ROCK ISLAND, Illinois—
Most of the displaced workers at the former Seaford Clothing Company just can't afford to pay nearly $600 a month for stop-gap COBRA medical coverage. That's one reason why Rep. Phil Hare wants to extend a cost-saving subsidy.Seaford workers spent decades using their hands to make suits. But after the plant abruptly closed in August, some of the same hands are now working laptop computers inside a union hall. That's where they serve as peer counselors for some 350 displaced workers.
"I loved it," said Veronica Griffin, of her 15 years at Seaford. "This is where I would retire. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever expect for the plant to close."
Four months ago, there were tears and hugs as staffers lined up in the parking lot to pick up their final pay checks. Griffin was there, too.
"We felt we had the rug pulled out from under us," she recalled.
Former workers hope that a hearing on Thursday in Chicago might grant them 60 days of severance pay.
There are worries now about the cost of health care getting even higher. That's as a 65% tax subsidy for COBRA benefits is beginning to run out without an extension.
"Trying to stay healthy," she said. "So that you don't get sick and have to go to the doctor. No insurance? It's scary -- very, very scary."
Outside the vacant plant, paychecks have vanished along with the health care. Displaced workers just can't afford the cost.
"COBRA is for many of them a lifeline," said Rep. Phil Hare, (D) Illinois.
Rep. Hare is asking fellow lawmakers to extend the subsidy during tough times.
"The last and best hope for people who don't have health care is COBRA," he said.
Peer counselor Karen Kinney posed with Hare during happier times at the plant. She's now concerned about the added cost facing her former co-workers.
"They do not need the stress of going without health coverage," she said.
But as Washington wrestles with health legislation, there are no guarantees. With laptops in action instead of sewing machines, an uncertain future becomes even more unsettled.
