New Contract at Cigna Local 985 in Tampa

Members of Local 985 in Tampa, Fla., were able to enjoy their holidays with a little less stress after ratifying their latest contract on December 23 with health insurance provider Cigna. Negotiations only lasted two days and focused on tightening language from the union’s International round of bargaining for all Cigna locals that concluded in the fall of 2019.

The approximately 77 pharmaceutical call center workers at the Tampa location, along with the other USW members across several Cigna locals, obtained two additional holidays, a readjusted PTO schedule, and more.

Cigna employees have been undergoing many changes since the company bought out their former employer Express Scripts, a pharmaceutical benefit management organization, in 2018. Most of the transition has taken place, and overall, the company and its workers are now set up for a more secure future, according to William Jones, who works as USW staff with the union’s ESI-Cigna Council.

“I think it will be good in the long run as all the sites are receiving additional work with the additional clientele, including government contracts and Medicare/Medicaid,” said Jones. “This has made them more diverse.”

Members of the negotiating committee featured in the above photo (left to right): Cavan Simon, Jim Hendricks, William Jones, Winston Callum.