Talks continue, but Warren layoffs rescinded

The agreements with the unions involve concessions in health-care costs.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — City officials are still in negotiations with three of the city’s six labor unions but have agreements with most workers and can tear up several layoff notices they sent out recently, said Doug Franklin, safety-service director.

Franklin was at a city council finance committee meeting when Police Chief Tim Bowers informed him Tuesday that the union representing most of the city’s police officers had accepted a one-year contract that included health-care concessions.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which represents most of the employees not in the police and fire departments, approved a one-year contract Monday that likewise contained health-care concessions, Franklin said.

The city is still in negotiations with the union representing firefighters; the gold unit of the police department, which represents ranking officers; and the Warren Management Association, which represents unionized management employees such as department heads, Franklin said.

The health-care concessions approved by AFSCME and the police officers are similar to those approved earlier by the police department dispatchers, who moved to a 90/10 plan, with workers paying 10 percent of their health-care costs.

Under previous agreements, workers paid nothing toward health care, but Auditor David Griffing said the city needed about $690,000 in health-care concessions to balance the 2010 budget.