CAPE and the Coalition of County Unions (CCU) Reach a Tentative Agreement on a Fringe Benefits Contract with the County of Los Angeles.
After months of virtual bargaining for a successor Fringe Benefits Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Coalition of County Unions (CCU) has reached a Tentative Agreement for a nine-month contract, effective retroactively from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
This is an uncommonly short-term contract in recognition of the unusual times we are in, reflective of ongoing uncertainty regarding the economic impact of the pandemic.
Key highlights include:
- A 2.5% increase in the negotiated Choices contribution to cover most of the 2022 premium increases for the medical and dental plans available to employees that participate in the Choices Plan.
- A $1,000 one-time bonus for all full time County employees ($500 for part time employees).
- A $500 COVID appreciation bonus for employees who worked at least 20 hours per week on average for those who attest to “elevated risk” on the job, specifically meaning that one’s job duties required to be within 6 feet or less of co-workers, patients, county clients, or the general public for periods of 15 minutes or greater.
- Juneteenth as a paid holiday for all County employees.
- The ability to carry over an additional $50 (up to $550) in unused Health Care Spending Account funds from the prior Plan Year to the next Plan Year.
Additionally, the parties have agreed to establish a Joint Labor Management Committee to study and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding paid Family and Medical Leave.
Critically, the CCU successfully fought back the County’s attempts to take away our ability to protect our benefits in the annual medical insurance renewal process for Kaiser and Cigna, and to radically change enrollment rules for the CAPE medical plans. The agreement will now go before the Board of Supervisors, where we expect it to receive final approval.
As this is a very short contract, we will be back in negotiations very soon.
Stay tuned. We will continue to send updates as we move forward in all our remaining contract negotiations.
