Bargainers for the University and the libraries union sat back down Monday to an unproductive start of another week's contract negotiations, Karen McAninch '74, the union's business agent, told The Herald.
Last week's negotiations ended Wednesday with both sides coming to an agreement on the process the University could use to change workers' shifts. McAninch also said the University agreed last week to hire a union door guard at the Sciences Library during the day.
Negotiations did not continue past Wednesday last week because the federal mediator who has been working with both sides was not available, McAninch said. The mediator was present for Monday's negotiations.
Despite last week's progress, McAninch said Monday's discussion about contract language regarding health providers was "disappointing." Based on a meeting last week with Vice President for Human Resources Karen Davis, McAninch said she was expecting the University to agree to maintain the current comprehensiveness of its health provider network.
"We had been getting indications from her, as well as others on the bargaining committee, that we were going to get that resolved positively," McAninch said. "We thought we kind of had an understanding on this."
But she said the University proposed Monday to maintain the network of providers only if the union agreed to give up certain benefits.
Under the current contract, a buyout option exists for union members who purchase health insurance through spouses who work for other employers. The Brown employee can purchase coverage under the spouse's plan and receive a buyout from Brown in lieu of the health benefits he or she is entitled to from Brown. McAninch said the University is trying to put a "sunset clause" into the contract stipulating that if Brown eliminates that option for non-union employees — which McAninch thinks Brown might do soon — then union workers will lose the option as soon as their three-year contract runs out.
A similar situation exists when both spouses work for Brown: One employee can purchase insurance, and the other can take a buyout. McAninch said many non-union University employees no longer have this buyout option, and the University is trying to take the buyout out of this contract, too.
McAninch said the union is not prepared to give up these buyout options.
On the other hand, McAninch said the University has decreased its offer for worker contributions to health insurance premiums to 10.5 percent the first year of the contract, 12.5 percent the year after and 14.5 percent in the final year. The offer for wage increases, McAninch said, remained the same Monday at 1.25 percent per year.
McAninch said the union, for the first time on Monday, offered an increase in health contributions for the third year. The union's current offer stands at keeping contributions at 6 percent the first two years, followed by 6.25 percent the final year. The union's offer for wage increases stands at 4 percent per year.
"The significant thing, to us, is we were making an offer to move on contribution increases," McAninch said. "It wasn't taken as positively as we would have liked."
Negotiations resume today at 9 a.m. and will likely continue Thursday and Friday, McAninch said. They will take Wednesday off because the mediator will not be available.
The contract, originally set to expire Sept. 30, was extended until Oct. 14 and again until Friday, Oct. 29 at midnight, McAninch said. Quantitative issues, like wage increases and employee contributions to health insurance, still need to be sorted out.
"There's still a lot of posturing going on," McAninch said. "Right now, we're sort of toying with each other."
