BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. (AP) - A complaint filed against a Vermont town and village by around 20 employees alleging unfair labor practices was resolved without a formal hearing.
The Rockingham Selectboard and the Bellows Falls Village Board of Trustees came to agreement this week over the complaint filed by a local union for engineers, the Brattleboro Reformer reported Wednesday.
The Local 92 chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers filed the complaint over changes made to their members’ health insurance that caused some to see their premiums triple.
The issue was resolved pending payment to employees that will cover the extra costs they accrued since January.
The payments total around $20,000, and will be made in the form of a one-time payment that would not be repeated for the remainder of the year, according to Bellows Falls Village President Deborah Wright.
Municipal Manager Wendy Harrison told the boards the payments would help with the transition to the new health premium payment system.
The tensions rose after Rockingham and Bellows Falls implemented a change in the health insurance payment policy last year in an effort to save money. In response, the union filed the complaint in January.
The union represents the majority of the municipal employees, including the public works department, the town hall staff, the library, as well as the village’s water and wastewater departments. It does not include the Bellows Falls village police department, which is represented by a different union.
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