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County employee reports surprise Kaiser premium increase tied to pending contract ratification; county says mediation underway
Summary
A county employee told commissioners a Kaiser premium for union members jumped from $88.46 to $303.20 with little notice if a contract was not ratified; county counsel and commissioners said union and county are working toward resolution and mediation is scheduled.
A Clackamas County employee testified at the Jan. 9 meeting that an unexpected increase in Kaiser health-insurance premiums for some represented employees left workers short on pay after the holidays and spurred a recent decision to join the union.
Natalie Lemmer, a county employee from Happy Valley, said that on Dec. 30 she and other EA-represented employees received notice that Kaiser premiums would rise from $88.46 to $303.20 unless a union contract was ratified by the next day. Lemmer said the short notice came during a holiday week and left employees struggling to meet household expenses; she asked the board to “prioritize this and make this right.”
County counsel told commissioners that both the union and the county are working to resolve the open contract and that mediation is scheduled for the coming week. County Administrator Gary Schmidt later reported that several labor agreements had been signed during the board’s recess and posted those signed contracts to the county website for transparency.
Commissioners expressed sympathy for affected employees and said staff and labor representatives were addressing the issue; no board vote or emergency appropriation was taken during the Jan. 9 meeting.
