Describing themselves as the “backbone” of government operations, Baltimore County employees criticized proposed cuts to their retirement and pension plans as snubs to behind-the-scenes workers in favor of those on the front line.
About 10 labor leaders spoke on behalf of 1,700 members of the county Federation of Public Employees Union chapter ? one of two labor groups to reach an impasse in benefit negotiations ? at Monday?s County Council meeting, criticizing disparities between their offer and those negotiated with department heads and police and fire personnel.
The group represents employees such as correctional officers, 911 call-center operators, crime-lab technicians, public works employees and clerical assistants. The county?s 93-member nurses union also has failed to reach a labor agreement.
“For years, we?ve only received what can be described as scraps compared to what some of the other groups have been offered,” said Graham Boyanich, a member of the FPE?s negotiations team. “We do a lot and get very little back.”
Labor leaders said their top concern is a proposal to extend the minimum retirement age from 60 to 65. The county is still offering a minimum service requirement of 30 years and an early-retirement option, finance director Fred Homan said.
The employees stand to lose cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits on the table if an agreement is not reached by Thursday, county officials said. Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, listened to the testimony but declined to comment after the meeting.
Councilman Ken Oliver, D-District 4, said the council has not yet been briefed on proposed changes, described as necessary to meet a new federal law requiring governments to pay for employee benefits on an accrual basis. He said comment would be premature.
Only one speaker testified in support of the proposal ? former FPE President Jim Clark, who called the offer for correctional employees “competitive.” Clark accused current union leaders of refusing to bring the package to a full-member vote.
“We think it?s important to say to this council and the county administration that not everyone is on the same page here,” Clark said.
Four other unions have reached tentative agreements with the county. Most, officials said, were offered cost-of-living raises between 2.5 percent and 3 percent as well as small pay-scale upgrades. Employees will likely pay higher health care costs over the next five years, and future employees must work until they are 65 or have 35 years of service to retire with full benefits.
