AFSCME sues state over change to retiree insurance
AFSCME Council 31 has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court challenging the Quinn administration’s requirement that state retirees pay part of the cost of dental coverage under the state health plan.
AFSCME argues that the state has historically bargained with the union over the terms of retiree health care and that the Department of Central Management Services (CMS) cannot unilaterally make changes to those terms without first negotiating with the union.
When the state announced its intention to charge retirees for dental coverage, AFSCME immediately objected and demanded to bargain over the proposed change. But CMS insisted that it had the right to implement the change without having to negotiate with the union. The department notified all state of Illinois retirees who were participating in the dental plan that in order to maintain coverage, they would have to pay $11 per month toward the cost of the premium. Over 4,000 retirees had to drop their coverage as a result of the new requirement for payment.
The union filed a grievance that went to arbitration, but the arbitrator did not rule on the merits of the grievance, instead asserting that Council 31 could not enforce the rights of retirees through the grievance procedure. The lawsuit that AFSCME has filed petitions the court to vacate the arbitrator’s award, arguing that the arbitration award does not draw its essence from the [collective bargaining] agreement, that it was rendered in excess of the authority of the arbitrator and that it is contrary to the provisions of the Illinois Labor Relations Act.
“Many retirees are concerned that this is just the beginning,” said Maria Britton, AFSCME Retirees Chapter 31 Coordinator. “If the state can get away with unilaterally imposing this charge, what’s to keep them from just piling on other charges that retirees will have to pay in order to maintain their health insurance coverage? AFSCME is filing this lawsuit to seek to prevent that from happening”
