Whole Foods to cut health-care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees starting next year

[dalton99a]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/12/whole-foods-to-cut-healthcare-for-1900-part-time-employees-in-2020.html

Whole Foods to cut health-care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees starting next year
Published Thu, Sep 12 2019 5:37 PM EDT Updated 3 hours ago

Amazon-owned Whole Foods will be withdrawing medical benefits for hundreds of its part-time workers starting Jan. 1, 2020, the company said Thursday.

In the past, employees needed to work at least 20 hours a week to buy into the health-care plan. Now they will need to work at least 30 hours. Less than 2% of its workforce, or 1,900 employees, will no longer be eligible for medical coverage, under the new policy, the company said.

The news was first reported by Business Insider.

“In order to better meet the needs of our business and create a more equitable and efficient scheduling model, we are moving to a single-tier part-time structure,” a company spokesperson said in an email. “We are providing Team Members with resources to find alternative healthcare coverage options, or to explore full-time, healthcare-eligible positions starting at 30 hours per week. All Whole Foods Market Team Members continue to receive employment benefits including a 20% in-store discount.”

[customerserviceguy]

1. Is this

the Amazon corporate culture taking over from the Whole Foods corporate culture? I've seen that happen before with mergers and acquisitions.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. This trend seems to be

accelerating. We are seeing a issue that will only be solved with a Single Payer national Health Care System.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Big corporations

doing things on the cheap, and foisting their responsibilities off on the government, like Wal-Mart's been doing for years. By providing M4A, aren't we enabling them somewhat? What else can they shove off on to the taxpayers?

[Wellstone ruled]

11. When the Lobbyist

for Corporations are allowed to right the Labor and Health and Welfare Rules,well,we as seeing the results and if folks thing Corporate America is concerned with their Workers,that is totally Bullcrap. To many years in the Labor Trench's. Think I have seen it all and heard every snide derogatory comment at the Negotiating table. Men and Women in two thousand dollar suites or more are sometimes the most spiteful people on the planet.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Guaranteed Income is needed

It's starting to be discussed, but it will be a must within a couple decades. The good factory jobs have been automated and are never coming back and if they do will have pay top compete with Chinese workers. The warehouse and driving jobs are next up to be automated out of existence. And AIs are starting to begin to replace the skilled labor force. Accountants and Software engineers will be among the first to see their jobs go.

We are just entering the information age, we're at a jumping off point where technology is accelerating at rates that are hard to grasp. Society as a whole can benefit greatly from this technology. but a guaranteed income is going to be needed to ensure that every shares in the gains.

[shanti]

5. Reason #586

as to why we absolutely NEED Medicare for All! Health care should never have been tied to employment.

[Brainfodder]

6. Will I be shocked if suddenly most are reduced to 29.5 hours a week?

Squeeze the workers for stocks/profit margin.

Same old BS.

Should be going the other way!

We should be demanding benefits besides pay for ALL JOBS!

That's how you get it and keep it?

+it's the right thing to do!!!!!

[Moral Compass]

7. Perfect example of why we need to I institute Medicare for all

In normal countries health coverage is not linked to employment.

But here, it is.

I would be much happier with a system where my coverage was paid for by taxes paid into Medicare for all. If all of us were paying in taxes what we currently pay for our corporate health insurance we could cover the entire country—including the destitute, the part time workers etc.

The Medicare price schedule would rationalize pricing for medical care and drug prices. Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies would no longer be able charge whatever they think the market will bear.

[Hoyt]

8. It's one thing if workers are choosing 20 hours, rather than being limited to 20 hours by WF.

I don't know answer to that, though.

[Wounded Bear]

9. I suspect people who "choose" to do that have other jobs...

and perhaps want to forego deductions from their paycheck for medical.

[Hoyt]

10. That's what I'm thinking.