Hidden in an otherwise insulting Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace contract proposal is a new sentence allowing Boeing to unilaterally cancel early retiree medical coverage retroactive to prior contracts and current retirees (but interestingly not for those retiring under the new contract). This amendment was inserted last year as Boeing was being paid $50 million of our tax money as incentive to continue this insurance bridge to Medicare eligibility. Wow!
We employees paid for this coverage once (part of our deferred compensation, like pension); then we taxpayers paid for it again (the government incentive) and we citizens could pay a third time as more uninsurable souls fall into the medical system (more Medicaid and higher insurance premiums for all).
Will I live the nightmare of losing insurance while undergoing medical care, then being ineligible for replacement coverage because of “pre-existing conditions”? I would never have retired without the insurance that was guaranteed by the legal union contracts in place at that time.
Shame on them.
Karen Swanson
Marysville
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