WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has historically been in the forefront on human rights and health care issues and continues to do so today; and

WHEREAS, currently only one-third of all insurance plans in the United States cover birth control pills and other products and services related to reproductive health for women; and

WHEREAS, only several Teamster member insurance plans cover such products and services; and

WHEREAS, during the next five years, a number of national contracts such as the National Master Freight Agreement, the UPS Agreement, the National Master Carhaul Agreement and other large contracts will be negotiated; and

WHEREAS, the Teamsters have always been the leaders in obtaining the highest standards and benefits packages for employees; and

WHEREAS, more and more Union members are women, and the vast majority of Teamsters covered under Teamsters insurance plans are women and/or have plan-covered dependents who are women; and

WHEREAS, it only took 7 1/2 weeks for approximately one-half of available health insurance plans to cover prescriptions for Viagra, but it has been over 40 years since the availability of birth control pills and yet only one-third of the insurance plans available in the United States currently cover prescriptions for birth control pills;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will strive to negotiate national contracts that include fair and equitable health care coverage for all that will include coverage of life-saving preventive exams and reproductive products and services for women in an effort to promote overall health care equity in the United States.

(Recommended by the Teamsters 26th International Convention Resolutions Committee and adopted by convention delegates, 2001).