SALISBURY, Ind. (PAI)—A little shopping by Carpenters Local 2489 saved Schmidt 
Cabinet of Salisbury, Ind., and the union workers there, a lot of money on 
health care costs, the Union Register reports. Faced during contract talks in 
2007 with yearly health insurance premium hikes of up to 36%, and with Indiana 
insurance officials turning a deaf ear to their complaints, Schmidt was 
interested when the union bargaining committee produced details of the Ohio 
Carpenters Health & Welfare Plan. Under that multi-employer plan, premiums 
declined and benefits were comparable. The local proposed the switch, the 
Ohioans sent a rep to answer detailed questions, and Schmidt Cabinet agreed to 
change. The company saved money and since the workers paid part of the premiums, 
they did, too. That switch paved the way to a new 3-year pact with raises, 
improved life and accidental death and disability insurance and better benefits