A new two year agreement will provide modest gains and security while implementing a new three tier HMO premium insurance rate plan which will positively impact many of our members by reducing their healthcare contributions significantly.

Additionally, the current PPO health plan will be replaced with NYSHIP (Empire Plan) which will deliver significant savings to employees as well.

Moreover, the employees who had utilized the CANPHARM Plan (Rx program) and who enroll in the NYSHIP (Empire Plan) will be provided a reimbursement of $500.00 per year toward co-pays under the Empire Plan reducing their out of pocket prescription costs during the term of the agreement.

The team was also adamant about obtaining a job security guarantee in light of the current local government economic climate and was successful in securing no layoff, no privatization clauses for the first year of the two year agreement. Initially, the County Executive’s proposed 2012 budget called for a number of position and service cuts throughout the County as well as privatization of a number of services in the County owned and operated nursing home.  This security provision will stave off those cuts and almost all of the privatization efforts.

UPSEU President Kevin E. Boyle, Jr. stated, “The team was outstanding and did a great job. Certainly it couldn’t have been done without the assistance of UPSEU’s Kathy Wright who Boyle called instrumental  in bringing the agreement to closure.” Special thanks to the committee of Mark Burton, Evelyn Carter, Jamison Facteau, Glen Foster, Vickie Halse, Gary Hebert, Lee Hilderbrand, Suzanna, Manning, Susan McAvoy, Jeff Romano and Harry Theopheles for their outstanding efforts.