LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Police and firefighters on Monday blasted a Republican-sponsored plan to cut their retiree health care benefits, calling it an “unconscionable” attack on people who risk their lives protecting the public.
The municipal retirement bills , which were introduced last week and were the subject of an initial committee hearing, will be debated again Tuesday. Labor unions and other groups representing police and firefighters are fearful the GOP-controlled Legislature will enact the legislation in the postelection “lame-duck” period, which is scheduled to end Dec. 15.
They plan to rally Tuesday at the Capitol, where their leaders held a news conference Monday to criticize the 13-bill package and note that it could make it harder to recruit first responders after past concessions at the bargaining table.
Robert Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Police Chiefs, said it is “unconscionable” that surviving family members of police and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty could be forced to pay more for their health care.
Ken Grabowski, legislative director for the Police Officers Association of Michigan, said considering the bills in such a short window of time “is an insult to every police officer and retired police officer in this state.”
“Anybody who would support this in lame duck is an enemy of public safety, and will never forget what they’ve done here,” he said.
The plan has major components aimed at addressing municipalities’ $11 billion in unfunded health care liabilities.
Starting in May, newly hired municipal workers would no longer qualify for health insurance in retirement. Local governments could instead contribute a maximum 2 percent of their base pay to a tax-deferred account such as a health savings plan.
In counties, cities, townships and villages that are not funding at least 80 percent of their liabilities, current and future retirees would have to pay at least 20 percent of the cost of their benefit unless it is determined to be a “vested” benefit. Many public workers have had to pay 20 percent since 2012.
Retiree health benefits would be a prohibited subject of collective bargaining. Retirees who go work somewhere else could not get municipal health insurance if coverage is available for their new employer.
Gideon D’Assandro, spokesman for House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant, said: “If these local communities go bankrupt, our police and firefighter retirees could lose everything. We need to find a solution now to prevent disaster and protect their benefits and the critical services on which we all rely. Something has to get done, and this is the best and only plan on the table.”
When Gov. Rick Snyder and GOP lawmakers enacted a right-to-work law in 2012, they exempted police and firefighters. The measure prohibits forcing most public and all private workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
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Online:
House Bills 6074-86: https://bit.ly/2gRc1pz
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Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://bigstory.ap.org/author/david-eggert .
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