N.A. Unions to Protest City's Insurance Decision
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's unionized workers are taking to the streets on Monday evening in protest of North Adams' decision not to join the state's health insurance program.The public employees plan to rally in front of City Hall at 4 p.m., marking the deadline for the city to enroll for the next fiscal year.
The city's seven unions, including the police, firefighters and the teachers, say joining the Group Insurance Commission would save the city more than $1 million a year and relieve their members of onerous premiums. Mayor John Barrett III has been skeptical of the savings, in part because the city would have to pick up another 15 percent of the workers' premium "split." He also has questioned the wisdom of leaving Blue Cross/Blue Shield and locking into a three-year contract with GIC.
Both the mayor and the City Council have suggested waiting until next year; the unions have formed a committee in anticipation of negotiating with the city and filed a complaint with the state's Labor Relations Division over the city's refusal to enter into talks.
According to a press statement from the unions, Monday's gathering will be for "mourning [the] loss of insurance savings."
The GIC covers some 300,000 state employees. Its plans were opened two years ago to local governing bodies, such as towns and regional school districts, as part of Gov. Deval Patrick's Municipal Partnership Act designed to save local government money.
The first year, only a dozen districts, mostly school districts, joined the plan; more are expected to do so for the next fiscal year, including Pittsfield, which adopted the state law allowing public employee unions to negotiate on insurance as a single unit last May.
The public employee unions in North Adams say they have repeatedly asked the city to explore this option but that the mayor has refused to even have the discussion.
Barrett, in response, has said the city needs more information about the benefits and costs of joining the GIC. The city also offered more, low-cost options for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which prompted the unions to file a complaint for failing to negotiate the offerings with them.
Union leaders are inviting residents to join them at City Hall on Monday evening from 4 to 5:30; those participating are advised to dress warmly and bring a flashlight.
The city's seven bargaining units are 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 Adam.
