Baltimore County officials said most labor unions have agreed to significant cuts to pensions and health care benefits ? moves leaders from one of two holdout unions said could keep qualified job candidates away.
The county has reached tentative agreements with unions representing the majority of county employees including firefighters, police, trade workers and deputy sheriffs, county spokesman Don Mohler said. But the county is still working on deals with unions representing nurses and 1,700 other general employees, including corrections officers, 911 call-center workers and some white-collar professionals.
The county chapter of the Federation of Pubic Employees is about to enter nonbinding arbitration, said President Jim Miller. At issue, he said, are proposals to change the retirement age for current employees from 60 to 65, as well as significant cuts to health care for future personnel.
He said if the proposals are accepted, the county could face a mass retirement before the new rules take effect in July.
“There?s a lot of people that just don?t want to wait until they are 65,” he said.
Proposed changes for future personnel include a retirement age of 67 or 35 years of service, up from 30, and an early-retirement option could be eliminated. The employee contribution rate will likely increase.
Sgt. James Clark, a former president of the FPE who supports the county?s offer, said employees will see as much as a 10 percent increase in their share of health care costs. Clark is spearheading a revolt to bring the offer to members for a vote.
The changes are necessary to comply with a new federal law requiring governments to fund future retiree health and life insurance benefits on an accrual basis ? estimated as a $2 billion county liability ? and maintain the county?s coveted AAA bond rating, Mohler said.
