Embarq cuts health benefits for 14,500 retirees

Embarq Corporation, a major provider of local telecommunications services, recently informed some 14,500 retirees that their medical coverage, life insurance, and matching gifts programs are being "significantly changed."

These significant changes mean that workers, some of whom started working for Embarq in the 1950s, will have an average yearly cost of $2,000 which could escalate for older retirees suffering from increasing health issues.

Sandra Muntis, a former Embarq employee and a CWA member from Elida, Ohio, doesn't know what she's going to do.

Her husband has multiple sclerosis, and she suffers from diabetes. She wrote to her local that without supplemental health care from Embarq, her family "could not afford procedures requested by physicians to keep [them] in good health."

Another retiree struggling to deal with this new plan is Bessie Reveal, 74, of Greenville, NC. She started working for Embarq in 1955 and retired after 31 years of service.

"We made this company what it is today," she said. "We worked hard for it. We didn't run things like they run it now. ... They're taking everything that we worked for away. We don't have nothing. You're trying to survive. Unless you saved some money when you were working, you're up the creek. And it don't take long to spend what you save."

The plan is estimated to save Embarq $300 million over the next ten years. But according to The Daily Reflector,

That's of little consolation to retirees, King said, when they see executives bank multimillion-dollar bonuses and severance packages. When Len Lauer's employment as chief operating officer with Sprint was terminated last August, he received a package that could be worth $13 million, plus pension benefits. Michael Fuller, who had been with Sprint and Embarq for 32 years, exited with a $24 million package when Embarq eliminated the position of chief operating officer.

This cost-cutting tactic doesn't quite add up for Embarq's retirees, some of whom have devoted decades of service to Embarq.

"We're not going to roll over and play dead for them," said Reveal. "I gave the biggest part of my life to the company, and this is what thanks you get for it."

The photos accompanying this blog post show CWA members protesting Embarq's benefits cuts. You can voice your own protest by becoming an activist for CWA's Health Care Voices campaign. Click here to tell Embarq CEO Daniel Hesse not to sacrifice retirees' health for the company's bottom line.

Then visit eq65 to stay up to date on the latest developments in Embarq's attempt to cut retirees' health benefits.