The Massachusetts House Speaker has proposed a measure that would remove public employees' right to bargain over health care as part of the budget. The plan would give local governments the power to set co-payments and deductibles without negotiating with the unions. Unions would only be able to negotiate over how much of the premium workers pay. Legislators say that the change would save $100 million. Labor leaders have denounced the plan, calling it an attack on workers, and looking to campaign against those lawmakers that vote for it.
See "DeLeo's budget would curb labor", Michael Levenson adn Noah Bierman, The Boston Globe, April 13, 2011