UAW strike in Oshkosh nears 3-month mark after 2 contracts have been rejected

Around 90 United Auto Workers members in Oshkosh have been on strike for nearly three months.

Members of UAW Local 291 went on strike March 18 after their contract with Indiana-based Cummins Inc. expired in January and negotiations stalled on a new collective bargaining agreement. They work at the company’s drivetrain and braking systems plant in Oshkosh.

UAW Local 291 President Ryan Compton said his members have turned down a pair of contract offers from the company. He said the union’s biggest sticking points have been around wages and a stricter attendance policy.

The UAW and Cummins have another meeting scheduled for June 26. Compton said he hopes they can come to an agreement at that time to end the strike.

“If they called today and said, ‘Hey, do you want to meet tomorrow morning?’ We’d be more than willing,” he said. “We would have been willing to meet them the day after we went on strike [or] to meet with them every day until we got a deal.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Cummins said the company is disappointed two proposals have been voted down. The company believes the last offer was a “fair and balanced package.”

“We remain committed to continuing good-faith negotiations with the union to reach a resolution as quickly as possible,” the statement read. “Our goal remains the same: to find a mutually acceptable agreement that enables the workforce to return to the plant and ensures we can continue to meet the needs of our employees, customers and stakeholders.”

But Cummins has been operating the plant with temporary replacement workers during the strike, and employees on strike have not had access to their company health insurance since early April, Compton said.

Compton said his members still have coverage through the UAW’s strike assistance fund. 

“We’re lucky here at the UAW with our strike and defense fund that helps us out as far as pay and insurance goes,” he said. “But some of these smaller locals may not have access to this stuff.”

A new federal bill being introduced by Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin aims to prevent employers from threatening the health care benefits of striking workers.

The bill, named the “Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act,” would create a separate unfair labor practice category for when employers cut or alter striking workers’ health insurance, according to Baldwin’s office.

The senator’s office says companies that violate the rules would be subject to increasing levels of civil penalties. 

In a recorded statement, Baldwin said big companies “too often” retaliate against striking workers by going after their health care benefits.

“That forces Wisconsinites to decide between fighting for their dignity in the workplace or protecting their family’s health care,” she said. “Our bill simply ensures employers cannot bully striking workers into accepting an unfair deal by withholding health benefits.”

Compton, the local UAW president in Oshkosh, said he thinks the bill is a great idea because “companies can weaponize your health care in the middle of a strike.” He also said requiring companies to provide health coverage to striking workers would “put a little bit more pressure on companies to get to the bargaining table and get a deal done.”

Workers at Cummins aren’t the only ones in Wisconsin who’ve had their health coverage threatened this year, according to Baldwin’s office. Striking nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison were days away from losing their health insurance before reaching a deal that ended their strike on May 31.

In a statement, Pat Raes, a nurse at Meriter and president of the Service Employees International Union of Wisconsin, said management at the hospital “threatened to cut our health insurance for an entire month” after the nurses went on strike. 

“No one should be forced to choose between health care access and fighting for the workplace conditions we all deserve,” Raes stated. “As we fight for our community’s health care, we shouldn’t have to fear losing our own.”

But Baldwin’s bill, introduced and sponsored by Democrats, will likely face major hurdles in Washington, where Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.