Member to Member: How Has Rising Healthcare Costs Affected Bargaining?
'IT'S THE FOCAL POINT FOR OUR
BARGAINING'
Most states face ever-increasing budget deficits due to the Bush administration's cuts in funding and the demands of Homeland Security. At the same time, healthcare costs are soaring to unprecedented levels. CWA bargainers have noted that employers often try to pass the increased costs on to employees when negotiating new contracts. We asked several CWA local leaders how rising healthcare costs have affected their bargaining. Here's what they told us.
"In order to protect our health benefits at the bargaining table, we need to do a few things away from that table."
Bill Henning,
V.P., Local 1180
For those of us in the public sector, that question looms over all our bargaining tables. Forget that we know our employers pay for our health insurance out of money that would otherwise go into our pockets as wages. No one thinks twice about the auto worker's health insurance costs being folded into the price of a new car. But our employers get the money to fund our healthcare from taxpayers.
So when public workers get premiere health insurance, howls of protest erupt. That's because we are seen as enjoying benefits not widely available in the largely non-union private workplaces. And those benefits are expensive. To maintain good healthcare is profoundly expensive, wasteful, and inefficient. That stems from our market system of healthcare, where we spend 13-15% just deciding how to spend the available dollars. We have to determine who is eligible for what care, and then providers wind up spending a big chunk on advertising, to compete for the best (paying) customers.
Despite what we may think of our respective plans, compared to the general populace, we have extremely good benefits. That is why the business community constantly demands that government cut our benefits or shift more of the cost burden onto our shoulders. We set a bad example for their employees and so they even try to enlist those employees in opposing our seemingly generous benefits.
The notion that our healthcare system is private is largely a myth, though. When you total up the amount of money spent by all payers, you quickly realize that the public sector plays a major role in funding healthcare. Adding up Medicare, Medicaid (and its variants), and government employees' health insurance will bring you quickly to the conclusion that much of healthcare is financed by public dollars. So if it is driven by these public dollars, why don't we have a more equitable system? Why are nearly 70 million Americans going to have some gap in coverage this year?
In order to protect our health benefits at the bargaining table, we need to do a few things away from that table. First, we need to take an active part in the fight against Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Pulling any more money out of the system will only exacerbate the existing crisis. We must join together with coalitions of patients and other unions to fight for real universal coverage with fair public financing, and get away from employment-based benefits. We also need to talk with our colleagues in the labor movement about this need, and to fashion a plan that organized labor can embrace. There will be no universal system in this country until and unless labor buys into it.
"Iowa healthcare units have some of the worst healthcare coverage for themselves."
Midge Slater, CWA Rep District 7
The rising cost of healthcare is only one of many issues we face during bargaining. Others include resident care, lack of safety in nursing homes, overtime, and quality of patient care.
I did a round of contracts last fall and will do another round this time next year. Right now I'm working on a first contract with LPNs. We're not getting anywhere with the first contract. The company is not willing to spend any money. Inspections have shown deficiencies (electrical problems, missing doors, defective wheelchairs, etc.) but the company expects the LPNs to cover them up.
The biggest issue is that this is clearly a "for profit" industry. The situation is made worse because the company has lost its certification for Title 19 and Medicare. Overtime is also a huge issue. If the new overtime law is passed, the LPNs will be seriously affected.
Iowa healthcare units have some of the worst healthcare coverage for themselves. What they have is self-funded healthcare programs; employers will not guarantee anything to do with healthcare.
Something has to be done nationwide to address the issue of rising healthcare costs, which will escalate to the point where companies will not be able to afford it. There will come a time when we will be negotiating wage cuts because most of the money will be going towards healthcare costs.
"Healthcare cost affects our pay demands directly. We view these increases in shared healthcare as a shrinkage of pay dollars."
Richard Murray, President, Local 4501
Our local consists of four bargaining entities: a higher education unit (Ohio State University), a healthcare unit (Ohio State Medical University Centers), a state agency (Ohio Secretary of State's office), and a welfare unit (Pickaway County Jobs & Family Services).
Healthcare cost has affected bargaining in all of our units. In great part, it's the strategic focal point for most of our bargaining, as it pertains to cost-of-living-or what we call cost-of- working-adjustments (COWA).
It was in the '80s, when cost shifting of benefits to employees became popular, that healthcare issues developed as a major issue for bargaining. Healthcare cost affects our pay demands directly. At this local, we view these increases in shared healthcare as a cost or shrinkage of pay dollars, impacting our personal economics. Therefore, we must request monies to replenish that deficit per member.
We have created language in our current agreement at OSU to explore cost-per-member percentages that represent equal sacrifice of member wages with the wages of employees who are paid much more, e.g., managerial, administrative, and executive levels. In short, "not equal giving, but equal sacrifice." For example, if an employee earning $55,000 a year pays 4% of the earnings for healthcare premiums, we feel an employee or member earning $20,000 or $30,000 a year should pay that same 4%, not 5%, 6% or higher. (Our University of Toledo CWA local has this system in place presently.)
In summary, healthcare cost is an issue of national crisis where there is no one answer or resolution. Our bargaining strategy is an attempt to put a band-aid on the hemorrhaging of our members' wages.
"I anticipate that bargaining will be a lot more difficult."
Clifford Thrasher, President, Local 2911
We are in the third year of a three-year contract with the county. The county is claiming that there is no money due to the increased cost of healthcare and the effects of Homeland Security on the economy. It wants our members to pick up a greater share of the healthcare costs.
We used to have a 90/10 split. Basically, the county does not want to put out any more for healthcare and wants the workers to pick up the difference or some of the costs for the increase. Consequently, I anticipate that bargaining will be a lot more difficult.
