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New Haven Board of Education unanimously approves four-year contract with Local 217, citing insurance cost savings
Summary
The New Haven Board of Education on Feb. 28 approved a four-year collective bargaining agreement with Local 217 covering cafeteria workers that shifts members to a lower-cost insurance plan and, according to board counsel, reduces board and city costs by more than $400,000 compared with staying on the older plan.
The New Haven Board of Education unanimously approved a four-year collective bargaining agreement with Local 217 on Feb. 28 after a brief special meeting in which board counsel summarized terms and projected cost savings.
Attorney Mooney, who presented the agreement, said the contract responds to changes in available health plans and moves unit members from what he described as a now-eliminated “platinum plus” plan to a lower-cost “platinum” plan. "If we had just stayed the course and made no changes, the cost to the city and board of ed would have been over 1 and a half million dollars," Mooney said, adding that "under these changes, over $400,000 in reduced costs are realized." He also told the board the union has ratified the agreement.
The panel approved a four-year term running from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2028, and adopted related changes described in the red-line contract submitted to members. Other provisions Mooney highlighted include starting the work day/work year two days before school begins, additional training for lead cooks, clarified employer authority to create or eliminate positions (with protections to avoid negative impacts on current unit members), and changes to uniform and holiday language.
Mooney identified multiple benefit and personnel provisions negotiated by both sides: an accountability provision and payout structure intended to address absenteeism; seven paid sick days per year with a payout option; an increase in the semester perfect-attendance bonus from $100 to $150; continued pay for employees summoned for jury duty; and a newly added income-protection clause for mandated quarantine. The contract removes a redundant substance-abuse policy because the board already maintains formal policy on the subject. On discipline and grievance procedures, Mooney said the parties agreed to arbitration through the American Arbitration Association so the parties can mutually select arbitrators.
Board member Dr. Joiner moved to approve the agreement using the motion language recited by Mooney; another board member seconded. After brief remarks praising the negotiation as constructive, the board conducted a roll-call vote and recorded unanimous "yes" responses from board members present; the motion passed.
Mooney described the negotiations as "a win-win" and stated, "I endorse this settlement without reservation." Dr. Joiner said the outcome was "a great example of principal negotiation" and called it a template for future talks.
What happens next: the board approved both the collective bargaining agreement and the related memorandum of agreement concerning the insurance trust fund; no further public actions on this item were recorded at the meeting. The meeting then adjourned.
(Reporting based solely on the Feb. 28, 2025 recorded special meeting of the New Haven Board of Education.)
