Washington Public Sector Labor Negotiations Blog
Trends and Developments Concerning Washington Public Labor Contracts
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the last issue we discussed whether – and to what extent — population influenced a jurisdiction’s relative wage ranking. In this article, we discussed to what extent assessed valuation influences that ranking.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the last three parts of the wage series, we have discussed State wage rankings for the various public safety classifications. In the next part of the wage series, we run our series of articles on factors that might influence or explain, at least in part, those wage rankings, with updated 2019 wage rankings.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is part 8 of our continuing series on Washington public safety employee wages. In this issue, we report on wage rankings for 911 dispatchers and police records clerks.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is Part 7 of our multi-part 2021 Wage Series. In our last article, we covered Commissioned Deputy and Police Officer Wages. In this article, we turn to Firefighter and Corrections Officer Wages. We’ll cover Dispatcher and Records Clerk Wages in the next article.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In part 6 of our ongoing wage series, we now turn to the rankings of County Deputy and City Police Officer rankings throughout the State. This series always produces both expected and unexpected information about the relative standing of jurisdictions.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the fifth in our extensive series on current negotiation conditions and trends. In this article, we focus on recent economic developments.
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the fourth part of our early 2021 wages series. In the last article in our 2021 wage series, we looked at all Washington public safety settlements from 2019 to 2021. That report showed a downward trend in 2021 settlements.
By: Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In part one of our early 2021 Wage series, we reported on the latest CPI data. That was a look backward at the more recent data. In this article, we look forward to what you might expect for inflation over the near term. Given the goal of achieving a wage increase that at the very least doesn’t fall behind the cost of living, knowing where inflation may be heading is important.
By: Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
Launch of the 2021 Winter Wage Series
This is the first of a multi-part series addressing current economic conditions and wage settlement trends. In this Winter 2021 Wage Series, we’ll bring you an update on CPI and economic developments, wage settlements, interest arbitration trends, statewide wage rankings for public safety classifications across the State, and an in-depth analysis of what factors appear to be impacting those rankings and settlements.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline
A year unlike any other, health care has been at the center of our attention. What does that mean for insurance costs going forward? Always an important part of the negotiated total compensation, we’re also paying attention to the trends in health care costs.
Our preliminary assessment of costs based on our review of several major plan offerings shows moderate increases for 2021 rates. Here’s a breakdown by major carrier and plan:
Not all these plans are of equivalent value. This table breaks out the rates by each of the tiers and the major plan specs.
The popular and often bargained for LEOFF Trust plan has seen several spikes in rates over the recent years that have made it less cost-competitive compared to AWC and PEBB plans. For 2021, the LEOFF rates are increasing only by 2.5% which reflects some apparent improvements in the Trust’s claims experience and utilization. After several years of relatively good performance, AWC rates are rising 4-5%.
We’re at the outset of collecting 2021 data statewide and will make that available as we collect and evaluate it. Overall, we had expected moderate 2021 rate increases based on industry utilization reports. Despite the pandemic that is filling ICUs, overall health care utilization appears to be reduced this year. People are deferring optional medical procedures and generally avoiding clinic visits. More widespread use of telemedicine has reduced costs for 2020 and could result in some longer-term savings as well.
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