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Cingular Members Ratify New National Health Plan
In ratification results announced April 19 by the American Arbitration Association, CWA members at Cingular Wireless have approved a new National Bargained Health Plan which replaces two existing plans covering 22,000 employees across the country. The tally was 1,421 votes to approve the new plan and 1,243 votes against.
The plan, which takes effect January 1, 2005, guarantees that the company can't change benefit terms before January 1, 2009, and even then it must bargain changes with CWA. "That's important," President Morton Bahr noted, "because Cingular has been trying to cut our health benefits and raise out-of-pocket costs, forcing CWA to fight these attempts through arbitration, with no guarantee of success."
The plan, which takes effect January 1, 2005, guarantees that the company can't change benefit terms before January 1, 2009, and even then it must bargain changes with CWA. "That's important," President Morton Bahr noted, "because Cingular has been trying to cut our health benefits and raise out-of-pocket costs, forcing CWA to fight these attempts through arbitration, with no guarantee of success."