State employees get screwed while "Benefit strategies" benefits by getting $18 per employee enrolled in the program.... wonder what the total value of that sweet deal is....
NAGE has nothing to say..... but hey, they'll soon be crowing about their "success" in gulling the members into accepting concessions forced on them by the Patrick administration and the legislature..... some success....
..... the hits just keep on coming for state employees.....
Senators Morrissey and Baddour question new Charlie Card program for state employees
Wait, is he holding his Charlie Card or his benefits card?
Senators Steven A. Baddour and Michael W. Morrissey sent a letter
today to Governor Patrick, raising concerns regarding the contract the
Office of the Comptroller entered into with Benefit Strategies, LLC, a
New Hampshire based company to administer the Qualified Transportation
Benefits Program. (QTBP)
According to a press release from Morrissey’s office, this program
previously allowed state employees to purchase MBTA passes by having
them taken directly out of their pre-tax paychecks.
Under the new contract, state employees have to pay a $1.50 fee each
month to Benefit Strategies, with an $18 yearly cap in order to
purchase an MBTA pass.
“In this fiscal climate, I think it is a bad idea to create a
disincentive from state employees to use the T,” said Senator Baddour
in the release. “This is essentially a hidden MBTA rate hike for state
employees.”
The release notes that the Senators are also concerned about the
complicated nature of the program. Previously, the Charlie Cards of
state employees automatically updated each month. Under the new
contract, each employee would be sent a Benefit Strategies FlexExpress
Card, which they would have to use to then purchase an MBTA pass and
manually update their Charlie Cards.
“My father always says if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” Senator
Morrissey said. “This simple program has been overly complicated. It
costs people more and creates problems if and when someone misplaces
their special card they have to use to buy their MBTA pass. I would
think the whole point of this program would be to encourage people to
use the MBTA, not to discourage it.”
Senators Baddour and Morrissey are asking Governor Patrick to
reexamine this program and consider suspending the contract and
returning to the existing system.
——-
So if I understand the release correctly, state employees will soon
get a benefits card, which they then have to use to buy their Charlie
Card, which they then have to pay an extra $18 per year for.
Hmmmm…
Coup Deval screwing state employees? Gee Wiz... Never thought that would happen.....
ReplyDeleteLooks like they're going to implement the furlough at our agency on 05/14 before the contract has even been funded. So we're going to have 3 days of pay deducted before we even see the lousy 1% raise which was due 01/01/10 (renegotiated contract) and originally due 01/01/09
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