By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Laborers International Union of North America, Local 630, announced Tuesday it has officially endorsed Terance Reed for the District 2 Levy County Commission seat, saying Reed can do a better job with health insurance issues.
Business Manager Ronnie Burris said the union, which represents employees of the Levy County Road Department, was disappointed in the decisions made by the county commission regarding health insurance last year.
“We feel what was done with the health insurance for county employees was not good for the employees or the taxpayers,” Burris said.
Burris said the county’s health insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest rates in the State of Florida and yet the county commission hasn’t asked for health insurance bids for two of the last four years.
He said the union believes Reed is willing to review, investigate and analyze employee health insurance to get the best deal possible for employees.
“He’s not going to be just an automatic yes vote,” Burris said.
One of the biggest issues in negotiations with the county’s two public labor unions last year was family health insurance coverage. The county opted to let employees purchase their own family coverage.
The two unions agreed to accept a $2,000 increase in their base pay with the understanding they would pay for their own family health insurance. The county fully funds the health insurance of employees under the agreement.
Posted July 3, 2018
