Nurses have filed a federal complaint alleging unfair labor practices after Madison’s UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital told them they would lose their health insurance if they went on strike.
An estimated 500 nurses started a weeklong strike Tuesday morning, claiming Meriter management has failed to properly address their union’s demands for higher pay, more staffing and improved workplace security.
A day earlier, nurses at Meriter received an email and text message from hospital management stating that striking workers will not have employer-paid health, dental, or vision insurance effective Sunday, according to Melanie Bartholf, a spokesperson for Service Employees International Union Wisconsin, which represents the nurses.
The current strike is set to end Sunday morning. If contract negotiations are concluded and the strike ends, nurses will have to go through the process of re-enrolling in benefits after they return to work.
“We felt just extreme disgust at it, that you’re threatening your own nurses’ health care. You’re a health care facility threatening health care,” said Amber Anderson, a child psychiatry nurse at Meriter and a member of the union’s bargaining unit. “They stooped really low. As soon as they did that and said that, we knew that we could file charges.”
The message stated that striking nurses who are enrolled in insurance through their employment would be sent information on how to enroll in continued post-employment insurance referred to as COBRA, which stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This is a federal law that allows workers to temporarily continue health insurance coverage after losing a job.
“COBRA premiums for family coverage range from $2,700-$5,900/month depending on the plan, according to the information provided to members by Meriter,” Bartholf wrote in an email to the Cap Times.
The benefits website for UnityPoint Health locations lists a range of family medical benefits plans costing less than $300 per pay period for full-time employees.
SEIU Wisconsin confirmed the union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Meriter with the National Labor Relations Board over the alleged threat.
UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital confirmed sending the email and text message.
“As inactive employees, the striking workers will no longer have access to workplace systems, pay and benefits,” Nicole Aimone, spokesperson for Meriter, wrote in a Wednesday email to the Cap Times.
As of 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, all nurses participating in the strike were listed as inactive employees, Aimone said.
“Employees who chose to report for their first scheduled shift and all remaining scheduled shifts maintained their pay and benefits,” Aimone wrote.
Medical, dental and vision insurance will continue through Saturday. But benefits will end as of Sunday for any employee listed as inactive.
“Impacted employees will receive COBRA continuation information by mail and must elect COBRA if they wish to maintain coverage beyond May 31. They will have the ability to re-enroll once they are placed back into active employee status,” Aimone wrote to the Cap Times.
It remains unclear whether Meriter’s move to discontinue insurance is legal. A spokesperson at the Milwaukee-based regional office for the National Labor Relations Board told the Cap Times Wednesday that the agency wouldn’t be able to say whether the discontinuation of health benefits violates labor law until it investigated the details of the claim filed by the SEIU.
The union filed a previous claim against the hospital on May 9 alleging unfair labor practices, including changing terms and conditions of employment.
Hospital management and the nurses’ union returned to the bargaining table Thursday morning.
Erin McGroarty is a politics reporter for the Cap Times. Erin writes about Wisconsin politics with a focus on state government and elections. Email story ideas and tips to Erin at [email protected] or call (608) 252-6433.
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