LANSING, N.Y. — BorgWarner plans to cut off health insurance for striking employees, a company spokesperson confirmed.It’s a decision that some labor relations experts call a tactic to pressure workers to return to work, and has drawn sharp criticism from some lawmakers and political candidates that have joined workers on the picket line. Over 700 workers represented by Teamsters Local 317 at automotive parts manufacturer BorgWarner are now in their ninth day on strike. Workers are advocating for increased wages, avoiding changes to their vacation time policy, and mandatory overtime for new hires, among other issues.Judd Parrott, a chain manufacturer and union steward who has worked at BorgWarner for nearly 10 years, called the company’s choice to stop providing health insurance to striking workers a “slap in the face.”Parrot said the strike, “is not even about respect, because we’re never going to get that from [BorgWarner]. They only have to give you as much as the law allows.”Teamsters Local 317 members at BorgWarner are attempting to try and reverse what the union has described as years of concessionary labor contracts. Workers have voted down two offers from BorgWarner, one on Sept. 6 before the strike began, and another on Sept. 13. Workers begin first strike in over three decades at BorgWarnerBorgWarner agreed to a general wage increase of 21% for all employees over the next four years in the last tentative agreement that workers rejected. Many workers The Ithaca Voice spoke to said they felt the raise wasn’t high enough to keep up with the effects of inflation.Under the expired contract, gear and chain processors, who are some of the lowest paid workers at BorgWarner, currently have a starting wage of about $18 an hour, and can make up to $22.51 after working for more than four years. Chain manufacturers have a starting wage of about $22.10, and can reach a top wage of about $27.63. According to a living wage calculator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a single adult living in Tompkins County needs to make at least $24.64 an hour in order to meet their basic needs. BorgWarner is the fifth largest employer in Tompkins County, with about 1,000 people working at its Lansing plant where it manufactures timing chains and other internal engine components. The Lansing plant used to employ about 1,500 workers, but in 2023, BorgWarner announced layoffs and that it would shut down some of its manufacturing operations in Lansing by 2026.Workers on strike are not legally entitled to wages or benefits, and can be permanently replaced by their employers under U.S. law. These risks often “come as a surprise” to many Americans, said Cathy Creighton, a former National Labor Relations Board attorney and director of Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab. “Workers at Borg Warner are not only putting their wages and benefits on the line during the strike, they are putting their entire careers on the line,” Creigton said. “The legal landscape in the U.S. is far more favorable to employers in almost every instance.”BorgWarner can choose whether to continue to provide health insurance to its employees or not, BorgWarner spokesperson Michelle Collins confirmed. Collins said in an email, “Employees have to be active workers to receive insurance coverage.”She said workers will receive notices to enroll in coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) sometime this week. She did not specify which day notices would be sent out when asked. COBRA allows people to maintain the health insurance plans they received through the workplace when they leave a job or, in this case, while they’re on strike. BorgWarner employees will have 60 days to enroll in COBRA once their benefits end, but they will have to pay the share of the monthly premium that the company usually would.BorgWarner offers two health insurance plans to its employees: the CIGNA Choice Health Fund plan, and the more expensive CIGNA Choice Health Fund Plus plan. The company covers up to 100% of the monthly health premium for workers and their families who choose the CIGNA Choice Health Fund plan, or most of the monthly premium under the plus plan. The monthly premium that workers pay depends on a points system. For employees who earn five or more points, BorgWarner pays 100% of the cost of their monthly premiums. For workers that have zero points, they pay the whole monthly premium on their own, Collins confirmed. Workers can earn a point through maintaining certain cholesterol levels, or body mass indexes, for example. Workers are able to earn a total of seven points. The Ithaca Voice reviewed Teamsters Local 317’s expired labor contract with BorgWarner. In order to keep their health insurance through COBRA while they are on strike, a single employee insured through the CIGNA Choice Health Fund plan would need to pay a monthly premium of about $91.94 out of pocket, and a worker whose family is covered under the plan will need to pay a monthly premium of $303.39.A single worker covered by the other health insurance plan BorgWarner offers its employees, the CIGNA Choice Health Fund Plus plan, will have to pay a monthly premium of $164.32. A family covered by that plan will need to cover a monthly premium of about $399.90.John Cometti, a business agent for Teamsters Local 317, said the union informed its members they could lose their jobs and health insurance if they went on strike. He said some members were informed their health insurance was being dropped as of Tuesday. Cometti said the risks that workers at BorgWarner are facing by going on strike “show the frustration” they feel with their employer. “That’s huge for an individual to be courageous enough to know that they possibly can be replaced and lose their healthcare for their family,” Cometti said. “It brings tears to my eyes, that dedication.”While companies have the legal right to right to withdraw health insurance from workers, there are some legislative efforts that would either prevent them from doing so or provide striking workers with alternative insurance. “Cutting off health insurance is a potent weapon American employers have to pressure strikers to return to work,” said Ian Greer, director of Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations Ithaca Co-Lab and a research professor.He said Congress could ban the practice, or the New York Legislature could allow strikers to access healthcare through the state’s Medicaid program.A congressional bill known as the Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act would prevent employers from terminating the health insurance of workers engaged in a lawful strike. Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and Democrat Josh Riley are in a bitter race this year to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District, which includes Tompkins County. Both candidates have appeared on the picket line to support striking BorgWarner workers.In response to a request for comment on the bill, Molinaro called BorgWarner cutting off the healthcare of striking employees “textbook retaliation.”“I would support legislation that prevents this from happening,” Molinaro said.Molinaro, who is currently serving his first term as a congressman, has received low marks on his voting record from the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions. The AFL-CIO gives lawmakers scores based on how they vote on policies it considers beneficial to working families and organized labor. Molinaro has a lifetime score of 10%, slightly higher than the average House Republicans 2023 score of 6%. The AFL-CIO average House Democrat score was 99% in 2023.Asked about BorgWarner cutting health insurance from its striking employees, Riley said in a statement, “I’ve been proud to stand with Teamsters Local 317 on the picket line, and I’ll stand with them in Congress, too. Marc Molinaro needs to stop talking out of both sides of his mouth and finally support the PRO Act so we can stop these unfair labor practices.”The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, would strengthen existing unions and workers’ ability to organize unions. It has received widespread support among labor advocates. Molinaro is one of the few Republicans in Congress who has voiced support for the act with some changes. Molinaro told The Ithaca Times he would support the bill if a section was removed that would expand labor protections for undocumented workers. Riley has said he supports the PRO Act in full. The New York State legislature could adopt a policy that would provide striking workers with automatic eligibility for Medicaid, a joint federal-state health insurance program for people with limited income. Democratic State Senator Lea Webb and Republican Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler have also appeared on the picket line in support of striking BorgWarner workers. They are racing to represent the 52nd State Senate district, which includes Tompkins County.Webb, who co-sponsors a bill that would allow striking workers to easily access Medicaid, said in a statement, “It is disturbing to hear reports that BorgWarner intends to withhold health insurance from their striking workers. Depriving workers of healthcare while they stand up for better treatment and resources for themselves and other working families is unacceptable.”She urged BogWarner to engage in good faith negotiations. Sigler said striking workers “still need healthcare” and “should qualify for Medicaid immediately.” He said he didn’t think BorgWarner removing healthcare from its employees “was a wise move.”“In a negotiation, I’d think the company would try to ease tensions, not further inflame union members,” Sigler said. “I hope the company reconsiders this plan and we as a county and state can move quickly to get these families insured if they don’t.”BorgWarner and Teamsters Local 317 are at the bargaining table Tuesday, according to the union.The post BorgWarner will stop providing health insurance to striking workers appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.