Greenbrier cuts deal with Health Fund, employees will keep health care
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
Employees at The Greenbrier Hotel can rest easier tonight, as a deal to retain their health care has been reached with the Justice Companies, who own the famed resort.
“On behalf of the Greenbrier Council of Labor Unions,” said Peter Bostic this morning in a statement sent to RealWV. “We are pleased and relieved to announce that a Settlement Agreement has been reached between the Amalgamated National Health Fund (ANHF) and The Greenbrier, that should secure our Members’ Health Care Benefits into the future and address prior delinquencies.”
‘Four months delinquent’
As we reported last Monday, unionized employees were recently warned that their health care would stop if overdue payments weren’t made in a timely manner.
“The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation is four months delinquent in its contributions to the Health Fund, owing approximately $2.4 million in delinquent contributions with an additional $1.2 million in contributions currently, or soon to be due and owing,” said a letter from Ronald Richman, attorney with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP representing the Amalgamated National Health Fund, addressed to The Greenbrier Hotel.
The letter further stated, “The Greenbrier’s Delinquent Contributions include contributions that were deducted from employees’ pay but not remitted to the Health Fund.”
While the Justice Companies did not respond to requests for comment during the week, Governor Jim Justice did respond to a question about employee health care at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
”I’ll promise you to the good Lord above,” said Justice, “that insurance payments have been made and were being made on a regular basis just like we’ve done in the past in many ways.”
Peter Bostic, Chairperson of the Greenbrier Central Labor Unions, pushed back against that claim. He said that payments remain delinquent as they have been for months and employee health care premiums will end if payments are not made by the end of the month.
“The delinquencies are factual, tangible, and documented,” he says. “We continue to demand that the Greenbriers’ delinquent contractual obligations be met and remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached…in the near future.”
Collective Bargaining Agreement
In an effort to understand the difference of opinion, RealWV reviewed the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) agreed to by The Greenbrier and their unionized employees. It is a public document covering topics including, job-bidding, grievances, substance use, and health care benefits.
The CBA requires an 83/17 split for health care costs. The employee pays 17%, which is supposed to be withheld from their paycheck and remitted directly to The Health Fund on their behalf. Ownership then pays 87%, also directly to The Health Fund.
“The employer is responsible for remitting the total contribution to the “fund” (Health Care Fund) which shall include both the employer and employee contribution combined,” it states.
Deal reached today
In an announcement today, Bostic said The Greenbrier and The Health Fund have agreed to a deal which will allow employees to keep their health care so long as the delinquent payments are made.
“We are hopeful that The Greenbrier will honor all commitments and contractual
obligations moving forward so that our Members are not forced to endure
any uncertainties in the future,” Bostic said.
The terms of the deal are unknown.
In a statement, The Greenbrier said, “There will be no interruptions in healthcare coverage for any of our employees and their families.”
“The employee contributions that were withheld from employees’ paychecks were always timely remitted to the Health Fund, and not a single time was a penny of those contributions used for any purpose other than funding of healthcare coverage of The Greenbrier employees,” it continued.
The statement did not address why the resort was delinquent with the employee health care provider.
Employee health care was previously set to end on August 27, the same day Beltway Capital planned to auction the resort due to an unpaid lien. However, Beltway and Justice Companies reached a deal late last week to repay the lien by late October.
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is currently hosting The Business Summit at The Greenbrier. Held annually, it’s a large conference bringing together state business leaders. Yesterday, Gov. Justice announced three new businesses setting up shop here in the Mountain State as part of the program.
