More Good News for Teamsters at King County!

The Protected Fund Reserve is officially at $34.2 million as of the end of 2014, up over $9 million from the original seed of $25 million.

The experts are predicting that the Protected Fund Reserve will be just shy of $38 million at the end of this year, and over $39 million by December 31, 2016 which is the last day of the current JLMIC agreement. We will be negotiating a new agreement for 2017 and beyond next year as part of a total compensation bargaining process.

Through 2016, this means: no premium share, and no changes to the important plan provisions such as co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

At King County, members of Teamsters 117 have always prioritized the smooth functioning of the County.  However, in recent years this has become increasingly difficult. 

Due to budget cuts and the County’s mandate not to limit the hire of new full-time employees following the recession, the use of temporary employees has become a more common practice.  King County has gone beyond the scope of the initial term-limited temporary (TLT) employee program, both in numbers of TLT employees and the means in which they are used.  

Over the last several months, we have been testing a new method to increase membership involvement at King County through our Member Advisory Committees.

So far, we have formed working advisory committees, consisting of several Local 117 members, in the KC Department of Information Technology as well as the Solid Waste Division

WOW! In my last report, I had predicted that the Protected Fund Reserve would end 2014 with close to $30 million (up from its original $25 million in funding in 2012).  While that would have been an excellent outcome, I am pleased to report that the results are even better than expected.

• In 2014, the Protected Fund Reserve increased by $9 million to over $35 million. This represents a 34% increase in our safety net to protect against rising health and welfare costs.

• The new projections show that the Protected Fund Reserve will increase another $3 million this year, and at the end of 2016, the reserve is projected to close in on $40 million.   Therefore, the experts at Mercer are now projecting that the Fund for the JLMIC unions will be stable through 2018!

Let's welcome Suzette Dickerson, a new Teamsters Local 117 Business Representative for public sector members working at King County!

Before joining the staff of Teamsters 117, Suzette worked as an Intake Officer at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for 14 years.

For 10 of those years, Suzette served the Union as a Shop Steward. She was a member of the bargaining committee during three cycles of contract negotiations; she handled grievances; and she participated in Labor Management meetings to resolve issues in the workplace.

I am excited to give this report to King County employees for two reasons.

First, your JLMIC health benefits are great benefits.  The Gold plan is an 85% coverage plan, but the deductibles and out of pocket maximums (which are far more important in terms of their impact on your total out-of-pocket cost) are very low.  And, there’s no premium share.

Second, you are unlikely to see premium share, at least for the foreseeable future.

The following email was sent yesterday on behalf of Patti Cole-Tindall, King County Director of Labor Relations, to the King County Coalition of Unions in regards to the lump sum payment for coalition members:

Pam Bell in the Payroll Department at King County has distributed the following email regarding King County members who are eligible for the $500 lump sum payment under the recently ratified COLA agreement:

The new issue of the Local 117 newsletter for Teamsters at King County is now available!  

This issue has an update on the recent COLA agreement vote as well as a number of other articles that discuss the latest happenings pertaining to Local 117 members who work at the County  

Check it out!

When you work at an agency the size of King County, you may feel like you are in a perpetual state of flux.  There is constant reorganization, reclassification, hiring, layoffs, and other changes that affect you and your co-workers. 

As a Union member, you have a right to have your voice heard when changes in working conditions occur in the workplace.