BNA - Guild News

Dec. 4, 2002

Noting that loss of a job can be a life shattering event, Guild negotiators proposed significant changes in job security provisions during last night’s bargaining. The Guild seeks to severely reduce the number of employees affected by involuntary RIF terminations. At least 33 employees had their lives disrupted by RIF actions over the term of the current contract —at least six of whom had over 20 years of service, with the majority having between 6 and 16 years of service. Some employees found other jobs within the company, but most were terminated.

The Guild proposal assures that when a RIF is necessary, all employees in the affected job titles in the department have an opportunity to voluntarily resign, thus avoiding forcing someone to be involuntarily laid off.

If there are an insufficient number of voluntary resignations, employees in the same job title throughout the entire company would then have the opportunity to take voluntary severance, before the company lays off someone involuntarily. It is crucial, the Guild noted, that the company take every possible step to seek voluntary resignations before forcing employees out of work.

But, If there are not enough voluntary resignations, employees involuntarily riffed would be considered “surplus” during the term of the agreement.

A surplussed employee would be retained on the payroll and assigned work for which she or he is qualified in any part of the company, including the work now being performed by temporary or agency hires. Currently, BNA RIFs Guild unit members while retaining temporary, agency, and call-in employees.

A surplussed employee would remain in surplus status until placed in a permanent job, though the employee could opt to take voluntary severance at any time while in surplus status.

A moratorium on layoffs reflects the best values of BNA— to retain wherever possible its workforce in productive work while weathering organizational changes.

A number of other progressive, and highly profitable, companies (the list includes Southwest Airlines, Harley Davidson, FedEx, Fannie Mae, AFLAC, and Nucor Steel) have taken a similar stance: to protect the jobs of the workers who make the company what it is. Maintaining employees even in rough times builds real loyalty, and higher productivity, and employees aren’t afraid to innovate, knowing their jobs are safe. THIS is the list BNA should be on!

Health Care: BNA Proposes Increased Co-Pays and Deductibles,
Avoiding Premium Contributions

In presenting BNA’s first proposal on health care benefits on Dec. 3. BNA chief negotiator Joseph Sanneman told the Guild that BNA’s health care costs are rising dramatically; the company, though, is not proposing employee premium contributions or a major restructuring of the health plan.

Instead, BNA is proposing increased co-payments for prescription drugs and doctors visits. The company also is proposing increased deductibles or non-network care under the Aetna PPO plan as well as increased deductibles for non-network dental care. Out of network care whether medical or dental is extremely costly to BNA, Sanneman said.

In a comprehensive presentation on rising health care costs, Kathy Muller, director of compensation and benefits, said that from 1997 through 2001 BNA’s health care costs increased by 50 percent from $9 million to $12 million, with this year’s rise expected to be to $13.5 million. During the same period BNA’s prescription drug costs have increased 95%. While these costs are going up employee’s co-payments have not increased since 1992 and employee deductibles have not risen since 1997, she said.

The major changes proposed:

• Increase employee co-payments when prescriptions are filled at retail pharmacies from the current $5 to $10 for generic drugs, from $10 to $20 for brand name drugs when there is no generic, and from $10 to $40 for brand names when there is a generic
• Increase co-payments for mail order prescriptions from zero to $15 for a 90-day supply of generics, from $5 to $30 for brand name drugs with no generic, and from $5 to $60 for brand names when there is a generic
• Increase doctor visit co-payment from $10 co-payment to $25 beginning in January 2004
• Increase the annual deductible for non-network care from $300 to $500 per individual,with a maximum of $1,500 per family.
• Raise the annual out-of-pocket co-payment maximum for out-of-network medical care from 2.5% of base salary to 4% of base salary in January 2004, with a maximum of 8% per family.
• Increase dental non-network deductible from $200 to $300.
• Make routine dental screenings and cleanings—currently 100% employer-paid whether they are in-network or out-of-network— subject to the deductible if performed out-of-network.

In explaining BNA’s proposal Muller said that it is aimed at increasing generic drug use, since generics are much less expensive than brand name drugs, and encouraging employees who take maintenance drugs to switch to the mail order plan. Use of network doctors in both the medical and dental plans is also a critical cost containment factor to BNA.

Muller also pointed out that:

• Employees who obtained generic maintenance drugs through the mail would pay 16 cents per day compared to 33 cents for the same medicine obtained from a pharmacy. An employee who chooses to obtain a brand name drug that had a generic from a pharmacy would pay $1.33 per day for that drug.
• Only 38% of employees use the dental PPO network, with the rest going out of network

Expressing appreciation for BNA’s efforts to avoid the employee premium option, Guild Chief negotiator Lori Calderone stated that the Guild will carefully consider the proposal and return with questions. She also noted that it is very important that the parties assess the impact of the proposed increases on employees across the entire pay scale.

Bargaining resumes Thursday afternoon.

Your Bargaining Committee,

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