Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Discloses Details of Teachers Union Salary Negotiations

For the first time in memory, the Board of Education for Bridgewater-Raritan Schools (the Board) has disclosed details of its ongoing salary and benefit negotiations with the teachers’ union, the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (BREA).

Since February, both parties have been locked in secret negotiations, according to a release on the Board’s web site, the highlights of which follow:

The BREA seeks a three-year contract under which the Board has offered salary increases of 3.25%, 2.9%, and 2.9%, for years one, two and three respectively, for a cumulative three-year increase of 9.05%.

However, since multi-year salary increases are compounded over time, the Board’s actual three-year salary proposal to the BREA is 9.33%.

 

Comparison of BREA salary data to those of the State of New Jersey and Somerset County:

The State of New Jersey’s salary increases for the same three-year period are lower than those offered to the BREA:  2.69%, 2.64%, and 2.64%.

Similarly, the Somerset County salary increases for the same years of this agreement are also lower:  2.35%, 2.48%, and 2.58%. 

 

For the BREA, these data represent a three-year average annual salary increase of 3.02% for its members, one which is higher than the average annual increases of 2.66% and 2.47% for the State of New Jersey and Somerset County, respectively.

But this is just the beginning of the story: 

Remember the political battle over Obamacare?  Remember the acrimonious debate about “Cadillac” health plans?

 

Namely, that should an employer offer such a plan to its employees, that it, not the insured will be penalized.

Well, the chickens have come home to roost. 

 

In the early days of the hectic White House/Congressional debates there was much contention over the nature and rules governing what would eventually become known as the Affordable Care Act.

 

One of those fights engendered unsuccessful public entity lobbying aimed at gaining an exemption from the penalty that was to be imposed upon top-tier (e.g., “Cadillac”) health plans.

Under Obamacare regulations, employers may offer these so-called “Cadillac” health plans but, if they do, they will be stiffly penalized.

Big money is involved:

The Board indicates that 94% of BREA members are currently “enrolled in Aetna 10, the most expensive insurance plan,” e.g., a ‘Cadillac’ plan and, “If that remains,” the Board goes on to say, “we cannot afford to provide salary increases in year 3 [of the proposed contract].  It is simply too expensive.”

The Board’s release emphasizes that the Obamacare penalty, “beginning in 2018, the third year of this contract, the District will incur a tax penalty in excess of $1 million for these “Cadillac” health insurance plans currently being offered to District employees.”

“Allowing employees to continue enrolling in high-end health insurance plans is not financially sustainable,” and we “must consider the impact on the overall budget that these insurance costs are causing.”

Yesterday, the BREA issued a press release that, despite this seemingly intractable problem, “we are very close.” 

 

To help resolve this issue the Board “would like to offer all BREA members an information session with the insurance broker to answer any questions you may have, and, we hope that the BREA will meet with us to resolve.”

The Board concludes its missive with “We leave that to you.”

For an extensive discussion of Board alternatives concerning this issue, please review the Board’s release in full.  It was read to a packed house last night at the Wade Administration Building by Board President Ann Marie Mead.

Thanks for checking in and, as always, remember to take care of yourselves.