I am a small business owner and a Hicksville resident of over 20 years. I’m well acquainted with the 10% to 15% (and higher) yearly increases in health insurance premiums to cover my employees’ health benefits. The library trustees state in their letter (issue 11/12/14) that ‘the wage increase for even the lowest-paid employees with health coverage will more than cover the health insurance contribution in every year of the contract.’ If the trustees can substantiate this claim, this bargaining impasse can be put down to miscommunication. The library trustees may have locked in future premium rates for the duration of a new contract and it would be to everyone’s advantage to disclose that information.
The letter also states that ‘the union is requesting that wage increases be retroactive for over two years, but with no mention of the health insurance costs during that period.’ (A reading of the Board minutes indicates the time period is closer to three and a half years.) Again, substantiation of the health insurance cost increases vs any potential ‘retroactive payments’ would go a long way in facilitating communication. The public’s side of the library seems to not have deteriorated as far as the patrons’ viewpoints. An ‘honorarium ‘ given for good service rendered to patrons during the past three plus years of contract negotiations may well be appreciated. Human nature being what it is, people enjoy the dignity of being appreciated.
Terence Lein
