Workers Striking At CNH Industrial Could Lose Company Health Insurance

MOUNT PLEASANT, WI — Workers striking at the CNH Industrial in Mount Pleasant could be losing their company's health insurance coverage on Friday, United Auto Workers Local 180 announced in a statement on Saturday.

CNH Corporate informed the union that it will be canceling health insurance for all UAW 180 members, the union said in a post to Facebook. Workers at the CNH locations in Racine and Mount Pleasant began striking on May 2.

One member of the union, Barb Mendez, a strike captain who was leading a picket line on Monday in Mount Pleasant, told The Journal Times that the possibility of losing health insurance is "like a kick in the teeth."

After CNH would cut off health insurance for the striking workers, the union says it would cover its members, the report by Journal Times said. Further reading from The Journal Times.

"GM did the same thing during their strike and reversed course after the community backlash they received," the union said via Facebook. "John Deere never even considered this tactic but a multi-billion dollar company like CNH that would say they care about their employees well being, well you know the old saying, 'Actions speak louder than words.' This is the time for our community to speak out and confront CNH!"

The workers are striking "for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules," said Chuck Browning, the vice president and director of UAW Agricultural Implement Department in a news release announcing the strike last week.

Governor Tony Evers showed support for striking union members in a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday, saying "Wisconsin depends on skilled workers like the members of UAW."