APA 2018 – 2021/2022 Health Care & Wage Increases

The APA has confirmed that the base wage increase for the first year of our new joint wage and health care agreement will be 2.75%. That increase will be realized for all APA members in October 2019.

APA 2018 – 2021/2022 Health Care & Wage Increases

In addition to annual eligible wage increases, the APA is proud to have negotiated a joint wage and health care agreement that ensures fully funded health care with no monthly employee-paid premium for single, double, and family coverage for the base plan (Blue Care Network) health care coverage through December 31, 2021.

In short, the APA wage increases for the coming years are as follows:

  

-October 2018: 0% increase/salary freeze under the last year of our previous joint wage and health care agreement.

 

-October 2019: 2.75% subject to 40% of the wage increase provided automatically and 60% of the wage increase provided through application of management’s merit pay guidelines.

-October 2020, 2021, 2022: to be determined under the terms year of our wage and health care agreement. A minimum 1% lump sum payment to a maximum of a 2.75% base wage increase. 

 

As a reminder, the APA negotiates our contract that ensures fully funded health care, a minimum salary by grade level, and annual eligible base wage increases. It is noteworthy that the APA contract works as a floor and there is no ceiling for the salary increase amount or maximum annual salary. 

 

While 100% of the funds negotiated by the APA for annual wage increases must be distributed in full to APA members each year in October, a department is fully permitted under the APA contract to provide a greater wage increase in October, or extend an out-of-cycle wage increase in any month, provided the department accounts for the funding in their budget and it is processed through HR. 

 

A More Detailed Explanation

To begin, health care will continue to be fully MSU-funded with no employee premium for the base plan for single, double, and family coverage through December 31, 2021.

As to wages, the APA salary freeze for 2018 is the result of the fourth and final year of our previous joint wage and health care agreement. Under that agreement, the wage increase amount was determined by the total percent annual health care cost increase from July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017. In that measuring year health care costs increased 16.4%. Therefore, under the previous wage matrix formula, all APA members are slated for a salary freeze (or as MSU identifies it, a 0% increase) this October 2018. 

 

Starting with our new agreement which dictates our October 2019 wage increase, we were able to make a key improvement on how the calculation is done to determine the annual health care cost increase. In the previous contract, the health care cost increase was calculated exclusively on total health care spend and did not account for the additional MSU unionized staff being hired.

For APA wages starting in October 2019, the health care cost experience shall be calculated based on the average health care cost per union member of the MSU Coalition of Labor. That calculation shall be a monthly average over the period July 1 through June 30 of each year. 

 

Therefore, the October 2019 base wage increase was determined using the new formula of average union member health care cost. Because the average cost increase per member was .9% over that measuring year, APA members will receive a 2.75% base wage increase in October 2019.

 

For October 2020, 2021, and 2022, the health care cost increase will continue to be measured using the average union member health care cost increase. As with this notice, once we know the health care cost increase for each measuring year and the associated base wage increase amount we will communicate with the APA membership accordingly. 

 

Further Questions?

We hope that the above information helps inform your understanding of the upcoming annual APA wage increases and fully funded health care coverage. You can review a copy of the entire joint wage and health care agreement on the APA website at:

http://lay.wyz.mybluehost.me/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-JHCC-MOU-2018-2021.pdf

If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us via email at [email protected] or phone us at the APA office at 517.999.4004.