2005 Legislative Session - Update
2005 Maryland General Assembly Highlights for State Employees in Bargaining Unit GReport to Members of the Maryland Professional Employees Council The year began with the administration not negotiating with employee unions on important bargaining issues like employee Health Care Benefits. By the time they addressed these issues, there was no time to make legitimate counter-proposals to the $120 million increase they said employees had to cover to keep the same benefits. As a result, no agreement could be reached by the January 1, 2005 budget deadline.
The administration did finally include 2% COLA and steps or salary increments in the budget they sent to the General Assembly. This was the increase MPEC was negotiating for all along.
Unwilling to have the entire $120 million in medical costs inflation borne solely by employees and retirees, MPEC and other employee unions met with House and Senate leadership to address alternative strategies. Had the unions been unsuccessful, the $120 Million deficit could have turned into a 4 or 5% pay cut to all state employees.
All unions supported the General Assembly’s efforts to find money elsewhere in the budget for a majority of the funding gap so the result would not be devastating to the employees and their families. The General Assembly used a combination of Health Care Program Restructuring as well as Budget Restructuring to close the funding gap. Here are the highlights of the action taken and how it affects you.
Budget Restructuring:
- An employer match for participants in the deferred compensation program was reinstated. It will be $400 for this fiscal year
- The proposed 2% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) was reduced by ˝ % to 1.5%
- The often-exempt higher education employees were told to absorb $3.6 million in costs
- 501 positions were cut with the requirement that the funds be transferred to the employee and retiree health insurance program
- The General Assembly was able to retain funding for our salary steps
Health Care Program Restructuring:
Compared to what we were facing at the end of December, these salary enhancements are a definite victory. Losing the positions will take a toll on remaining programs and employees but will not be devastating to our take home pay or health care benefits. The General Assembly has committed to focus on Pension Reform in the Interim and the 2006 Session. The ten local unions under AFT-Maryland in conjunction with the AFL-CIO will be addressing Collective Bargaining Reform as a major issue next January as well.
- Our Prescription co-payments will increase from $3/$5/$10 to $5/$15/$25, starting July 1 and a $700 cap or maximum per family for co-payments has been established to protect those most in need.
- Now two co-payments will be required for every 90-day refill instead of one
- The POS health care plans, or Point Of Service plans co-premiums for employees will increase from 15% to 17%. The state will now pay for 83% of the cost instead of the 85% it has paid in the past. (Other plans are already 80% / 20% shared.)
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5/11/05