This story was updated to add new information.
LANSING — Mayor Andy Schor and a newly formed firefighter retirees association said they’ve resolved an issue affecting retirees who faced escalating health care costs after the city took a new look at an old contract.
Schor said the escalating costs affected 65 employees who retired between 2014 and 2021 under a contract that “upon recent legal review” required them to pay all costs over the state-mandated hard cap.
The city’s legal review this year resulted in the city passing on new health care costs of $500 to $900 a month to retirees, according to union officials, and drew vocal complaints from the former firefighters.
The issue prompted the city’s firefighter union, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 421, to file a grievance alleging the city misinterpreted the 2013 contract in its legal review this year. The union withdrew its endorsement of Schor, who is running for reelection this year.
But on Sept. 9, Schor and representatives for retired and active firefighters stood in the City Hall lobby and said they’ve patched up their differences.
Schor expressed “tremendous relief” with the resolution, “something that has been on my mind and my soul for several months now.”
“We wanted to make sure we could do something legally with contracts remaining but still recognizing that the city also made some errors and move forward,” the mayor said.
Bryan Epling, president of the Lansing Firefighter Retiree Association, described the resolution as “a fair and equitable agreement.”
“Without question, this agreement provides our members financial protection, clarity and certainty in their predictability in their financial futures,” he said.
IAFF Local 421 President Brad Jorae said the union could revisit the issue of the mayoral endorsement in light of the resolution.
The agreement is retroactive to July 1 and will cap health care increases at 5% of the total cost, preventing “a large spike in health care costs,” Schor said in the news release. There was “a disagreement over intent, and the city not enforcing legal language for several years,” he said.
The union had previously said about 105 firefighters who retired from 2013-21 were affected, but not previous or subsequent retirees, who are under different contracts. Those impacted saw their premiums jump by $500 to $900 a month recently, union officials said. The issue stems from the Schor administration’s new analysis of the language in a 12-year-old labor contract.
In Tuesday’s news conference, Schor and the union representatives agreed that the number of retirees affected is about 65.
The contract in question was signed in 2013, when former Mayor Virg Bernero was in his third term.
Retirees who had been paying between zero and around $200 a month for their health care plan, depending on coverage, for more than a decade were facing increases of roughly $6,000 or more annually, a union officials said earlier this year.
MORE: Lansing firefighters union pulls Schor endorsement over ‘unethical’ treatment of retirees
The retirees were protected for more than a decade because the city incorrectly calculated the costs to retirees for years, an error that wasn’t uncovered until recently, Schor spokesperson Scott Bean previously told the State Journal. Officials said they discovered the error when the city had to look for a new insurance provider for retirees because Physicians Health Plan, the former health insurer that was owned by Sparrow Health System, began shutting down last year.
Schor said the city looked for a solution that would not violate collective bargaining agreements and the law and worked with former IAFF leaders, who organized the affected retirees to negotiate options with the city.
“I was previously unaware of this language that was agreed to by both parties previously, and I am so pleased we were able to come to a solution to assist with these costs,” Schor said in the news release. “I want to thank these dedicated former public servants and their families for their understanding and productive talks with my administration to find a solution that worked for everyone.”
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Schor, retired firefighters reach deal on health care costs after union pulls endorsement
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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