EWEB has offered workers a fair contract, pay raises and no take-aways.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Sandra Bishop For The Register-Guard

After more than eight months of bargaining, the Eugene Water & Electric Board has notified the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of the utility's intent to implement its `last and best offer.'

While EWEB has offered to meet with the union again to see if there is any way of reaching agreement, we have decided to implement this `last and best offer' on May 28 for the one-third of EWEB employees represented by the union. Why now?

First and foremost, we value these employees and believe they should be treated fairly. The utility has offered a fair contract that includes pay raises over three years for IBEW-represented employees, as well as eight other contract enhancements.

Beginning May 28, line workers and other electric, water, construction and steam utility `crafts' workers will get a 4.4 percent raise, followed by 4 percent raises in each of the next two years. Mechanics, warehouse workers, landscapers and other general labor workers will get raises of 2.5 percent in each of the three years.

These raises are consistent with the EWEB board's policy of paying wages that are slightly above average in the utility industry. EWEB also has agreed to increase meal and work boot allowances, improve the on-call pay provision, and give employees who are assigned to work in underground vaults and enclosed spaces a 5 percent `premium' in their hourly pay when they are doing this work.

But we have not been able to agree on a small handful of other issues, most notably health care.

As an elected board, our job is to balance the needs of employees with the interests of the community. On the issue of health care, we are not willing to enhance what is already good coverage for our employees at the expense of higher customer rates or fewer services.

EWEB is not proposing any take-aways or rollbacks. EWEB is proposing to keep the current health care plan intact and is not proposing any reductions or rollbacks in these benefits.

EWEB currently spends an average of $10,000 per employee per year to provide a comprehensive health care plan that includes medical, dental and vision coverage. The utility pays the entire premium for employees.

If an employee chooses to add family members to the health care plan, EWEB pays 75 percent of dependents' premiums, with employees paying 25 percent. This cost sharing has been in effect at EWEB since 1989 and would not change under EWEB's current contract proposal.

The current health plan also has annual deductibles of $150 per individual and $300 per household. Employees and dependents generally pay 20 percent of the cost of doctor visits and other health services. Total annual out-of-pocket expenses are limited to avoid economic hardships due to severe injuries or illnesses.

This type of health plan is the same medical insurance structure used by the majority of businesses and government agencies in the community today.

The union accepted EWEB's current health care plan in the first contract it negotiated with the utility two years ago. However, the IBEW has now threatened to strike unless it receives better health care coverage, largely in the form of lower premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses. IBEW's proposal for a separate health care plan would cost EWEB approximately $483,000 in the first year of the contract.

An important final note: The utility also is not willing to offer one health plan for union-represented employees and a different plan for the two-thirds of employees who are not represented. This would create inequities in the workplace.

The EWEB Board of Commissioners understands and shares the frustration workers have with the current state of health care and the rising cost of medical premiums and medical services.

However, EWEB needs to control health care costs. We are also responsible for maintaining equity and fairness in the workplace, and will not agree to a two-tiered health care plan.

IBEW's health care proposal offers no solution for balancing employee health care benefits with affordable rates for our customers. Achieving that balance is the primary concern of the EWEB board.

Sandra Bishop is president of the EWEB Board of Commissioners. The other commissioners - Mel Menegat, Patrick Lanning, Ron Farmer and John Simpson - also signed this statement.