WTTW cuts off health coverage for striking workers

A strike pitting WTTW-Channel 11 against members of the electricians union took a bitter turn Tuesday, with the public television station serving notice that it is cutting off the workers’ health insurance.

The members of Local 1220 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said they received notice from WTTW saying their employer-subsidized insurance will end as of Friday, April 1. No talks have taken place since the strike began March 16.

The workers can continue health coverage by enrolling in the federal COBRA program, which carries high premiums because there is no employer subsidy. Brett Lyons, business representative for Local 1220, said the union is exploring ways to help the workers, who are not getting strike pay.

Both sides blame each other for the stall in negotiations.

“If we got notice from the company today, we’d be ready to talk in a couple of hours,” Lyons said.

A WTTW spokesperson cited the COBRA option as a fallback for the workers and said the company assumes the union discussed that issue with members before the strike was called. “While the union has said it will only bargain if the company will make further concessions, the company has made clear to the union bargaining team that it stands ready to return to negotiations in good faith, with give and take on both sides,” the spokesperson said.

Workers said they went on strike because management wants to erode job protections and transfer their duties to non-union personnel. WTTW has described it as modernizing the labor agreement to account for new technology.

“This company would rather jeopardize the health and well-being of two dozen employees with families than sit down and meet with the union to discuss solutions,” Local 1220 business manager John Rizzo said. “It’s a bullying tactic we’ve seen from this company in the past couple of years, but this has been taken to a new low.”

It’s the IBEW’s first strike in nearly 70 years of contracts at WTTW owner Window to the World Communications.

The strikers got public support last week from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other politicians. The Democratic Party of Illinois has asked members not to “cross picket lines” by appearing on WTTW during the strike.

WTTW has been running abbreviated versions of its Chicago Tonight news program since the strike began.