- Companies protected with Strike Insurance send a message that they are ready to defend their management decisions against the ultimate weapon - a strike.
Strike Insurance
A gamble worth taking?
There are two ways to gamble your company’s bottom line against a strike:
- Do without Strike Insurance and hope your company won’t be targeted. If you’re not affected by a strike in the next three years, you may save a few dollars by not buying Strike Insurance. You win.
- Protect your assets with Strike Insurance. If your business is a victim of a strike, your losses are covered. You win.
But, even if you buy Strike Insurance and don’t have a strike - you win. Companies protected with Strike Insurance send a message that they are ready to defend their management decisions against the ultimate weapon - a strike. If you’re not a push-over, you can avoid a strike.
Business today and beyond
Regardless of whether your company is a union or an open shop, the same cost cutting necessities apply in today’s business climate. Wages and benefits must be kept in check, and new technologies must be embraced - even if they reduce jobs. Downsizing has been the strategy of large firms and smaller companies alike.
Although graphic arts unions have been less effective in recent years, the recent merger of GCIU with the Teamsters has given them new strength and a stronger strike fund. Backed against the wall, will they fight?
You bet they will.
Are you ready for battle?
Advancements in graphic arts industry technologies have multiplied almost beyond comprehension. Today we stand at the dawn of a new wave of technological change. Competitive communications media such as the Internet, compact discs and e-mail are forcing the industry to move in new directions.
Owners and managers are faced with business challenges as never before. Projects which are nonessential must be given low priority or sidetracked.
In today’s high performance working environment, no company has time for a disruptive labor dispute. Strike Insurance is an effective way to deal with unions by dealing from strength.
If yours is a union shop
- You know that the printing industry’s unions are not yet dead.
- You may be in a stronger bargaining position, but you still must deal from strength.
- Competition from open shops is more intense than ever. You must make the difficult decisions to restructure wages and benefits, and to streamline production.
If yours is an open shop
- Competition and technology are likely to force you to look for greater economies in wages
and benefits. Elimination of skills by technology and advancements in computerization are creating greater employee unrest. - Certain areas of the country are likely to see increased union organizing efforts.
- Insurance costs so little for open shops that the most remote possibility of facing an organizing campaign can be protected against painlessly.
How are you protected?
You will be paid your actual losses up to the daily indemnity you selected for each business day your plant is totally shut down. You can be reimbursed for losses during the strike if you qualify for interim payments. Losses are paid for a maximum of 50 days per year up to $1 million. There is a 6 day waiting period for each strike before payments begin.
You may apply today for 50 day protection or for 25 day protection at lower premium payments.
If your plant is partially shut down, your representative and United’s will determine your actual losses. No printer has ever been disappointed with his settlement.
You are protected against losses caused by strikes involving three or more of your employees or local contractors making local deliveries to or from your plant or repairing equipment used at your plant.
Your cost is minimal
The cost of the first year’s premium for non-union companies is less than 1/10 of 1 percent of gross annual sales. A unionized company’s initial premium is less than 1/2 of a percent of gross annual sales.
A cost/benefit analysis indicates that a company can cover the cost of Strike Insurance - and even save money - by using the insurance protection as its leverage to increase profits by preventing cost increases.
Strike Insurance must be purchased for a minimum of three years. Continuity credits are available after the first year and discounts may apply.
United recommends the amount of insurance you should have based on your gross sales. Tables listing recommended amounts of protection and premium costs are listed on the insurance application form for union and non-union companies.
Apply today
It’s never too soon to have Strike Insurance. As an open shop owner, you are eligible for lower premium rates. You will lose this eligibility if you wait until an organizing drive begins. If your union shop is in negotiations or on strike, you are ineligible for the insurance.
Union shops may enroll at any time, and will begin partial indemnity coverage on the first day of the month following approval of your application. Partial indemnity increases from 10 percent the first month to 100 percent after three months.
All shops may apply for blanket coverage for two or more plants for an additional amount of your basic premium. Refer to the application for specific information on multiple location coverage.
Just select the amount of protection you desire from either the union or the open shop table accompanying the application.