Guild negotiators continue to bargain over health care costs for 2013, and those talks will now continue into January. Employees will still have health coverage with Blue Shield.

The Company responded to the Guild’s proposal of Wednesday by moving only slightly. The Company wants members to pay 23 percent of the costs of reimbursing its share of the deductible. The Company originally estimated that number at $600,000, and on Thursday dropped it to $585,000 while admitting that number is still inflated.

The Times Union also proposed language that said if employees are overcharged, it would reimburse the excess charges but not until September 1, 2014.

Guild negotiators said that amounted to a 21-month, interest-free loan from employees to the Company. The Guild also said the reimbursement raised a host of questions including whether the company would repay people who had left the newspaper, people hired midyear, and whether taxes would be withheld from any payment.

The Company attorney responded to the questions by threatening to withdraw that part of the proposal — allowing the Company to overcharge members and pocket the money. If the estimate proved too low, the Company would want members to pay more.

“Our proposal was much simpler,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “Members would pay a share of actual costs. That way, there is no need to worry about what to do with any overpayment or shortfall.”

The most recent year for which all claims are in is 2011. The Company had said $515,000 was reimbursed that year.  On Thursday, the Company said it missed a bill and the number was $528,134. The Guild asked for documents supporting the new number.

The union withdrew its proposals to cap increases in future years. Both parties kept the proposal of phasing in the added costs at 50 percent for 2013, but the Guild dropped its proposal to phase the rest in at a rate of 10 percent a year in subsequent years. The Guild kept its proposal to have the company share in the first $750 of medical costs, and we lowered a proposed signing bonus for agreeing to the changes to $750.

During the discussion, the Company said it gives exempt employees who have a Flexible Savings Account a $250 annual contribution. Guild members are being asked to accept sharing the health care costs the same way managers do.

The parties agreed to meet again Thursday, January 3. The Guild was represented by O’Brien, Treasurer Marianne Mahr, Secretary Mark Hempstead, Chief Steward Brian Nearing and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil.

The Newspaper Guild of Albany presented a new proposal today to the Company on health care for 2013.

The impact would be that members would pay $8.09 more a week, a 22 percent increase. Members would pay $45.05 a week rather than the current $37.76.

That is only slightly lower than the $9.24 increase the Company had proposed. But under the Guild proposal, members would also start getting reimbursed 77 percent of their costs for the first $750 of medical care.

(UPDATE: After we presented our proposal, the Company asked for time to review it. We will meet again at 11 a.m. Thursday.)

The union proposed its members would pay 23 percent of the Company reimbursement.

The Company estimated the annual reimbursement at $600,000, but data the Guild sought shows that number is much higher than the Company has ever paid out. In 2010, the company paid $452,693.85 in reimbursements. A year later, that amount rose to $515,060.56.

As of December 10 this year, the company has reimbursed $463,701.99.

Rather than charge members for a hypothetical — and inflated — estimate, the Guild proposed using the actual numbers. We proposed using the 2011 year figure of $515,060.56.

To make that calculation accurate, the union proposed determining the cost per person by using the actual number of workers under the plan that year, which was 320. This way, Guild members aren’t being asked to pay a portion of benefits for people who have left the newspaper or who gave up getting their insurance through the Times Union.

Both the company’s and employee’s shares would be phased in under the union proposal at 50 percent the first year and 10 percent more a year each year after. Beginning in 2014, the union proposal calls for an annual cap of 8 percent in increases.

The union also continued to propose a $1,000 signing bonus in return for the definition of total costs being changed.

The Guild also continued to insist the Company pay for its chosen plan administrator. The union asked for documents breaking down the costs of the firm and showing what it does, information the company refused to provide.

The Guild and the Company will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to continue their discussions on health care costs for 2013.

The meeting will be held in the upstairs conference room. Members can attend on their own time.

Guild President Tim O’Brien and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil are in the union office today, reviewing the company’s answers to an information request and building the proposal the union will present tomorrow.

The Guild received late Friday most of the information it sought from the company on health care, and discussions will resume this week with a new proposal from the union.

Our International Representative Jim Schaufenbil will join us.

“The Guild must always perform due diligence for our members and examine the numbers for ourselves to see if they are accurate,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “With this data in hand, we can now prepare our next proposal.”

The Guild expects to finalize details on the day and time for the next meeting on Monday. It will be this week. Even before getting the data, the union had asked for a meeting Tuesday.

The company could not meet that day. Company officials asked to meet Monday but that would have given the Guild no time to study the numbers received Friday night and to prepare a proposal.

We will keep our members posted as soon as we have details. We will share our proposal with you when we’ve finished our calculations and finalize it.

Members vote on any proposed change that is not comparable. What the company has proposed so far certainly qualifies.

In the past, the company has respected the membership’s decisions, including this year when our members rejected a proposed switch on dental care.

The company replied to the Guild’s health care proposal late Wednesday, essentially offering the same deal mechanical unions accepted.

For Guild members, that would mean an increase in costs from $37.76 a week to $47, an increase of $9.24 a week or 24 percent. This figures represents both the increase in the insurance premium and a portion of the reimbursement the company has previously always paid. It also would enable the company next year to double that amount.

The company offered no language on what would happen if its estimated reimbursement figure turned out to be too high. The Guild proposed that the overcharge be paid back to members by January 15 of the next year.

The company also offered no language on what would happen if its estimate of the reimbursement proved too low. Rather than have that money added to the employees’ bill for 2014, the Guild had proposed the company pay the difference.

The union also had proposed a signing bonus of $1,000 in recognition that the company would be altering the definition of total costs permanently, which would have an impact every year. (It also would be an acknowledgement that Guild members, unlike other unions that have agreed to this proposal, have not had raises in five years due to the company’s insistence on stripping workers of bargaining rights over layoffs and outsourcing.)

The company agreed to a Guild proposal that future health care discussions begin by October 1 so we avoid the kind of last-minute rush we face this year.

The union also reminded the company Thursday that it has failed to respond to an information request the Guild filed last week. Among the data we requested is a breakdown of how much of the deductible has been paid in recent years to non-Guild members and what Rowlands and Barranca does for the money the company wants us to pay.

That information is necessary for the Guild to continue to review the company’s proposal and formulate responses.

Members should not worry about having health care come January 1. The company is required to provide comparable insurance next year. The provider will remain unchanged. The parties’ discussions are centering around the costs and how they should be properly divided.

We will continue to post updates as we have them.