Trending
SALEM -- Salem has approved new insurance agreements with two unions representing the city's employees.
Following a roughly 30-minute executive session for the discussion of pending contractual negotiations, city council unanimously approved two resolutions authorizing Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey to enter memorandums of understanding with two unions representing city employees -- one with Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council and American Federation of State, County and another with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSME) Local 2701, which covers the service department, traffic and safety, some city hall personnel and some parks department employees.
Both agreements concern the employee's share of healthcare costs for their spouses for employees hired before 2017 and specify that employees hired before 2017 "will not be subject to the 50% additional premium charge that members hired after July 1, 2017 are required to pay for spouses who are employed and have health insurance coverage offered by their employer but choose coverage under the City's insurance plan."
Dickey explained that during the negotiations for the new contracts which council approved in July, both unions had negotiated to remove the two-tiered system for insurance premiums based on seniority. She said that after those contracts were approved the union members had requested to renegotiate and re-implement the system, reducing the cost for longer tenured employees.
Council will meet next at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20.