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.

The Guild made a health care proposal Wednesday, and the company said it would respond Thursday.

The union began the meeting by producing the company’s own document from 2010 about the proposed 2011 health care coverage.

The document stated that the contribution percentage was based on the “total cost of the health care plan.” Nowhere does it include paying part of the company reimbursement or the plan administrator.

The company document also lists the components of the plan. One listed is the employee deductible of $750; another is the company contribution to the deductible.

“The company’s own document shows that total cost has not included the expenses they are now trying to add,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said, “and it shows the company share of the deductible is a part of the plan and cannot be dropped as the company threatened last week.”

Despite all that, the union made an offer even as O’Brien noted it was not required to do so. The Guild could just insist the members pay the same year over year increase as the company, which would amount to $4.53 a week.

Under the union proposal, the company would pay 77 percent of the first $750 of medical bills and Guild members would pay 23 percent of the company reimbursement. The net result would be about even or a slight increase of less than $1 or $2 a week.

The Guild proposed that share be phased in at 50 percent the first year and 10 percent a year for each year following.

If the parties’ estimate of the reimbursement proved too high, Guild members would be given a check for the overpayment by January 15. Under the Guild proposal, the company would cover any underestimate rather than billing members the next year.

Under the union proposal, Guild members would not pay the company’s chosen administrator and the annual discussion would have to begin by October 1. The union also would get monthly reports to be able to track the reimbursements.

In return for allowing the company to redefine what total cost includes, the Guild proposed a $1,000 signing bonus upon ratification of the plan.

The meeting was well-attended by members, and the union is grateful employees took the time to observe. The Guild invites people to share their stories with us in what the health care costs increasing would mean to them.

• Date: Friday, December 7, 2012.
• Time: 12:30–1:30 pm
• Location: Colonie Public Library

The meeting will be an open forum to discuss our response to the Company’s attempt to impose significant additional Health Care costs on Guild members. If any votes are taken, members will need to be in good standing to participate.