Retirees seek change for insurance policy

A new contract resulted
in higher costs for retirees’
life insurance.

YOUNGSTOWN — A group of city school retirees wants the school district to reconsider a change in their life insurance coverage that raised their out-of-pocket costs by nearly sevenfold.

George M. Phillips, retired president of Local 1184 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told the school board Tuesday that the 218 AFSCME retirees weren’t represented at the bargaining table when the school board and current federation leadership negotiated a new contract that changed life insurance costs.

To save $30,000, the district has separated the retirees from the active employees group in providing life insurance coverage, he said.

Phillips said he helped negotiate the $10,000 in life insurance coverage for retirees many years ago, and the district agreed at the time to allow the two groups to be treated as one to provide a reasonable cost for retirees.

Now, putting the retirees into their own category has resulted in their cost rising from $32.20 per year to $211.20 per year for that same $10,000 in coverage, Phillips said.

That’s “a great hardship” for many of them, he said, pointing out that some have been retired for 20 years and have meager pensions.

Compromise requested

He asked the board for some compromise or perhaps a rebidding of the entire $1.2 million life insurance package to help reduce the out-of-pocket cost.

Phillips, backed by about 40 other AFSCME retirees in the room, said he wasn’t making any threats but told the board that the retirees group intends to get more active politically.

Unless they get some satisfaction on the life insurance issue, they will begin looking at other school spending and how the district is handling its money, he said.

It seems like the retirees are the forgotten part of society, he said, asking that the board at least agree to meet with the group.

The board offered no immediate comment, but the Rev. Michael Write, president, said later the board is always interested in sitting down and talking about anything that will benefit the district, its students, staff and retirees.

The retirees, however, must realize that co-payments are a common thing today, he said, wondering aloud why the retirees weren’t informed of the impending change by current AFSCME negotiators.

Phillips said his group learned of the change from an article in The Vindicator outlining the terms of a new district contract with the federation.