Presently there are 3 city unions that are requesting that an independent audit of the Medical Insurance Trust Fund by carried out, saying that the city has failed to pay its fair share into the account and at the same time they are overcharging retirees and employees. They say that this has been going on since 2005.
According to the unions, grievances have been submitted to the state Division of Labor Relations.
North Adams Mayor John Barrett III referred to the claims that are being made by the North Adams Firefighters Association, North Adams Teachers Association, and North Adams Police Association and, both ludicrous and ridiculous. He cites the fact that as required by state law, the city undergoes an independent audit each fiscal year.
The city in accordance with present negotiated contracts, the city pays 70 percent of the city's health insurance costs into the insurance trust fund. Health Insurance is being provided to city employees outside of any group plan. The remaining 30 % is paid by city employees through weekly health insurance premiums.
According to claims being made by the city’s unions, the city has failed to pay its complete share of premium costs and has therefore since 2005, overcharged city employees by $600,000.
According to Mayor Barrett this is untrue.
He says that the city’s employees understand how the system is set up. He says that the process has been reviewed during the last year with them when the group wanted to enter the state Group Insurance Commission [GIC].
He believes that they don't want to understand. He says that as part of their contract, the North Adams Teachers Association agreed to meet with a
Federal mediator who could explain to them how a self-insured plan works.
He says they stopped going to the meetings where this was being explained adding that all of the city’s bills are paid, and that in the event that the trust comes up short, it's the city that makes up the difference, not the employees.
He charged all three of the unions with damaging their rank and file membership through their wasting of thousands of dollars on independent studies instead of settling their contract negotiations with the city.
It was only three years ago, he says that this same teacher’s union advised its members not to go into negotiations over an extended school day, and that this was the only education line item that was fully funded this year. He notes that these same police and fire unions turned down a 3 percent increase in their base rates for last year and for this current fiscal year. and that now they say that the city is absconding with their money.
The recently elected president of the North Adams Teachers Union, Susan Chilson, responds that the groups have the best interest of their membership at heart and are just trying to make sure that federal labor laws are not being violated.