Judge blocks RI gov in health insurance dispute

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Gov. Don Carcieri cannot unilaterally raise health insurance costs for unionized state workers as part of his effort to close a massive budget deficit, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Hurst decided in her opinion that Carcieri cannot implement an executive order forcing about 4,000 members of Council 94, the state's largest employees union, to pay more for their health insurance. She also ordered both sides to take their dispute to the State Labor Relations Board.

Hurst made her decision after lawyers asked her to clarify a ruling she made on the same issue last week, which did not bar Carcieri from immediately raising health costs for workers in the executive branch.

Her ruling Tuesday forbids Carcieri from raising rates for Council 94 workers in any branch of government. Dennis Grilli, executive director for Council 94, called it a win for his union.

But Carcieri criticized the judge's ruling as "ridiculous" because it reversed part of what she decided last week. The governor said he will seek an immediate stay from state Supreme Court. If he does not prevail, Carcieri said he could resort to layoffs, furloughs or other steps to balance the budget deficit.

The legal dispute comes as the Republican governor tries to implement a precariously balanced budget.

Lawmakers in the Democratic-dominated General Assembly approved a $6.9 billion spending plan in June that depended on Carcieri winning about $60 million in concessions for state employee unions.

Carcieri reached a tentative deal with leaders of Council 94 and other unions that would have saved an estimated $33.5 million by requiring some workers to pay more for health care and forgo a pay raise this year.

As part of the deal, Carcieri agreed not to lay off hundreds of state workers that he previously threatened to fire. The plan would not have saved the full $60 million Carcieri needed, but the governor promised to make up the difference by not replacing hundreds of state workers who have retired.

Under the governor's proposal, union workers buying health insurance only for themselves could save money, but costs would rise sharply for workers buying health insurance for their families. For example, an employee who makes $50,000 would see the cost of a family plan jump 114 percent to $2,674.

Some of the state's smaller unions approved the plan, but when members of Council 94 voted down the plan by a margin of nearly 15-to-1, Carcieri signed an executive order implementing the health care terms they rejected. He estimated it would save $10 million and called it an alternative to firing workers and imposing government shutdown days.