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| Latham Negotiations This is your information update spot. Negotiations Begin 9/11/08 What every Union Member Needs to Do!!!!! 1) Plan on Visiting the Albany Room on Friday, 8/22/08 between 11:00 AM and 9:00 PM. NO EXCUSES!!! It's just down the road!! 2) TEAMWORK!!! Start wearing your button. Look for your fellow union members buttons. Tell Them, “Don't Underrate the 4-0-8”! 3) Use your pens and your post-it notes. Raise Union visibility. It's IMPORTANT!!! 4) On Fridays wear something RED or BLUE, our Union Colors. Red for the CWA and Blue for the 4- 0-8! Display something Red or Blue near your desk. 5) Ask Questions. Find your steward or a union member with seniority and ask Questions!!! 6) The only Union members that should do nothing are those that feel they are PAID TOO MUCH MONEY or are UNDER WORKED or just don't care about helping others. You will be easy to spot. No Button. No Red or Blue and you won't be at the Quality Inn on the 22nd. Maybe you can share all your extra money with the rest of us!!!!! 7) Go to OPTICALWORKERS.COM. Watch the DVD Trailer from our General Membership Meeting. Watch Empire Vision folks supporting Davis Vision folks. Tell others to Watch! This is what you can do. Help us or Hurt us. Your Call. |
Davis Latham Contract Expires 9/30/2008
For our fellow union members in other bargaining units let me bring you up to
speed on the Latham Customer Relations and Information Technology Center.
Across America thousands of Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and Opticians
participate in Davis Vision's optical benefit plans. Employers contract for benefits
and their employees receive these optical benefits at participating Davis Vision
providers. Latham is where the rubber meets the road. Hundreds of thousands
of patients and providers call this facility with questions and benefit issues.
Hundreds of thousands of claims are verified and processed here, both digital and
paper. Mail room employees, Provider specialists, Claims Examiners, Provider
Service Reps, and a dozen other skills pull together to keep our customers happy,
or “delighted” , to use the Company jargon. For you folks in retail, imagine that
every 2 ½ to 3 minutes a customer walked up to you with a problem to be solved.
Imagine that this went on non-stop for hours. Imagine that you stepped to the
bathroom for a moment and heard your name paged because a supervisor in a
cubicle hadn't seen a call go to you the last six minutes on her computer. That's a
day in the life in the call center. Now is their time. Their issues are front and
center. It's negotiation time for Latham.
As Chairman of the negotiation committee I will attempt to approach these
negotiations in a similar way that I tried my first one. Let me explain. There are two
principle methods of bargaining.
First, there is the positional, “zero sum” method. This method assumes a “fixed
pie” of available resources to bargain over. Then both side bargain over who gets
the bigger piece. It is strictly a power game. The stronger side digs in its heels
and the game either tilts their way or there is no deal.
Then there is “interest based” bargaining, made famous by phrases like “win-
win”. True interest based bargaining is hard work. It requires imagination and a
commitment on both sides to create new ideas, new ways of approaching
problems, without trying to mislead the other side. The goal is to make a “bigger
pie” first, as opposed to just cutting up the same sized pie.
Here is a classic example from negotiation literature. Two sisters are fighting over
an orange. Both want the whole orange but can't decide who wins. They reach an
agreement that one sister will cut the orange in half and the other sister will choose
a half. They both end up with 50% of what they wanted. A fair deal right? That is
positional or zero sum bargaining.
But what if they both decided to explore the reasons why each wanted the orange.
They discuss interests as opposed to positions. After discussions they discovered
that one sister wanted to eat the fruit and the other wanted the peel for a cake
recipe that called for the peel of one orange. So one sister takes the fruit and the
other takes the peel. Each ended up with 100% of what they wanted instead of
50%. That is a simple example of interest based bargaining.
My first negotiation, a few weeks after taking office, was with Empire Vision
Retail. All wide eyed and naive I attempted to engage their team in discussions
about working conditions. I hoped to discover a basis for mutual interests. They
looked at me like I was wearing an aluminum hat. A VP kept demanding, “Where
are your proposals?”. So, I ended up playing the game. They offered 1%. We
demanded 9%. We ended up at 4%. It turned out that the one semi-creative side
agreement we did make, concerning travelers, they couldn't even bring
themselves to live up to the terms of. The whole thing was scrapped a few months
later.
Fast forward to today. I have several Davis Vision Lab negotiations under my belt,
Davis Vision has been different from the first try. The DV lab operation leaders
have seemed open minded; they have earned my respect for the ability to listen.
We still butt heads and disagree on things but they have lived up to their word
when they have given it. (getting it has been the hard part:)
I am cautiously optimistic that the upper crust on the Customer Relations side are
of the same ilk. I suspect that their hands are often tied by the Highmarks and the
HVHC's of the world but share a genuine interest in making improvements.
Translating that desire into contract language that makes a real difference in your
lives is the tricky part. I am approaching this with a blend of both positional and
interest based bargaining initiatives. In the Latham contract surveys I asked you
for ideas that would benefit the company. You folks work these jobs every day.
You are in the best position to see when things don't make sense. If the Company
can see no value in your ideas it will be their loss. But I will try.
For our fellow union members in other bargaining units let me bring you up to
speed on the Latham Customer Relations and Information Technology Center.
Across America thousands of Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and Opticians
participate in Davis Vision's optical benefit plans. Employers contract for benefits
and their employees receive these optical benefits at participating Davis Vision
providers. Latham is where the rubber meets the road. Hundreds of thousands
of patients and providers call this facility with questions and benefit issues.
Hundreds of thousands of claims are verified and processed here, both digital and
paper. Mail room employees, Provider specialists, Claims Examiners, Provider
Service Reps, and a dozen other skills pull together to keep our customers happy,
or “delighted” , to use the Company jargon. For you folks in retail, imagine that
every 2 ½ to 3 minutes a customer walked up to you with a problem to be solved.
Imagine that this went on non-stop for hours. Imagine that you stepped to the
bathroom for a moment and heard your name paged because a supervisor in a
cubicle hadn't seen a call go to you the last six minutes on her computer. That's a
day in the life in the call center. Now is their time. Their issues are front and
center. It's negotiation time for Latham.
As Chairman of the negotiation committee I will attempt to approach these
negotiations in a similar way that I tried my first one. Let me explain. There are two
principle methods of bargaining.
First, there is the positional, “zero sum” method. This method assumes a “fixed
pie” of available resources to bargain over. Then both side bargain over who gets
the bigger piece. It is strictly a power game. The stronger side digs in its heels
and the game either tilts their way or there is no deal.
Then there is “interest based” bargaining, made famous by phrases like “win-
win”. True interest based bargaining is hard work. It requires imagination and a
commitment on both sides to create new ideas, new ways of approaching
problems, without trying to mislead the other side. The goal is to make a “bigger
pie” first, as opposed to just cutting up the same sized pie.
Here is a classic example from negotiation literature. Two sisters are fighting over
an orange. Both want the whole orange but can't decide who wins. They reach an
agreement that one sister will cut the orange in half and the other sister will choose
a half. They both end up with 50% of what they wanted. A fair deal right? That is
positional or zero sum bargaining.
But what if they both decided to explore the reasons why each wanted the orange.
They discuss interests as opposed to positions. After discussions they discovered
that one sister wanted to eat the fruit and the other wanted the peel for a cake
recipe that called for the peel of one orange. So one sister takes the fruit and the
other takes the peel. Each ended up with 100% of what they wanted instead of
50%. That is a simple example of interest based bargaining.
My first negotiation, a few weeks after taking office, was with Empire Vision
Retail. All wide eyed and naive I attempted to engage their team in discussions
about working conditions. I hoped to discover a basis for mutual interests. They
looked at me like I was wearing an aluminum hat. A VP kept demanding, “Where
are your proposals?”. So, I ended up playing the game. They offered 1%. We
demanded 9%. We ended up at 4%. It turned out that the one semi-creative side
agreement we did make, concerning travelers, they couldn't even bring
themselves to live up to the terms of. The whole thing was scrapped a few months
later.
Fast forward to today. I have several Davis Vision Lab negotiations under my belt,
Davis Vision has been different from the first try. The DV lab operation leaders
have seemed open minded; they have earned my respect for the ability to listen.
We still butt heads and disagree on things but they have lived up to their word
when they have given it. (getting it has been the hard part:)
I am cautiously optimistic that the upper crust on the Customer Relations side are
of the same ilk. I suspect that their hands are often tied by the Highmarks and the
HVHC's of the world but share a genuine interest in making improvements.
Translating that desire into contract language that makes a real difference in your
lives is the tricky part. I am approaching this with a blend of both positional and
interest based bargaining initiatives. In the Latham contract surveys I asked you
for ideas that would benefit the company. You folks work these jobs every day.
You are in the best position to see when things don't make sense. If the Company
can see no value in your ideas it will be their loss. But I will try.
Davis Latham Contract Expires 9/30/2008
The Latham contract negotiations are an opportunity to reset our relationships and embrace the
changes that are sweeping over our company. The company can expect some issues to be on the table and
they can expect that some resolution of these problems are essential to getting the Union to recommend this
contract to you.
1.Economic issues. The union will not agree to any financial give backs. The company needs to understand
that their total cost, per employee, will have to increase at a rate that exceeds the new inflation rate. How this
goal is to be reached remains to be seen. I am open to discussing any approach that creates mutual benefit
but the fundamental premise is written in granite. If the company needs to cut costs they need to look
elsewhere. Union members are untouchable. Economies are cyclical. A “bad economy” today is not an
acceptable excuse for the Company to use. I am in the process of licensing a “union bug” , potentially, for the
Companies union printing purposes. That could save the company money. Other ideas are just waiting to be
discovered. This situation begs for interest based bargaining.
2.Non-economic issues are a potpourri that the contract surveys will help define. As I write this I am still
compiling input to share with the Stewards. A few issues have surfaced already. Less than 25% were
opposed to weekly paychecks. The weekly paycheck will be on the table. I was surprised at how many
indicated that the air quality in the Latham facility was poor. There is powerful support for having an option to
work four 10 hours days as opposed to five 8 hour days. Inaccurate accounting of earned time off will no
longer be an option. It is clear that the cursory and inadequate training of new hires for the call center leads to
a low retention rate. That in turn increases stress on the best in the call center and other departments. Instant
messages that repetitively remind associates of facts they already know is demeaning and pointless, as is
being paged to take calls when you are already trying to help a provider by faxing or researching a question.
Non-union positions that do not have valid supervisory functions will be getting a hard look to determine why
they are non-union. Positions eliminated and moved to a non-union location will get an even harder look.
Much more too come.
The Latham contract negotiations are an opportunity to reset our relationships and embrace the
changes that are sweeping over our company. The company can expect some issues to be on the table and
they can expect that some resolution of these problems are essential to getting the Union to recommend this
contract to you.
1.Economic issues. The union will not agree to any financial give backs. The company needs to understand
that their total cost, per employee, will have to increase at a rate that exceeds the new inflation rate. How this
goal is to be reached remains to be seen. I am open to discussing any approach that creates mutual benefit
but the fundamental premise is written in granite. If the company needs to cut costs they need to look
elsewhere. Union members are untouchable. Economies are cyclical. A “bad economy” today is not an
acceptable excuse for the Company to use. I am in the process of licensing a “union bug” , potentially, for the
Companies union printing purposes. That could save the company money. Other ideas are just waiting to be
discovered. This situation begs for interest based bargaining.
2.Non-economic issues are a potpourri that the contract surveys will help define. As I write this I am still
compiling input to share with the Stewards. A few issues have surfaced already. Less than 25% were
opposed to weekly paychecks. The weekly paycheck will be on the table. I was surprised at how many
indicated that the air quality in the Latham facility was poor. There is powerful support for having an option to
work four 10 hours days as opposed to five 8 hour days. Inaccurate accounting of earned time off will no
longer be an option. It is clear that the cursory and inadequate training of new hires for the call center leads to
a low retention rate. That in turn increases stress on the best in the call center and other departments. Instant
messages that repetitively remind associates of facts they already know is demeaning and pointless, as is
being paged to take calls when you are already trying to help a provider by faxing or researching a question.
Non-union positions that do not have valid supervisory functions will be getting a hard look to determine why
they are non-union. Positions eliminated and moved to a non-union location will get an even harder look.
Much more too come.
Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W) (Inflation Rate) (from US Dept. of Labor)
6.2% YTD 2008
***************************************
Highmark reports lower net income in 2007; vision and dental businesses post strong gains
April 2, 2008 | Pittsburgh, Pa. — (https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2008/pr040208.shtml)
Highmark Inc. today announced lower net income in 2007 compared to 2006, primarily due to smaller gains
in the company's health care business. But the continued growth of Highmark's subsidiary companies and
higher-than-anticipated investment income helped the company achieve a strong operational and financial
performance in 2007.
The company had net income of $375.4 million in 2007, compared to $398.3 million in 2006. Highmark's
2007 net income represented 3.1 percent of the company's operating revenues, compared with 3.7 percent
in 2006, and well below the net income ratio of other health insurers. Highmark's 2007 total operating
revenues reached $11.9 billion, compared to $10.8 billion in 2006.
The company's dental, vision and reinsurance businesses had a strong 2007 as they continue to support the
company's health care business. Combined, the three subsidiary companies had net income of $112 million.
Revenues of Highmark's vision subsidiaries, Davis Vision, Viva International and Eye Care Centers of
America (ECCA), exceeded $1 billion for the first time in their history. The retail segment of Highmark's
vision business, with more than 500 optical retail stores across the country, opened 21 new stores in the
Chicago area last year.
**************************************************************************
Highmark and IBC CEOs say combination (Merger) will provide $1 billion in new resources over 6
years - Will not reduce competition and will help lower costs, increase access, and strengthen PA
economy
July 8, 2008 | Pittsburgh, Pa. — (https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2008/pr070808.shtml)
The chief executives of Highmark and Independence Blue Cross (IBC) testified here today at the first
Pennsylvania Insurance Department public hearing about the combination of the two companies, saying that
it will be good for customers, health care providers, and the communities the two organizations serve - and
would not reduce competition.
Kenneth R. Melani, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Highmark, said, in part, "The proposed
transaction will not reduce competition or choice in any market in Pennsylvania. Simply put, the two
companies and their Pennsylvania insurance subsidiaries do not compete with each other."
In other testimony on behalf of the two companies, it was reported that the $1billion in new resources had
been validated through a rigorous analytical process. These resources will be used to help lower health care
costs, increase access and strengthen the Pennsylvania economy.
In 2006, Highmark and IBC contributed over $200 million in support of the community primarily focused on
health and education programs such as:
Funding clinics for the uninsured
Increasing the supply of nurses through scholarships
Fighting hospital-acquired infections
Helping eliminate disparities in health care
Preventing childhood obesity
Promoting community wellness through programs to address nutrition, weight management, smoking
cessation, osteoporosis and heart disease.
The companies reaffirmed their commitments to the communities of Pennsylvania and said that they intend
to enhance their support going forward.
(https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2007/pr032807.shtml)
FACT: If Davis Vision gave every union member in Latham (approximately 160) a $1.00 per hour raise it
would cost them $330,000. That would be approximately one tenth of one percent of the total annual revenue
of Davis Vision. ($300,000,000)
FACT: Security Exchange Commission (SEC) filings reveal that the Highmark Vision Holdings President &
CEO David Holmberg receives an annual salary of $480,000. His incentive and bonus package can pay up
to 130% of his annual salary. SEC filings indicate that Davis Vision officers share in this “incentive” program.
Anyone that says that Davis Vision can not afford industry leading raises for it's union members is
misinformed.
United We Bargain – Divided We Beg
Clerical Workers (CPI-W) (Inflation Rate) (from US Dept. of Labor)
6.2% YTD 2008
***************************************
Highmark reports lower net income in 2007; vision and dental businesses post strong gains
April 2, 2008 | Pittsburgh, Pa. — (https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2008/pr040208.shtml)
Highmark Inc. today announced lower net income in 2007 compared to 2006, primarily due to smaller gains
in the company's health care business. But the continued growth of Highmark's subsidiary companies and
higher-than-anticipated investment income helped the company achieve a strong operational and financial
performance in 2007.
The company had net income of $375.4 million in 2007, compared to $398.3 million in 2006. Highmark's
2007 net income represented 3.1 percent of the company's operating revenues, compared with 3.7 percent
in 2006, and well below the net income ratio of other health insurers. Highmark's 2007 total operating
revenues reached $11.9 billion, compared to $10.8 billion in 2006.
The company's dental, vision and reinsurance businesses had a strong 2007 as they continue to support the
company's health care business. Combined, the three subsidiary companies had net income of $112 million.
Revenues of Highmark's vision subsidiaries, Davis Vision, Viva International and Eye Care Centers of
America (ECCA), exceeded $1 billion for the first time in their history. The retail segment of Highmark's
vision business, with more than 500 optical retail stores across the country, opened 21 new stores in the
Chicago area last year.
**************************************************************************
Highmark and IBC CEOs say combination (Merger) will provide $1 billion in new resources over 6
years - Will not reduce competition and will help lower costs, increase access, and strengthen PA
economy
July 8, 2008 | Pittsburgh, Pa. — (https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2008/pr070808.shtml)
The chief executives of Highmark and Independence Blue Cross (IBC) testified here today at the first
Pennsylvania Insurance Department public hearing about the combination of the two companies, saying that
it will be good for customers, health care providers, and the communities the two organizations serve - and
would not reduce competition.
Kenneth R. Melani, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Highmark, said, in part, "The proposed
transaction will not reduce competition or choice in any market in Pennsylvania. Simply put, the two
companies and their Pennsylvania insurance subsidiaries do not compete with each other."
In other testimony on behalf of the two companies, it was reported that the $1billion in new resources had
been validated through a rigorous analytical process. These resources will be used to help lower health care
costs, increase access and strengthen the Pennsylvania economy.
In 2006, Highmark and IBC contributed over $200 million in support of the community primarily focused on
health and education programs such as:
Funding clinics for the uninsured
Increasing the supply of nurses through scholarships
Fighting hospital-acquired infections
Helping eliminate disparities in health care
Preventing childhood obesity
Promoting community wellness through programs to address nutrition, weight management, smoking
cessation, osteoporosis and heart disease.
The companies reaffirmed their commitments to the communities of Pennsylvania and said that they intend
to enhance their support going forward.
(https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2007/pr032807.shtml)
FACT: If Davis Vision gave every union member in Latham (approximately 160) a $1.00 per hour raise it
would cost them $330,000. That would be approximately one tenth of one percent of the total annual revenue
of Davis Vision. ($300,000,000)
FACT: Security Exchange Commission (SEC) filings reveal that the Highmark Vision Holdings President &
CEO David Holmberg receives an annual salary of $480,000. His incentive and bonus package can pay up
to 130% of his annual salary. SEC filings indicate that Davis Vision officers share in this “incentive” program.
Anyone that says that Davis Vision can not afford industry leading raises for it's union members is
misinformed.
United We Bargain – Divided We Beg
