Report implies CSEA agreed to higher health costs in return for higher pay

It is more than likely that the Nassau legislature tomorrow, Monday, will approve a new 13-year labor agreement between the Civil Service Employees Association, the county's largest union, and the administration of Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

After all, union members voted overwhelmingly last month to ratify the new deal -- 79 percent in favor; 21 percent against -- after working without a contract since the end of 2017.

Still the legislature's office of budget review was obligated report on the deal before the vote. On Friday, OLBR released a very complicated 14 - page financial analysis.

The report was lost in the the hubbub over the release of Blakeman's proposed 2024 budget Friday.

The main takeaway is that union members agreed to pay higher health insurance co-pays and deductibles under a new New York State Health Insurance Plan, called  Excelsior, in return for salary increases averaging nearly 25 percent over the 13 years, a signing bonus of $3,000, retro-pay  and annual stipend of $2,000 for workers who have been on the job for 15 years or longer. 

The switchto Excelsior also applies to CSEA retirees. The OLBR report says, "It has
been explained, as per New York State Department of Civil Service, that the County cannot change
the coverage for only a portion of the workforce, since NYSHIP requires that the coverage must
be replaced for the entire Employer’s unit (active and retirees)."

The deal also increases the vesting time for lifetime health benefits: currently CSEA workers with ten years on the job are eligible for county-paid health insurance after retirement. The new deal requires 20 years on the payroll before lifetime vesting kicks in. Both are benefits not often found in the private sector. The change is projected to save the administration $2.1 million over the contract term.

The cost of the new deal, which runs from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2030, is estimated between $759.8 million and $765.7 million.

But union concessions will save at least $210 million and OLBR calculates as much as $573 million before an administration consultant adjusted the estimated savings.

OLBR says 75 percent of the savings are the result of changing from the New York State Empire health insurance plan to the new Excelsior plan. While Excelsior has the same approved network providers as Empire, OLBR said, it has higher co-pays and deductibles for CSEA members with lower premium costs for the administration.

The union leaders point out that CSEA members still do not have to contribute to the premiums -- a concession required of many other county employees.

And the increase in salaries could be considerable for some employees.

OLBR reports, "The difference in current starting salary compared to the new salary chart on August 1, 2026, ranges from 27.3% to 53.5%; with wage values growing by $11,011 for a starting salary
in the lowest grade to roughly $54,035 for the Top Step in the highest grade. 

"...To provide an example of the magnitude of the chart change, the current salary of a Grade 10 step
5 employee on the current Schedule “D” would increase by $14,758, or 29.2% by January 1, 2024
(refer to Appendix A). The same employee’s salary would grow by 55.4% at the same step by
August 1, 2026 (refer to Appendix B). Hiring and retention will improve greatly under the new
charts which had been an impediment with the current chart. "

However, unless you are a csea employee, the salary charts seem nearly incomprehensible: