Union says YSU stiffed employees;YSU says union lacks understanding

By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The chief negotiator for Youngstown State University’s faculty union says the university “stiffed” employees by putting money that was supposed to be used for either reduced employee health care contributions or other plan enhancements into the general fund.

The university’s interim vice president for finance and administration, however, says the union’s contentions reflect “a serious lack of understanding or a misinterpretation of how the university’s self-insured health care plan functions.”

Negotiating teams for both the union and administration have been meeting for months to try to reach a new contract. The previous pact expired Aug. 17. On Aug. 15, the parties issued a joint news release, announcing that a tentative agreement had been reached.

That tentative agreement, however, didn’t address health care, and that issue remains unresolved.

Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, chief negotiator for YSU’s faculty union, sent a negotiations update to faculty Thursday that was obtained by The Vindicator.

In it, he says the union filed a grievance against the administration, alleging the contract was violated.

The contract “makes clear that savings resulting from our health care contributions are contractually designated to the reserve account (which is fully funded at around $5 million as of FY13) or to health care plan enhancement or premium reduction,” the update says.

It also contends that employees contributed more than the required 15 percent health care contribution. The contributions were 18 percent in fiscal year 2013 and 19 percent in FY14, it says.

The union’s negotiating team contends there’s a difference between actual contributions and actual payments. After the reserve was met, the remaining roughly $2 million that should have been used to either enhance the plan or reduce contributions was instead placed into the university general fund.

“They’re over-collecting and putting it into the general fund and using it to buy more flat-screen TVs for the basketball team or whatever,” Palmer-Fernandez said.

In his memo, he wrote, “On the streets this might be called ‘stiffing your employees.’”

Neal McNally, interim vice president for finance and administration, sent a memo Friday to YSU’s Executive & Administrative Staff Council in response to the faculty union’s memo. McNally’s memo was also obtained by The Vindicator. It says the university is in full compliance with the collective bargaining agreements.

“The union’s assertion that employee contributions should be based on actual claims costs, instead of premium rates, is misguided and counter to best practices for how employer-based health care plans work,” McNally wrote. “Basing contributions on actual claims would cause huge fluctuations in employee paychecks from month to month and would remove the stability and predictability YSU employees presently enjoy in their take-home pay.”

Palmer-Fernandez’s memo also lists actual employee contributions at $17.5 million and actual payments at $11.8 million — amounts it says are reported from the university’s health care consultants.

McNally’s memo called the $17.5 million figure “outrageous.”

“In fact, employees paid about $2.5 million last year in health care contributions, which amounts to 15 percent of the annual health care premium as called for in the collective bargaining agreements,” it says.

McNally’s memo also says the health care reserve is fully funded and says the Health Care Advisory Committee has recommended enhanced employee vision and dental benefits to which the administration has agreed. It will result in a reduction of employee health care contributions beginning Jan. 1, his memo says.

According to McNally’s memo, the university has proposed revising the way employee premiums are calculated, to a uniform 15 percent of the premium instead of a range of 11 percent to 21 percent.

“This proposal would reduce health care contributions for most faculty members,” the memo says.

The union’s proposal calls for reducing the contribution to 12 percent, “which would be a significant deviation from industry standards where contributions range from 15 percent to 25 percent,” McNally’s memo says.

The faculty union also proposed a $6,000 annual stipend to employees who opt out of YSU’s health care plan, according to McNally’s memo.

“These proposals are fiscally irresponsible and combined would cost YSU no less than $1 million over the next two years,” it says.

The negotiating teams met earlier this week with additional sessions expected. The union has set a strike authorization vote for Wednesday.

“We’ve been taking these deep concessions and it’s not enough for the board of trustees,” Palmer-Fernandez said.

He said there’s strong support among faculty for a no-confidence vote at the time of the strike vote for both President Jim Tressel and the trustees.