CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG)— Cargill workers on strike are searching for new health insurance coverage after the company announced their coverage would be cut off starting Friday.
Friday also marks one month since the workers started striking. Employees at Cargill with Teamsters Local 238 went on strike on October 1st, demanding competitive wages and respect from the company. Friday is the first of November and will mark one month since the strike began.
TV9 spoke with some of the workers on the picket line Tuesday. Some said they’d manage without health insurance, but not everyone is so lucky.
Chris Gerlits is a single dad with two kids at home.
”One of my children, he’s 20, but he’s special needs. He’s autistic nonverbal. He’s healthy. And I have a 16-year-old boy that will be starting wrestling, and hopefully he doesn’t break anything,” Getlits said.
Starting Friday, Gerlits and his kids will no longer have access to their health insurance benefits through Cargill. It’s the same for his striking co-workers and their families.
“There’s someone I work with, her husband has issues, and it’s concerning to her,” Getlits said.
Getlits said he knew there was a possibility of losing health insurance when the strike began.
“We kind of knew that if it went this long that they were going to try doing that, and here we are. They are doing it,” Getlits said.
Teamsters Local 238 has been on strike at Cargill for roughly a month now. Workers on the picket line believe this is the company putting pressure on them to back down on their demands.
”Trying to get us back in,” said Brad Eveland, another striking worker. “They haven’t really been willing to negotiate with us. Our union has gone to the table a few times and it hasn’t gone anywhere.”
Eveland will also lose his health insurance benefits on November 1.
“I’m fortunate to say that I’m healthy and I’ve been okay. I’ll be okay without it if it comes down to it. I know there’s other options for healthcare coverage, but there’s lots of people I work with that have families, and they have kids. They have medical conditions, and it’s going to hit them a lot harder,” Eveland said.
Cargill told TV9 workers the striking workers would be eligible for benefits through COBRA starting Friday. Cargill sent 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 a fair and competitive package. In the interim, eligible employees have continued to receive their employee health insurance benefits and will do so through Oct 31, 2024. If they remain on strike after that date, then they will be eligible for benefits through COBRA. Cargill continues to safely supply high-quality products to our customers.”
Gerlits is looking for other options.
”One of our union brothers did some research. He has a friend in Des Moines that printed off some stuff to let us know COBRA is not the only option. It is an option, but it’s expensive,” Gerlits said.
Eveland said it’s hard to say how much longer the strike will last with this added pressure, but said he’ll be there through it.
TV9 reached out to Cargill again Tuesday morning to see if it had any updates regarding negotiations, in a statement Cargill said:
“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 a fair and competitive package. Cargill continues to safely supply high-quality products to our customers.”
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