Health Insurance Primary Source of Disagreement Between Employers and Unions, Opinion Piece Says
Health insurance is "the single issue most likely to cause friction between workers and companies all over the country in the coming months," as evidenced by the five-month strike and lockout involving the United Food and Commercial Workers and four grocery store chains, Peter Hurtgen, the head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service who mediated the Southern Californian grocery store negotiations, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. According to Hurtgen, "Unions and employees must understand the significance of rising health care costs for employers, and employers must appreciate their impact on employees." Hurtgen concludes, "In the global economy in which U.S. businesses must compete, labor and management are more likely to survive as allies than as adversaries" (Hurtgen, Los Angeles Times, 3/3).
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