Sponsor: Human Resources
Title
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Memoranda of Agreement for insurance premium contributions for Insurance Year 2021 with regard to the following collective bargaining agreements: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 8 for Assistant County Attorney, Teamsters Local 320, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 49 and Local 70, Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) Locals 184, 349, 353 and 423
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Recommendation
recommendation
1. Approve the Memoranda of Agreement for insurance premium contributions for insurance year 2021.
2. Authorize the Chair and County Manager to execute the Memoranda of Agreement as agreed to by the individual bargaining units that appears in form and substance with the attached representative document.
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Background and Rationale
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Collective bargaining with nine AFSCME bargaining units has resulted in agreement on the employer and employee contributions for insurance premiums for 2021. Historically the County has set premiums for the remainder of the workforce pursuant to the AFSCME settlement. However, the insurance premium increases have been born solely by employees pending the full resolution of the remaining unsettled bargaining agreements. This resulted in the County retroactively recalculating those contributions. The County would then manually adjust premiums and provide employees with a refund for the difference in premium.
By entering into Memoranda of Agreements regarding the insurance premiums prior to negotiation of the remaining collective bargaining agreements the County minimizes the administrative burden of retroactive premium changes and the impact to employees of the temporary burden of paying the entire insurance premium increase.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Once approved, this action will enable the County to provide a consistent premium structure and minimize the economic and potential health impact to all employees, particularly lower wage employees who include a greater percentage of the racially and ethnically diverse workforce of the county.
Community Participation Level and Impact
This action is strictly operational and internal facing. Information on this action is available on Ramsey County’s website at <https://www.ramseycounty.us/your-government/leadership/board-commissioners/board-meetings-information>.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Sufficient funds are available in the 2021 budget.
County Manager Comments
The current agreements expire on December 31, 2020 and County Board approval of new agreements is required. While this action resolves the issue of insurance contributions for the 2021 labor agreements, the County and its unions will initiate or continue negotiations and full tentative agreements will come before the Board for approval at later dates. Any bargaining unit that does not ratify this Memoranda of Agreement will be subject to the interim insurance rates as published during the benefits enrollment period.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. 2021 MOA for Insurance Premiums