Labor leaders endorsed Mayor de Blasio’s vague plan for a health-care overhaul Friday, buying his claims that it will save the city $3.4 billion in new contracts with union workers.
The Municipal Labor Council’s steering committee approved the measure, 20 to 2, with only the heads of the detectives and firefighters unions dissenting.
The health-care changes — which include centralizing purchases of prescription drugs and medical tests — is expected to save the city $1.3 billion in the new city contract with the teachers union. But opponents say they were rushed into the deal.
“I don’t think we had sufficient documentation at the time of the vote to be able to make an informed decision about the total package,” said Detectives Endowment Association President Michael Palladino.
Meanwhile, education watchdogs blasted de Blasio and the United Federation of Teachers for releasing only a summary of their labor agreement.
“A lot of these proposals make for good sound bites, but until we have details, there’s no way to know if they’re as advertised,” said Jenny Sedlis of Students First New York.
De Blasio said the savings are real, even though the deal doesn’t ask city workers to contribute more toward their medical coverage.
“The notion here is nothing is imposed, everything is cooperative, but we have to get to that dollar figure, and we will,” he said on WNYC.