North Adams Unions File Complaints Against City
 |
Union officials say the city's "unilateral" attempt to offer different insurance options is also in violation of state law.
"We've been trying to get the mayor and the city to talk about insurance since last March," said Christopher Caproni, president of the North Adams Teachers Association, the city's largest union. "We're very willing to sit down and look at plans together. ... But [the city] can't just unilaterally add them."
Mayor John Barrett III said he could not comment on grievances filed against the city but said the unions' actions were unhelpful.
"What they are doing and what they have done has irreparably harmed their relationship with the city administration and the School Committee," said Barrett.
The seven unions are filing the prohibitive practice charges separately; Caproni was not sure if all seven had been filed by Monday.
The two sides have been at loggerheads over the unions' desire to join the GIC, an option offered to governing bodies across the state as part of the Municipal Partnership Act. The GIC covers nearly 300,000 state employees and retirees; it was opened to municipalities as an option for saving money on health plans.
The unions say joining the GIC would save the city more than $1 million; the mayor has been extremely skeptical over the savings claims and warns retirees would be hurt by transferring insurance carriers.
Section 19
The unions went to the City Council this past summer to request it adopt the state law (Section 19) that would allow all seven unions to negotiate as a single unit on health care, a requirement of the partnership act. Union officials hoped to beat the October deadline to register for next year's enrollment. That deadline has since been moved to Dec. 1.
Councilors were intrigued by the potential savings but wary of trespassing on the mayor's turf by interfering with the bargaining process. Barrett, in turn, said the city's counsel was concerned that by adopting the measure, the city would be forced into negotiations.
Undeterred, the seven unions covering educators and education staff, police, firefighters, public works employees and custodians have joined forces as the North Adams Public Employee Committee in anticipation of GIC negotiations.
"We have seven labor unions sitting at the same table all in agreement that something has to be done about insurance, said Caproni. "It needs to be done collaboratively. These employees have some of the highest co-pays in the state and the highest splits in the county."
Barrett countered that the city had put a "very, very fair" offer on the table only to have the unions walk away.
"I don't think [union members] realize that they're not going to have Blue Cross Blue Shield if they join GIC," he said, adding that abandoning the city's self-insured plan would mean locking into GIC for three years — with no way out if the purported savings fail to materialize.
The unions also want to raise the city's split from 70 percent to 85 percent of the premiums, said Barrett.
High Premiums
In response to complaints about the high cost of premiums, the city has offered open enrollment for several new options with lower premiums and higher deductibles. Caproni said that was a prohibitive practice.
"All changes or implementation under Massachusetts law are bargainable," he said. "We're very willing to sit down and look at plans together. ... They can't just unilaterally add them in."
"In these tough financial times it's more important than ever that we give people the best value for their money,” said Peter Robare, president of the IAFF, Local 1781, in a statement.
Pittsfield recently negotiated with its unions to enroll in the GIC next year. Last year, the first year for enrollment, only 12 governing bodies (mostly school districts) signed on.
The prohibitive practice charges are being filed by all the unions that constitute the NAPEC. They include the North Adams Teachers Association; the North Adams Paraprofessionals; the North Adams Police Association, Local 382; IAFF, Local 1781 representing North Adams Fire Fighters; Teamsters Local 404 representing employees of the Department of Public Works; the North Adams Teachers Assistants Association; and AFL-CIO 204 State Council 93, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees/City of North Adams.
Edited on Nov. 18 to correct a phrase that was misheard.
