How My Union Saved My Family After My Wife’s Near-Fatal Accident

“Rick Smith is a longtime labor advocate and host of The Rick Smith Show, a national radio program dedicated to highlighting issues that matter to working families. We’re honored to feature his perspective as part of LaborStrong’s mission to elevate the voices of those fighting for workers every day.”

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On the morning of September 12, 2024, life changed in an instant. My wife, Carol, was on her motorcycle, something she’s passionately loved, when a careless distracted driver turned left in front of her without warning. The impact was devastating. First responders said it was a miracle she survived. Multiple broken bones and compound fractures, devastating internal injuries, and a traumatic brain injury that she will never fully recover from, the kind of catastrophic event that sends families spiraling into grief, uncertainty, and often, financial ruin.

But while the emotional toll has been enormous, there’s something we haven’t had to worry about through all of this: how to pay the bills. That’s because I’ve spent over 30 years as a proud member of the Teamsters union, and it’s because of my union-negotiated health care and benefits that have kept our family from falling apart under the financial weight of this crisis.

Let me tell you — when people talk about the value of being in a union, they often focus on the paycheck. And yes, the wages are better. But what really saved us wasn’t just the paycheck. It was the health and welfare coverage that came with my union contract.

When Carol was airlifted to the hospital, the costs started adding up fast. Emergency surgery, ICU and LTAC stays, dozens of specialists, follow-up procedures, inpatient rehab, physical therapy — I stopped counting after the first few days because I knew we were heading into the millions of dollars, about $4.7 million in billed care to this point. A friend of mine who works in a non-union job with a high-deductible insurance plan called me in shock after hearing about the extent of her injuries. “You’re not going bankrupt after this?” he asked. “We’d be ruined.”

But we’re not ruined. We’re not even close. That’s because my Teamster Health and Welfare Fund doesn’t just provide insurance — it fights for members. Their advocacy helped us navigate complex hospital systems, coordinate care between specialists, and get Carol into one of the best neurological rehabilitation programs in the country. They covered things most people don’t even know insurance can cover — specialized equipment, in-home therapy sessions, and even more that we did not use. Try getting that with a bare-bones corporate plan.

I’ve always known that union membership gave me security, but now I understand just how deep that security runs. This wasn’t just a workplace benefit. It was a lifeline.

Still, it hasn’t been easy. Carol spent weeks in the ICU, then months in the hospital. She’s had twelve surgeries so far, with more on the horizon. We’ve juggled endless doctor appointments, therapy sessions, and every night sleeping by her side. Our lives were turned upside down, and every day is still a challenge — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But through it all, we’ve had one massive burden lifted: we never had to stop and ask, “Can we afford this?” In fact, I was able to use our insurance to force a hospital to keep her admitted after they claimed she had exceeded their stay policy. Instead of being forced into a nursing home, she got the extra months of vital care she needed.

That’s the quiet power of a union contract. It doesn’t just show up in your paycheck. It shows up in the hardest, darkest moments of your life, when your back is against the wall and the system would rather see you broken. It shows up when your wife needs another surgery, and the hospital doesn’t question coverage because they know your union won’t let them cut corners. It shows up when you don’t have to choose between medical care and keeping the lights on.

Far too many Americans are forced to make those impossible choices. Each year, hundreds of thousands of families are pushed into medical bankruptcy — even those with insurance. A 2023 study estimated that over 60% of all bankruptcies in the United States involve medical debt. Think about that. We’re the richest country in the world, and getting sick can still bankrupt you. That’s not just a healthcare problem — it’s a labor problem. It’s a justice problem.

Unions have been fighting this battle for generations. The labor movement has always understood that health security is just as important as wages and working conditions. But in our national conversation, it often gets overlooked. Politicians love to talk about jobs and tax cuts, but when’s the last time you heard someone on the campaign trail make a passionate case for guaranteed, high-quality union health coverage?

Here’s the truth: when workers organize, they win better lives — not just in the workplace, but in their homes and communities. Union workers are significantly more likely to have access to comprehensive health insurance, paid sick leave, disability benefits, and retirement plans. That’s not an accident. That’s decades of collective bargaining, of workers standing together and demanding more than scraps from billion-dollar companies.

And the public is waking up to it. Union approval ratings are at their highest levels in decades. Workers are tired, tired of being disposable, tired of being told to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps” while CEOs collect million-dollar bonuses. They’re watching costs soar, for groceries, for gas, for housing, and yes, for healthcare while their wages stagnate and their safety nets disappear. No wonder people are looking to unions again. People want dignity. They want stability. They want the kind of peace of mind my family had when we walked into that Emergency Room.

Carol’s journey isn’t over. Recovery is a long, winding road, and we’re walking it one step at a time. Some days are harder than others. But we’ve had the freedom to focus on her healing, not on fighting insurance companies or dodging debt collectors. That freedom came from my union. And that’s something I’ll never take for granted.

Every time I look at my wife, I think about how different this story could have been if I weren’t a union member. If I had been in a gig job with no benefits. If I’d been working contract-to-contract without a safety net. If I had to fight the hospital bureaucracy alone.

And I think about the millions of American families who are living that nightmare right now. They’re in ERs and clinics and rehab centers, watching their loved ones suffer while bills pile up on the kitchen table. They’re making decisions based not on what’s best, but on what’s cheapest. And it doesn’t have to be that way.
We can do better. We must do better. That means fighting for stronger unions. It means expanding access to quality healthcare. It means recognizing that health security isn’t a luxury — it’s a right.

As long as I’ve got a mic in front of me, I’ll keep telling this story. I’ll keep shouting from the rooftops that unions don’t just make life better — sometimes, they make life possible. The labor movement gave me the power to protect my family. And in a world where everything feels uncertain, that’s something worth fighting for.
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Rick Smith is a 30+ year Teamster and host of The Rick Smith Show, where he champions working-class issues, labor rights, and economic justice.