City, union leaders reach deal

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 18, 2004 | by Kent, Joan

City and union negotiators have come to an agreement that could end 2 1/2 years of negotiations, increase employees' payments for health coverage, and give lump sum back pay to the approximately 390 affected employees.

"There are just a few small things that need to be worked out," said Alan Iverson, president of the La Crosse Professional Police NonSupervisory Associations, which represent 65 police officers and investigators. "It will be nice to be caught up. We've been 2 1/2 years without a contract."

The last agreement was reached Wednesday night, said Mayor John Medinger. Another was forged in a meeting that lasted until about 4 a.m. one day last week, he said.

"Everyone on both sides was very interested in getting the job done and not going to arbitration," he said. "We are all pleased with that. A lot of effort went into it. I think it's good. I hate to go to arbitration. I like to sit down and hammer things out rather than have an outsider come in and do it for us."

Five unions - police officers, police supervisors, fire, airport and service employees - are involved in the agreements. The transit employees' union is the only one that has already settled.

The memberships of some of the unions have not yet ratified the deals. The proposed agreements also will go to the La Crosse Common Council at a special meeting Wednesday.

The main sticking point has been health benefits, including the city's desire to go to a preferred provider. City employees, other than those in the transit union, now can go to any provider. The compromise is a dual preferred provider contract, under which employees will be able to go to either of the two local medical institutions.

"We allowed our health care consultant to work with the city and save the city a bunch of money," Iverson said. "We made changes increased premiums, increased drug copay, increased deductibles. The unions made some pretty good concessions to the city. With rising health care costs, we are trying to work with the city, It is difficult because they are rising at such a rapid rate."

He said he thinks the compromise is fair, and Dave Schatzley, president, Police Supervisors Association, said he is happy with the results.

The five unions formed a coalition to address the health care issues "and worked together from the get-go," he said.

Schatzley said his union has not ratified the agreements yet, but that it probably is going to.

"This feels normal," he said of ratifying the deal after lengthy negotiations. "The one before this was four years, so it's not unusual."

"We have always been willing to make changes in the health contract," he added. "We have always been willing to take action to help the city save money."

The contracts were to be through the end of this year but were extended to go through 2005, Medinger said. That means negotiations will not have to begin again immediately, he said.

Money has been set aside in the budgets for the years without new contracts to pay for the salary increases, he said. He said the cost is about what the city expected, and that he hopes the city can get the checks for the lump sums out by the end of the summer.