L.A. Unified healthcare contract to preserve free lifetime benefits

Jason Song & Howard Blume:

A new three-year agreement on healthcare announced Wednesday by the Los Angeles Unified School District will preserve a generous benefits package for about 250,000 employees and their families while also limiting district costs.

But the tentative deal also increases the district's ongoing budget deficit and could lead to higher medical expenses for employees if healthcare costs continue to rise sharply.

The agreement maintains free lifetime benefits for district employees (there is no monthly payment to the district). But the pact sets benchmarks for when new workers become eligible.

Settling the healthcare issue -- the teachers union's top priority in negotiations -- could diminish the immediate possibility of a strike. Just one day earlier, United Teachers Los Angeles leaders had scheduled a strike authorization vote over protracted contract talks.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 13, 2009 1:01 AM
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