FairPoint Stops Health Insurance for Striking Workers in New England

FairPoint Communications stopped paying for health insurance coverage for the 1,700 workers who went on strike Oct. 16 in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, a FairPoint spokeswoman said. Workers are eligible for the plan if they work a minimum number of hours, the spokeswoman said. The striking workers can still get coverage under the federal COBRA law, but must pay for the coverage, the FairPoint spokeswoman said. The telco’s stoppage of paying for striking workers’ healthcare benefits is a typical tactic companies use to put pressure on the workers, said a spokesman for the workers, who are affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Health insurance has been one of the focal points of stalled contract negotiations between FairPoint and the workers. FairPoint wants to reduce the share of premiums it pays to 80 percent from the current 100 percent. FairPoint’s desire to modify its health insurance policy and retirement benefits would “bring benefits in line with what we believe to be mainstream norms and to transition union represented employees to similar benefit plans offered to other FairPoint employees, including management,” the telco said in an open letter released Monday. The proposed changes will “enhance FairPoint's ability to price products competitively and are critical to our ability to meet the needs of the customers, communities and economies of northern New England,” the telco said.