MA Legislative Highlights

For news and information about other legislative initiatives, visit the AFT Massachusetts website.

MA Legislature Passes New Law to Diminish Municipal Unions' Right to Collectively Bargain Health Insurance Coverage

The Massachusetts House voted on April 26, 2011 to severely curtail our right to collectively bargain health insurance coverage by allowing local officials to unilaterally set health insurance co-payments and deductibles for their employees. Unions had planned a week of intense lobbying starting April 25. The Tuesday vote sought to avoid facing union members who have provided voting support over the years to many House Democrats. The House vote was 111-42 in favor of the plan, with 81 Democrats approving it.  See here how your state rep voted on the bill.

The House bill then went to the Senate which produced a substantially better bill although still not as strong as the union coalition wanted. The Conference Committe came up with something closer to the House version and the Governor then submitted some amendments which were improvements and the amended bill passed. Visit the AFT MA website for a detailed review of the legislation.

However, the BTU and other city unions have agreed to a health insurance plan that we believe will not be overturned by the new health law. Our proposed agreement will last through June, 2015, at which point whatever new state health law is in effect will reign supreme. Our proposed agreement was approved by Mayor Menino and is expected to be approved by the Boston City Council. We thank in advance the members of the Boston City Council for their belief that well-intended collective bargaining is the preferred method of reaching an agreement that is mutually beneficial to all parties. We appreciate their support.

Take Action on Non-Public School Teaching Bill

The Non-Public Bill has been re-filed by Representative Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera of Springfield. This bill would allow members who previously taught pupils or acted as an administrator in a nonpublic school prior to January 1, 1973 to be eligible to purchase this service for retirement purposes. Read the bill here .

Our very important Phase 1 job is to contact our Reps and Senator s right away to encourage them to support this bill.

For news and information about other legislative initiatives, visit the AFT Massachusetts website.