Tormey explains GE new healthcare plans

Tormey Rips GE Health Care Plan

201 Packs Hall for 2 Sessions

            201 members, retirees, family members and community supporters packed the Franco American hall twice on March 15 to hear the UE’s chief negotiator Steve Tormey. Between the two meetings turnout reached close to 600 people. Members heeded the calls from 201’s Executive Board, Officers, and Stewards who had urged the importance of a good turnout. 

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             Almost 100 retirees came to the meeting also.

With an informative slide show Tormey challenged GE’s numbers and exploded their propaganda on our health care and pension benefits. “GE is conducting a serious, unprecedented attack on our benefits. They want to transform our insurance and what it means to retire. The Company is conducting a shameless ideological war, and they are skilled marketers.” With this opening he took on GE’s claims of huge medical costs, which Tormey revealed to be $1.85 billion in 2009 not $3 billion as GE claimed, growing at a reasonable 4 ½ % not 9 %, and holding steady at less than 1% of their revenue. And he attacked GE’s use of these costs to make threats on our jobs.

But union members and retirees have seen our costs go up and up.

            Our members’ costs are up sharply both in Health Care Preferred, the plan most of our members are in, as well as the Comprehensive Medical Benefit plan (see charts, note HCP chart shows contributions, while CMB chart shows contributions plus deductibles). And if GE gets its way, those costs will skyrocket in the Health Choice plan introduced to GE management in Jan. 2010. Tormey explained why this plan is so dangerous. It goes against the principle of insurance that requires spreading risk broadly. The Health Choice approach seeks to split off the “young invincibles.”

            “It hurts those most in need, so don’t get older, have medical problems, or have a baby.” Their plan shifts risk from the Company to individuals. “It’s your fault if you get sick, have an accident, have children, get old, didn’t pick the right provider or the right plan. The biggest savings are for the healthy, wealthy, and lucky.”
Finally, Tormey put the GE actions on health care in perspective. “GE is part of the health care establishment. Their 17 billion dollar health care business makes a 3-4 billion profit. They make money when hospitals buy their machines and insurers cover the tests.”

            Tormey also criticized the GE decision to close the pension plan to management new hires. “The pension trust was established 100 years ago as a defined benefit plan similar to social security. If GE expands this action by doing the same to hourly new hires and then freezes the current plan, it is the beginning of the end of the defined benefit pension plan.”
The real reason GE is attacking the pension plan? He then showed a slide from the Wall Street Journal explaining that Companies cut the pension plan as an accounting trick to create an immediate gain on the balance sheet by getting rid of future liabilities. “The GE pension plan is in excellent shape.”

Substituting a 401K for a pension plan is dangerous. He quoted US New and World Report on 1-30-09 as saying, “Americans lost over $1 trillion on their 401Ks in 2008.” “The Savings and Security plan is meant to be a supplement to a guaranteed defined benefit pension plan not a substitute. We have been standing on the shoulder of those who have sacrificed before us. The Union stance must remain, ‘We’re all in this together.’”

On the same day as the meeting with Tormey, GE released that CEO Jeff Immelt’s pay will double to reach $15.2 million in 2010. So much for “shared sacrifice.” And the GE profit for 2010 climbed to $11.6 billion. GE has recovered from the recession largely based on strong profits in manufacturing.

The March Membership Meetings marked a successful kick-off for contract preparations. Ninety members collected their 30 year pins (see page 10). Many bought T’shirts, and there were sandwiches, salads, and drinks for everyone, organized by the Local’s hardworking Activities Committee.

Members should mark their calendars for the April 29 Collection and Lunchtime Rally in support of the Retirees Association.