Teacher’s union head says GM ending insurance for striking workers is ‘obscene’

The head of the American Federation of Teachers criticized General Motors on Wednesday, saying it was “obscene” that the automaker decided to stop paying health insurance for striking workers.

“What they did was obscene,” Randi Weingarten told Hill.TV during an interview on Wednesday. “It has backfired because actually there’s more resilience and there’s more of a sense of, ‘Oh, yeah, GM is really a bad employer.’”

Weingarten, who joined striking GM workers on Tuesday, added that the company’s decision to stop paying their insurance has only emboldened the union to continue its protest.

GM spokesperson David Barnas disputed Weingarten’s remarks, telling the The Hill that the company has not cut off benefits for striking workers.

“Medical and prescription drug benefits are continuous for striking workers, and benefits are even retroactive to the beginning of the strike for those that enroll in COBRA coverage,” Barnas said in a statement.

A UAW spokesman told The Associated Press that the company and auto workers are “still talking.” But, as auto workers are on strike, GM has stopped paying striking workers’ health insurance and shifted the cost onto the UAW union.

Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the UAW strikers, told The Hill the “UAW strike fund is funding health insurance.”

Weingarten’s comments come as nearly 49,000 GM workers are on strike.

Employees walked off the job last week over calls for better pay and benefits after their four-year contract with the company expired. GM has said it offered more than $7 billion in investments, more than 5,400 jobs, and improved wages and benefits.

A number of leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Vice President Joe Biden, have backed the auto workers in the standoff.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has long cast himself as a champion of workers, joined the picket line on Wednesday and he addressed striking workers.

“I’m here today to thank you for having the courage to stand up to corporate greed,” he said in a speech that was meet with cheers.

President Trump, meanwhile, has urged GM to make a deal with the union and end the dispute. The president has previously criticized the company for announcing plans to cut thousands of jobs in both the U.S. and Canada.

“Here we go again with General Motors and the United Auto Workers,” Trump tweeted last week. “Get together and make a deal!”

—Tess Bonn