WFP employees have been on strike for two months.
The company released a memo in late August saying striking workers’ health benefits will be cut off by September 1st.
USW 1-1937 president Brian Butler said then the union didn’t have a say on the benefits cancellation and that the company couldn’t just decide to cut them off without first consulting union representatives.
But health and dental benefits have been restored, the union said on Friday.
The union says benefits will be restored through an agreement with Pacific Blue Cross, the union as well as union trustees. Trustees and advisors worked out a member payback program with Pacific Blue Cross, which will reinstate coverage for extended health and dental benefits.
The coverage is backdated to September 1st for members cut off by WFP and some associated contractors that followed suit.
The union says the agreement is flexible: if a union member has spousal coverage somewhere else, they can decide to opt-out, which means they won’t have to pay anything back once they return to work.
Union representatives still have to finalize details with Pacific Blue Cross. They’re advising members to keep receipts so claims can be placed once the coverage is reinstated.
