Hammond schools employees see health care premiums go up between $191 and $267 a month

Contributed By: The 411 News

Faced with a $3,205 yearly increase in 2025 for a family health insurance plan and a $1,072 increase for single coverage, the teachers’ union in Hammond filed an Unfair Labor Practices complaint against the School City of Hammond.

The rise in health insurance costs comes at a time when the district cancelled pay raises to all of its employees for the 2024-25 school year.

Teachers say it amounts to a cut in pay. Monthly single coverage cost for 2024-25 would be $279.33, up from $87.69, an increase of $191.64. Monthly family coverage would be $835.42, up from $568.33, an increase of $267.09.

Thursday, the Hammond Federation of Teachers learned the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board had denied its claim.

The HFT and the administration had reached an impasse, a stalemate, over cost increases in the employees’ health plan, the union said. On November 14, the teachers’ union asked the IEERB to intervene and stop the district from going forward with the new insurance premiums.

A one-year teachers’ contract for 2024-25 was approved in the parties’ September 30th collective bargaining agreement.

It included the dollar amount the district would contribute to employee participation in the health plan. The contribution amount was the same as the 2023-24 teacher contract – $9,120 for single coverage and $27,280 for family coverage.

The total single coverage cost in 2023-24 was $11,400; for 2024-25 it increased to $12,472. The total family coverage cost was $34,100 in 2023-24; for 2024-25 it increased to $37,305.

The parties met in October to consider the health insurance increases for 2024-25.

The union’s complaint states, “There were significant departures from the parties’ past practice wherein premium increases would be shared between the parties and negotiated between the parties.”

The union’s position is the district, “Bargained the 2024-25 teachers’ contract in bad faith by not increasing its proportional contribution to the premium payments. This meant that the full amount of the increase would fall upon the teachers.”

The school district’s formal objection to the union’s unfair labor practices claim was submitted to the IEERB on November 19th stating, “Petitioner did not ask nor seek to include any language providing for an increase in the [SCH} Board’s contribution for teacher health insurance in the 2024-2025 CBA.”

‘The union can’t renege on the contract it signed’ the school district stated in its objection. “Petitioner is attempting to renege on its promise in the amended language of Section 14.1(b) of the 2023-2024 CBA to pay a greater share of health insurance premiums.”

That same day, the district’s Wellness Incentive Program was on the agenda at the SCH Board of Trustees’ meeting. The program would reduce the single plan coverage by $800 a year and reduce the family plan coverage by $1,600 yearly.

The Wellness Program requires an employee participating in the health insurance plan to have a yearly physical and certify they don’t use tobacco and nicotine.

The school board voted not to hear the proposal.

The IEERB explained its reason for not intervening and stated, “The parties in this case are not at Impasse, therefore Impasse cannot be Stayed.”

“After a collective bargaining agreement is ratified and signed, there is currently no mechanism in the law for a party to then declare they are at impasse because they are not happy with the terms they bargained and wish to go back to the bargaining table,” the IEERB said in its denial.

As to stopping the district from going forward with the new premiums, the IEERB said, “To the extent Petitioner’s Motion is a Motion to Stay Hammond’s new health insurance premium schedule and open enrollment, Petitioner’s Motion is DENIED.”

Hammond’s Chief Financial Officer Eric Kurtz said the district will present the Wellness Incentive Program again at a future school board meeting.

Story Posted:11/23/2024