
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 29, 1993                   TAG: 9305290066
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

UNION AT DUPONT SEEKS COMPROMISE ON HEALTH-CARE ISSUE

The International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers at Martinsville and 11 other DuPont plants is seeking a compromise with the company on its proposal to shift some health care costs to employees.

At a Washington, D.C., meeting this week, the union representing 10,000 workers decided to coordinate bargaining on health insurance and ask for a meeting with DuPont executives at company headquarters in Wilmington, Del.

"We want to try to work with the company and if they don't, we'll try to do what we can to avoid employees paying premiums," said Dean Goad, president of the Martinsville local and the company-wide brotherhood. "We're willing to pay something," he said.

In April, DuPont announced a program aimed at cutting its payments for employee health care from 89 percent to 80 percent by January. The company's health care bill has soared more than 13 times to $530 million in the past 20 years, said E.S. Woolard, DuPont chairman.

In the past, Goad said, each local has negotiated its own health care issues, but the national union wants to bargain for all employees. The union wants to see if a compromise can be reached that will benefit both sides, he said.

Robert Gaw, an employee benefits consultant, suggested at the meeting "cost-effective" options that would protect health care coverage, Goad said.

Karen Ignani, employee benefits director for the AFL-CIO, told the union how the projected national health insurance plans would affect DuPont employees, he said.

The company cost-reduction plan includes an emphasis on wellness and prevention of illness.

by CNB