medical treatment only to be told that their insurance was invalid.

“Right now, these workers have no health insurance for themselves or their families, and it’s a tragedy we’re trying to rectify,” said Richard Berg, president of Teamsters Local 743. “We hope the company will come to their senses and give these people the basic benefits they need.” (www.tdu.org)

The factory workers brought the issue to the National Labor Relations Board, citing it as an unfair labor practice. On Sept. 2, the NLRB held a trial on this issue. If the workers prevail at the trial, the owners will be forced to pay them back for accrued medical expenses and they will have to again bargain with the union.

There are still many major issues that the company hasn’t addressed. One crucial issue is that the workers have been working under an expired contract since February. They refuse to accept $6 an hour in wage cuts or increases in health care costs.

“Management just unilaterally cut off health insurance and has asked for deep concessions. [Fruger has] threatened to cut off their pensions and he wants to turn what was a good job into a job for high school kids from McDonald’s,” said Berg. (Labor Beat radio)

In the seventh week of the strike, workers are on the picket lines. For many, this is their first strike. They are in high spirits and feel confident in their fight.

Other unions doing business with the factory have honored the picket line. Teamsters in Local 705 who drive the Yellow-Roadway and UPS trucks have refused to deliver or pick up products while the workers are on strike. The factory is idle and the bosses are afraid of threats that major customers will go elsewhere for business.

On Sept. 18, in order to increase corporate pressure on Sears—their factory owner’s biggest customer—workers rallied in front of the Sears department store on Dearborn Street in Chicago’s downtown Loop.

Worker and community pressure is increasing. Many community supporters and other workers have joined the SK Hand Tools factory strikers on the picket lines, and have brought food and gifts for them.

To show support for the striking workers, call Claude Fruger, CEO, SK Hand Tools, at 800-752-7263. Or call Sears at 847-286-2500 to protest its sale of SK products.