CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — Striking employees are looking for new health insurance coverage after Cargill announced it would end its coverage starting Friday.
Friday also marks one month since workers began their strike. Cargill and Teamsters Local 238 employees went on strike on October 1, demanding competitive wages and respect from the company. Friday marks November 1st, one month since the strike began.
TV9 spoke with some of the picket line workers on Tuesday. Some people were able to get by without health insurance, but not everyone is so lucky.
Chris Gerlits is a single father with two children at home.
“One of my kids is 20 years old and has special needs. He’s autistic and nonverbal. He’s healthy. And I have a 16-year-old boy who starts wrestling. , I hope he doesn’t break anything,” Getrits said.
Starting Friday, Gerrits and her children will no longer have access to health insurance benefits through Cargill. The same goes for striking colleagues and their families.
“There’s someone I work with who has issues with her husband and that worries her,” Getrits said.
Getrits said he knew he could lose his health insurance when the strike began.
“I kind of knew that if it went this long, they were going to try to do it, and now here we are, and they’re doing it,” Getrits said.
Teamsters Local 238 has been on strike at Cargill for about a month. Workers on the picket line believe this is an attempt to pressure the company to back off on its demands.
“They’re trying to get us back together,” said Brad Everand, another striking worker. “They weren’t very keen on negotiating with us. Our union went to the table several times, but it didn’t work out.”
Eveland will also lose his health insurance benefits on November 1st.
“Fortunately, I’m healthy and I’m fine. I could do without it if I had to. I know there are other options for health insurance, but some of the people I work with… There are many people who have families and children. They have medical conditions and will be hit even harder,” Eveland said.
Cargill told TV9 workers that striking workers will be eligible to receive benefits through COBRA starting Friday. Cargill issued a statement when the announcement was made. The statement reads:
“Although we have not reached an agreement with the union committee, we remain open and willing to engage in further negotiations. We believe Cargill has offered us a fair and competitive package. In the meantime, eligible employees will continue to receive employee health insurance benefits until October 31, 2024. If they continue to strike after that date, they will receive benefits through COBRA. Cargill continues to safely supply our customers with quality products.”
Gerrits is looking for other options.
“One of our union brothers did some research. He has friends in Des Moines and he printed out some materials to let us know that COBRA is not the only option. . It’s an option, but it’s expensive,” Gerrits said.
Eveland said it was unclear how long the strike would last with this added pressure, but he said he would see it through.
TV9 reached out to Cargill again on Tuesday morning to see if there was any update on the negotiations, Cargill said in a statement.
“Although we have not reached an agreement with the union committee, we remain open and willing to engage in further negotiations. We believe Cargill has offered us a fair and competitive package. Cargill continues to safely supply high-quality products to our customers.”
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