State employees are agreeing to pay part of health care cost
10:23 PM 6/06/04

wisconsin's unionized state employees are slowly accepting a sea change in their compensation. <

A key provision of previous contracts was that their total compensation, including pay and benefits, was structured to provide them with some form of health insurance without requiring an employee contribution toward the cost of the insurance. <

Of the 19 bargaining units the state bargains with, nine have agreed to a new provision in the 2003-05 contract that requires an employee contribution toward health insurance. The minimum contribution is $18 a month for single coverage and $45 for a family plan in Tier 1 of the state's three-tier health insurance program. Contributions increase in the upper tiers. <

Of the 19 bargaining units, six are in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 24, Wisconsin State Employees Union, headed by executive director Marty Beil. One of Beil's units, the Professional Social Services unit with 3,266 members, has settled. <

The terms of the Professional Social Services agreement calls for no pay increase the first year and a 1 percent raise the second year plus $.10 an hour and a lump sum adjustment of $250. Some employees will receive more generous wage increases as part of a market wage adjustment program to address problems with recruiting and retaining qualified employees. <

The Professional Social Services members also agreed to the standard employee contribution for health insurance of $18 and $45. <

Beil has made it clear that the remaining five bargaining units in Council 24 won't necessarily agree to similar terms. <

One Council 24 unit represents correctional officers. To date, negotiations have not resolved the issue of employee contributions toward health insurance premiums. <

The state has indicated that the employee contribution issue is a "bottom line." State negotiators are bargaining under the cloud of a threat from Republican leaders in the Legislature who say they will not approve any contracts without an employee contribution. <

The correctional officers have offered to go through the next two years with no wage increase if the state will relax its employee health insurance contribution demand. State negotiators have rejected their offer. <

The employee contribution issue is one of the "me too" provisions in state contracts. That means that if the state drops its demand for an employee contribution for health insurance with one of the 19 bargaining units, it must drop it for all units, a situation that's not likely to happen. <

The state can negotiate the amount of the employee contribution, and it has. The minimum contribution originally placed on the table by the state started out in the area of $25 and $50, an amount that is now down to $18 and $45. <

One problem for the state is that if it lowered the employee contribution for correctional officers, it would have to lower the contribution for all units. That's not likely to occur because the state negotiated the overall health insurance plan based on some employee contribution, and the $18-$45 amount is at a bottom-line level in terms of making the plan fiscally acceptable. <

Given the ground rules imposed by Republican leaders in the Legislature, it's unlikely the correctional officers will prevail in terms of their position on health insurance costs. The officers are, however, preparing a campaign to highlight their working conditions and how those conditions affect not only their employment contract, but the state budget as well. <

The correctional officers will point out that the state is lowering employment standards. They point out that a high school diploma is no longer required to become a correctional officer. <

The officers also will point out that truth in sentencing has resulted in a dramatic increase in the prison populations without a corresponding investment in resources, including correctional officers. <

And, the officers will note a state Department of Health and Family Services report that the state's prison population includes more than 2,200 inmates with asthma, 4,500 with mental health needs, 2,700 with hepatitis C, 160 with HIV and 800 with diabetes. <

Correctional officers are on the verge of taking their case public. It remains to be seen if any public support will affect contract negotiations. <

Stan Milam, of Capitol News Service, has covered state ||Page=000 Column=002 OK,0000.00||||||| Overset= 00003|||||^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^government since 1983. He can be reached at (608) 251-8585; send e-mail to cns@chorus.net. <