Local 642 members overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement with Harborcreek Youth Services (HYS), a behavioral health residential facility for male juveniles, on April 23.
“We negotiated the largest raise in the history of our local, increased the agency’s retirement contribution, increased the weekend shift differential, and preserved excellent medical coverage,” said Brian Desanto, Local 642 vice president/recording secretary and a member of the local’s negotiating committee.
“The negotiations with the agency went very well,” added Mike Hardner, Local 642 financial secretary and a member of the local’s negotiating committee. “We secured great starting wages for all bargaining unit positions with a $2 increase across the board in the first year of the contract.”
The three-year agreement includes a $3 per hour wage increase overall, with $.50 increases in years two and three following the a $2 increase in year one. The weekend shift differential will also increase from $.50 per hour to $.75 per hour.
The biggest change was in healthcare benefits. HYS previously had a self-insured healthcare plan administered by Highmark. Employees will now be enrolled in an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA) plan, which is a Highmark high-deductible healthcare plan purchased on the ACA individual marketplace. Employee premiums will not increase during the life of the contract. There are no copays. Once an employee reaches their $250 individual or $500 family annual deductible, the agency will cover any additional healthcare costs. Their healthcare network remains unchanged. Employees 65 years and older will be enrolled in Medicare. The agency will cover all costs for Medicare and its supplements. (Medicare-eligible employees are not eligible for the ACA marketplace.) The employees will still have to pay their premiums, like the other employees. The agency will reimburse the employee's Medicare benefit costs monthly. The employees' dental and vision benefits remain unchanged.
Increasing wages and keeping the costs of their healthcare benefits from rising were the top two issues for the members in this year's negotiations, after having to settle for two one-year contracts with minimal wage increases during the past two years.
Those contract negotiations were complicated after HYS lost a license for one of its largest residential units over a sexual assault of clients by a temporary employee in 2024. The loss of the license resulted in a huge financial hit to HYS's budget. The license for a new residential unit was granted by the state late last year, improving the agency’s finances.
While the committee was not able to fully restore the agency's four percent annual contribution to their 403(b) plan, the agency will contribute two percent of an employee's annual wages and continue to match 50 percent of the employee's contribution, up to four percent. The committee prioritized bigger wage increases over fully restoring the four percent annual employer contribution. They plan to continue fighting for the full annual contribution in the next contract negotiations.
The Local 642 negotiating committee consisted ot President Jason Williams, Vice President/Recording Secretary Brian Desanto, Financial Secretary Mike Hardner, and Chief Steward Jeremy Winiarczyk. They were assisted by UE Staff Coordinator John Thompson.