Healthcare: A Pivotal Issue in Public-Sector Bargaining

Abstract

“After many months of negotiations it seems to always come down to this, salary and healthcare.” These days, this is the ever-present declaration regarding the status of collective bargaining. Wages continue to be critical in negotiations, and healthcare has evolved into a multi-faceted challenge. Coupled with pensions, retiree healthcare is a pivotal issue. From the employer’s perspective, it is becoming one of the most expensive elements of the compensation package, and union members are increasingly adamant about seeking healthcare protections and improvements.The heightened interest in healthcare and pensions is a result of workforce demographics. This is true especially in publicsector bargaining: during the 1960s and 1970s, the number of people working in civilian government jobs nearly doubled. The most growth occurred in state and local employment, where there was about a 227 percent increase between 1951 and 1980.1 Combine this with the fact that the bulk of the baby-boom generation is retiring or preparing for retirement, and lively negotiations are guaranteed.