[Peaches]

Originally posted by PornoDoggy@May 19 2004, 11:15 PM
Two more factories in the local area are going overseas.

Here's an example why, IMO:



To All SBC Employees:
After more than three months of negotiations - including more than 60 days of bargaining in Washington, D.C. - we are disappointed that we still do not have closure on the very strong proposal we have on the table.

We came into negotiations this year knowing that we would face tough issues. We have now gone as far as we can go in modifying our proposal in response to union demands, while still achieving some of the cost containment that we know we must realize in this round of bargaining.

We have respected the bargaining process and tried to keep you as fully informed as possible. I believe we have now reached a point where you have a right to know the details of what we have offered.

Following are some highlights of our proposal for a five-year agreement:

Wages and pensions
Our wage proposal provides for wage increases even better than those negotiated by the CWA last year with Verizon.
Specifically, our proposal calls for the following wage adjustments:
1st year: 4 percent lump sum
2nd year: 2.5 percent base wage increase
3rd year: 2.5 percent wage increase
4th year: 2.25 percent wage increase with a cost of living adjustment
5th year: 2.25 percent wage increase with a cost of living adjustment
The proposal also includes pension band increases in similar ranges and addresses some particular concerns unique to our SBC East region.

Health care
As you know, health care is our single fastest rising cost - an expense that rose to nearly $3 billion in 2003 for the 700,000 employees, retirees and dependents covered under SBC health care plans.

Our health care proposal provides continued coverage under SBC's excellent health care plans with no monthly contribution required and copays of only about 10 percent of the total cost of health care, far less than what most
Americans and all SBC managers pay, and a small increase over the 4 to 7 percent of the total cost that CWA-represented employees currently pay.

The impact of the proposed copay increases would average only about $35 per month.

Some of the specific elements of the proposal include:
* Office visit copays at $15 in 2005 and 2006; $25 in 2007 and 2008; and $30 in 2009.
* Emergency room copay at $50 in 2005 through 2007, and $75 in 2008 and 2009
* A three-tier drug plan starting in 2005 at $10 for generic drugs, $20 for formulary drugs and $40 for nonformulary brands for prescriptions filled at network retail. Mail order copays for the same years and classes of drugs are $20, $40 and $80, respectively; mail orders provide triple the supply of medication at only twice the copay. Maximum increases have
been set for each of the subsequent years of the contract.
Note: Copays which are already higher by contract will not be
reduced.
With the modest cost sharing of less than 10 percent and no monthly contribution, this compares very favorably with national averages. On average, most Americans with health insurance pay about 38 percent of the cost of their health care and 90 percent of those with company-provided
health care are required to pay a monthly contribution.

Employment security
The union requested, and we agreed, to return the issue of job offer guarantees to the regional bargaining tables. At the regional tables, we will remain committed to the proposal we had presented at the national table of a guaranteed job offer in the state in which an employee works if the employee's job is surplused. Essentially, this means no layoffs for
three years.

Our national proposal still contains strong elements enhancing job security.

For example, we propose utilizing union-represented employees for future new technology work such as Fiber to the Premise, WiFi, Video, DataComm and DSL Technical Support, as long as the labor agreements for this work
are competitive on wages, benefits and overall costs with those of outside contractors.

We also propose a mechanism that would allow qualified surplused employees to move to wholly owned subsidiaries before those subsidiaries hire from outside.

We believe that this is a very comprehensive, very fair and very
reasonable proposal. We intend to continue to respond to union questions about this proposal, which remains on the table.
So, what do YOU think is going to happen if the union doesn't take this offer and pushes the limits on what SBC is willing to pay them? Why WOUDLN'T they move as many jobs as possible offshore?