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Ranking police officers reject three-year deal with Youngstown
City-employee union is third this month to decline 3-year deal
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown Ranking Police Officers became the third city-employee union this month to reject a three-year contract proposal that called for salary increases for its members for the first time in more than five years.
The reason the contract was rejected 19 to 9 was concern over health care, primarily the removal of monthly insurance caps and the make-up of a health-care committee consisting of representatives from the city’s eight employee unions, said Capt. Kevin Mercer, YPRO chairman.
Concerns about health-care caps were largely behind overwhelming rejections of similar contracts earlier this month with the unions that represent the firefighters and the wastewater employees.
The monthly insurance caps are $100 for single coverage and $200 for family coverage.
The city’s health-insurance policy costs $666 a month for single coverage and $1,678 a month for family coverage. City employees pay 10 percent of that amount — $66.60 for single and $167.80 for family per month.
The proposed agreement with the 42-member ranking police officers union would have eliminated the caps on June 1, 2016.
“It’s the fear of the unknown,” Mercer said. “The union body was concerned the cost could exceed $200 a month. They’re aware the city is on the hook for 90 percent of the plan, but they’re still concerned.”
The union will meet in two weeks with city negotiators, Mercer said.
“Quite frankly, we want to remove the caps,” said Mayor John A. McNally.
The “bigger concern” regarding health care, Mercer said, is the city is creating a committee to review the health-care plan consisting of a member of each of the eight employee unions and eight members of management. The committee would determine what type of health plan or plans would be offered to city employees.
The problem is the unions representing police patrol members, the ranking officers and firefighters have different health-care needs than those in the other unions, and are outnumbered on the committee, Mercer said.
“Some of these labor groups have concerns about the health-care issue, but health care is handled uniformly across the board,” McNally said. “We want each union to participate with us. Management wants to reduce the costs of health care. We gain nothing by pushing the health-care rate up higher because the city pays 90 percent” of the premiums.
YPRO’s contract offered the same salary increases as four union contracts approved in recent months, and the two rejected proposals. Employees would receive a 1 percent raise in the first year, a 1.5 percent raise in the second year, and a 1 percent raise in the third year.
YPRO has been working without a contract since May 31, and last received a raise Dec. 31, 2008.
The annual salaries of YPRO members range from $59,414 for an entry-level detective sergeant to $82,711 for a captain after three years at that job.
If a deal cannot be made, the two sides would go to binding arbitration.