Group Health Unions Approve Concessions

Union negotiators for thousands of Group Health Cooperative employees have agreed to a package of wage-and-benefit concessions designed to help the organization meet stiff competition in the health care industry.

Union members will vote next month on the proposal, which includes a 1 percent pay cut for two years, and a two-year freeze on workers moving up the pay scale.

Group Health said the agreement would save it about $16.5 million per year.

The unions also agreed for the first time that employees would make co-payments on their own medical care: $10 for a clinic visit, $10 per prescription and $50 for emergency room care.

Group Health agreed to limit any layoffs to 10 percent of each bargaining unit during the two years, and to specific procedures regarding the use of temporary workers and subcontracting.