UNDER THE BILL, EMPLOYERS WHO COMMIT THE NEW TYPE OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE VIOLATION WOULD BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES.
U.S. Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) reintroduced legislation to protect workers health care benefits and prevent retaliatory employers from using their power to cancel or alter health insurance for workers exercising their right to strike. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently joined the legislation, Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare.
While the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) establishes workers’ right to strike as a protected activity and employees cannot be fired for striking, they can, and often do, threaten to cut workers’ healthcare as a coercive silencing tactic.
The Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act would create a separate unfair labor practice category for when employers cut or alter workers’ health insurance while they are on strike or locked out and violators would be subject to increasing levels of civil penalties.
“We thank U.S. Senators Gallego and Baldwin for reintroducing the bill to protect striking workers health care,” said President Roberts. “When our members were on strike against Warrior Met for nearly two years, their
health care coverage was cut off.
“The UMWA paid the health care coverage for those members, but that is not the case for most workers who go on strike. We strongly support this legislation and urge Congress to pass it,” Roberts said.
Cutting off health insurance for striking or locked out workers threatens the health and wellbeing of workers, their families, their communities and has occurred in workplaces across the country. Under the bill, employers
who commit this new type of unfair labor practice violation would be subject to civil monetary penalties.
