In the continued assault on every person in America, Northwest Airlines is implementing a plan to charge smokers more for health insurance starting in January. An internal memo laid out the plans.
I'm sure there's some of you out there who think this is a great thing. "Serves those nasty smokers right, always getting sick". The real issue is not about smokers though, it is about a company singling out a group of people and not treating them fairly.
With the logic of charging smokers more comes the logic of charging more for being overweight, those who drink, those who drive a significant distance to work, those who engage in extracurricular activities or sports that risk injury and those who are, in someone else's mind, not the "perfect stereotype" of health.
There are many things more potentially hazardous than smoking and allowing these targeted rates to continue will soon impact every person in America in some way. Are you gay? pay more! Are you female? pay more because you might get pregnant! Are you black? You have the potential for sickle cell anemia! Do you live within 5 miles of a smokestack? Pay up bitch!
I haven't even gotten around to the discrimination aspects of such an action.
Detroit Free Press
The Eagan, Minn.-based airline will be joining a small but growing number of companies targeting smokers as they look for ways to tap workers for a growing share of the escalating cost of health care.
...
Northwest has some company in targeting smokers. General Mills, the Golden Valley, Minn.-based food giant, charges smokers a surcharge of $20 per month for salaried employees and $10 per month for production employees.
...
For workers, the smoking fee comes on top of demands for pay cuts ranging from 5% to 28% and potentially thousands of additional job cuts the airline says it needs to survive.
So on top of the pay cuts your asking your employee's for you intend to piss off a certain portion and expect them to hang around when it comes to negotiation time? Good move dumbasses!
See also:
San Francisco Bans Smoking In Public
Weyco Inc Fires All Smoking Employee's
