South Glens Falls, unions negotiating on health insurance

KATHLEEN MOORE kmoore@poststar.com 

May 21, 2016 

SOUTH GLENS FALLS Village officials are finally in talks with the employee unions over health benefits.

One unaddressed issue in the 2016-17 budget was a prescription drug plan that duplicates a prescription benefit included in the village’s regular health insurance. The second plan costs the village $5,825 per person, and those not in a union agreed to voluntarily drop their plan early this year.

But union officials did not, and Mayor Joe Orlow’s words to them were more cautious than encouraging.

“I advised them not to give up anything that’s going to hurt them,” he said.

If the 14 union members dropped the plan, it would save the village about $81,000 a year. Even if the item is eliminated after the budget year begins, the village would still save money, although it would not affect the tax rate.

At budget meetings, residents urged the village board to negotiate, and that is now happening.

“We are in the process of working on that,” Orlow said.

Village attorney Michael Muller has analyzed the labor contracts with police and CSEA to see whether the village has to offer two prescription plans.

“You have to provide comparable or better. It doesn’t say two,” he said.

But he added that he’s advised the board to negotiate anyway.

“If we just arbitratily and unilaterally make that change because we’re sure, it just invites animosity and litigation,” he said.

He has discussed the issue with the police and CSEA union leaders. Now the union members are looking at the details of each prescription plan to see how they differ, he said.

“Then I think they bring it back to their benefits expert and make a decision,” he said.

CSEA President T.J. Chagnon, a member of the Department of Public Works, said his union was not going to jump into anything.

“We’re being very careful and very cautious, to protect ourselves,” he said.

He added that until Obamacare changed the minimum standards for all health insurance plans, the village’s plan did not include prescription drug coverage. Other officials had described that situation differently, saying that the previous plan offered some drug coverage but didn’t cover all drugs.