Unions Fight For 'Contraceptive Equity'

By: Mark Fitzgerald Spurred on by national leaders -- and many angry rank-and-file women -- editorial and production unions are adopting a new cause: "contraceptive equity" in health-insurance plans. In other words, if a newspaper's plan covers the impotence drug Viagra for males, it had better cover prescription contraceptives for females.

"We just feel that it's a matter of fairness and non-discrimination. It's just ludicrous that these health plans would pay for Viagra and turn around and not [cover] contraceptives," said Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley. So far, Guild locals have bumped heads on the issue with The Associated Press and Dow Jones & Co. Inc. Foley said the union is "on the lookout" for other papers whose plans either do not cover prescription contraceptives at all or require a physician's finding of medical necessity.

The Guild is just one of many unions chasing this issue. The AFL-CIO adopted a very strongly worded position on it in December. And unions aren't waiting for contract-bargaining time to force the issue. Last fall, the Wire Service Guild filed a grievance over AP's health plan that was settled three weeks ago when the cooperative said it would drop the "medical necessity" requirement beginning in January (E&P, June 3, p. 7).

At Dow Jones, the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees repeatedly requested unconditional contraceptive coverage in the company's most popular health plan, said Dawn Kopecki, head of the Guild local's health-care committee. In April, three employees, including one from The Wall Street Journal, filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming the policy is discriminatory. The EEOC has six months to investigate the claim before deciding whether to issue a so-called "right-to-sue" letter, said the employees' attorney from Planned Parenthood, Donna Lee.

Dow Jones offers a number of plans that cover prescription contraceptives for any reason, spokesman Steven Goldstein said, adding, "If contraceptive care is most important to you, then you should enroll in that plan."