DERBY — As of midnight on Friday, local FairPoint Communications workers who have been on strike since October 17, lost their health insurance coverage.
The move was made by FairPoint as a way to increase the financial pressure on the workers, who have been seen locally holding picket signs outside the Orleans County Courthouse in Newport, and along Route 5 in Derby.
It is a move that union leaders had been expecting for some time.
Under a federal law that goes by the acronym COBRA, the strikers can continue their health coverage, but they will have to pay for it themselves.
Bargaining began on April 25, with the collective bargaining agreements expiring on August 2. In July, union members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if union leaders decided to take that action. About 1,700 workers in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are taking part in the strike, which seems to have no end in sight.
The main issues behind the strike were recent benefit cuts and a pension freeze. The union has also filed an unfair labor practice complaint against FairPoint, saying that the company has bargained in bad faith and illegally imposed terms and conditions without having reached impasse.
Health insurance premiums were another major issue that led to the strike.
FairPoint currently pays 100 percent of monthly health premiums, but they want the workers to pay 20 percent of those costs.
