Would you cross a picket line?

[The Mystery Machine]

Its like little kid mentality--- "I can't have it so neither should you na na na" all comes down to jealousy,

Huh? We could care less if they pay or not pay. You are way off base here.

 

[golfgal]

My hubby works for AT&T and yup he would be crossing the picket line(even though they already decided not to strike). We pay a ton out of pocket for health insurance and basically carry the union workings. They are lucky to have jobs right now, which I think is why they decided to work and not strike.

Define a "ton out of pocket". I know a lot of people THINK they pay a lot but in reality they don't.

Would I cross a picket line, it would depend on why they are striking.

 

[SydneyBristow]

I'd cross a picket line.

 

[disneystacy]

Why is that? I think that that type of thinking is why most no longer have insurance paid for by employers. Everyone seems to think "I don't have it, why should they?" Why aren't they thinking " They have it, why shouldn't I?" and then fight for it....

Why not ask for more vacation time? Work one week a month and have 3 weeks off.

Have the employer fund some of your mortgage? Sounds good.

Unions can ask for anything they want, but sometimes someone has to say enough is enough.

Insurance is no longer 100% paid by employers because they would would go out of business due to the expense. Non union At&t employees make up the difference and we pay a hilt for imo crappy insurance.

 

[disneystacy]

Define a "ton out of pocket". I know a lot of people THINK they pay a lot but in reality they don't.

Would I cross a picket line, it would depend on why they are striking.

We pay close to 400.00 a month. We pay 10% of every single bill that goes through insurance up to 8,000. They also don't cover lots of items.

At&t union workers only pay co-pays.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It boils down to the fact that this is really a ploy for the union to "let go" some of their employees.
That is really going to stink all around if it happens.

I really hope it doesn't happen. We don't need more job loss.

 

[golfgal]

We pay close to 400.00 a month. We pay 10% of every single bill that goes through insurance up to 8,000. They also don't cover lots of items.

At&t union workers only pay co-pays.

Realistically that is NOT bad. Our premiums are over $500/month. Our out of pocket after that is very minimal. 90/10 coverage is actually VERY good these days. Many, many, many people have a deductible that high or close to that high before they get ANY coverage. If you add it up, you pay LESS out of pocket then we do if you take your 10% and your premiums combined. We pay about $6240/year in premiums alone. You pay $5600 for premiums and your 10%. In the past there have been thread about how much people pay out of pocket for insurance and typically I have found that we have one of the lower overall cost plans out there and you are lower still.

As for things not being covered--what isn't covered and why? The problem is that people look at the premium cost alone and think it is bad but when you take into consideration ALL costs, sometimes a higher premium actually saves you money in the long run.

 

[disneystacy]

Realistically that is NOT bad. Our premiums are over $500/month. Our out of pocket after that is very minimal. 90/10 coverage is actually VERY good these days. Many, many, many people have a deductible that high or close to that high before they get ANY coverage. If you add it up, you pay LESS out of pocket then we do if you take your 10% and your premiums combined. We pay about $6240/year in premiums alone. You pay $5600 for premiums and your 10%. In the past there have been thread about how much people pay out of pocket for insurance and typically I have found that we have one of the lower overall cost plans out there and you are lower still.

As for things not being covered--what isn't covered and why? The problem is that people look at the premium cost alone and think it is bad but when you take into consideration ALL costs, sometimes a higher premium actually saves you money in the long run.

We paid 12,800 last year and more out of pocket(things that weren't covered) approx 15,000 when hubby got sick.
It all looks good on paper until you actually need to use the insurance.
I have had much better insurance in the past with much less out of pocket expenses. Actually when hubby worked for Cingular (before At&t took over) the coverage was better.
If you think you have great insurance that is great for you.

 

[waltsgirl]

I would cross. In todays economy can't risk not having a job!


What burns me is when companies change the health care programs, reducing coverage, and benefits and then come out and say now you have to pay for part of it too. Umm... wait a minute you just got your decreased cost by reducing my benefits, and now you want another decrease by having me pay? Just how dumb do companies think the employee is??

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I would cross, then again I would do almost anything possible to not work in a union. I'm going back to school to be a nurse and it's becoming somewhat of a moral decision as to where I could work. I would like to work in the hospital setting but all the hospital nurses are union I've still got a few years to figure it out

 

[golfgal]

We paid 12,800 last year and more out of pocket(things that weren't covered) approx 15,000 when hubby got sick.
It all looks good on paper until you actually need to use the insurance.
I have had much better insurance in the past with much less out of pocket expenses. Actually when hubby worked for Cingular (before At&t took over) the coverage was better.
If you think you have great insurance that is great for you.

Like I said, why weren't those things covered? Was it a coding issue with your dr maybe or are they specifically excluded from your policy? There are a lot of things at play here and yes, we have excellent insurance with DH's company, all of 20 employees and it is the best insurance we have ever had. His old company had insurance like you seem to have, high deductibles, high premium costs. Fortunately DH isn't with a union so we don't have to worry about all the union crap that goes on.

 

[HighClass]

Yes, free health care is a thing of the past. We have a gut feeling they are positioning themselves to fire their own.

Yeah-lots of Americans don't have a CLUE that a majority of us have high deductable health insurance.That is all a LOT of employers can do. Get with the program people.

 

[Tantor]

It would depend on what was being striked about and whether I belived in it or not.

 

[golfgal]

We paid 12,800 last year and more out of pocket(things that weren't covered) approx 15,000 when hubby got sick.
It all looks good on paper until you actually need to use the insurance.
I have had much better insurance in the past with much less out of pocket expenses. Actually when hubby worked for Cingular (before At&t took over) the coverage was better.
If you think you have great insurance that is great for you.

Another thing you can ask the union, get the same policy my DH's company has, pay another $100/month for the coverage and spend less out of pocket overall. Why the need to strike. The extra $1200/year in premiums is LESS then it would cost you to strike and $11,600 LESS then you paid overall last year. Yes, you pay more for premiums but get better coverage and you are STILL paying less then probably 80% of the rest of the country.

 

[disneystacy]

Like I said, why weren't those things covered? Was it a coding issue with your dr maybe or are they specifically excluded from your policy? There are a lot of things at play here and yes, we have excellent insurance with DH's company, all of 20 employees and it is the best insurance we have ever had. His old company had insurance like you seem to have, high deductibles, high premium costs. Fortunately DH isn't with a union so we don't have to worry about all the union crap that goes on.

Specifically excluded from our policy, not to mention the hours of fighting to get things covered that they would not pay in the beginning.
Thank goodness we had a substantial savings.

Be happy you have excellent insurance. Like I said before, we carry the union employees.

 

[disneystacy]

Another thing you can ask the union, get the same policy my DH's company has, pay another $100/month for the coverage and spend less out of pocket overall. Why the need to strike. The extra $1200/year in premiums is LESS then it would cost you to strike and $11,600 LESS then you paid overall last year. Yes, you pay more for premiums but get better coverage and you are STILL paying less then probably 80% of the rest of the country.

Union employees don't pay anything at all monthly for healthcare. Period. Right now they only pay doctor co-pays. Everything else is covered 100%.

 

[MushyMushy]

Yes I would, and I come from a long line of union workers.

I think they served their purpose, but they are no longer necessary. Now all I ever see are some workers abusing the system, much in the way some people on welfare learned to abuse it later on.

 

[bicker]

I view putting up a picket line as the union members imposing their frustration on customers, and such disrespect for customers deserves similar disrespect from customers.

As long as it is safe, I would surely cross a picket line; as long as it were safe, I would surely replace a striking union worker.

 

[corndog]

In a heartbeat!

 

[golfgal]

Yeah-lots of Americans don't have a CLUE that a majority of us have high deductable health insurance.That is all a LOT of employers can do. Get with the program people.

If people really understood the VALUE of a high deductible plan they would be jumping for joy to have one. The health savings account you can get with a high deductible plan is money that grows TAX free and can be taken out TAX FREE to use for qualified medical expenses. When you retire, that list of qualified medical expenses expands to a lot of things, especially medical premiums in retirement years. You can put in just under $6000/year for family coverage and that money can grow TAX FREE. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html . This is a list of qualified medical expenses. Basically if you can leave the money in this account, fully fund it, you will have all or most of your medical expenses during retirement covered. It should be looked at as a low risk investment, like a bond investment, as part of your portfolio.