“We would like the town meeting members to urge the selectmen to honor an agreement we have on health insurance,” said BEU Vice President and Devotion School teacher Jody Curran. “We saved the town a lot of money with that agreement. Everyone acknowledges that we did that, and now they are asking us to push back and take on more costs for our health insurance. We can’t cut to the bone anymore. We need them to honor the fact that we need decent health care.”

All town employees, including retirees, teachers, firefighters, police officers and Department of Public Works employees, are covered under the same health insurance plan. In November, 2009, these employees negotiated a health insurance agreement with the town government when it was in budgetary crisis; although, according to AFSCME representative Tom Hantakas, the town’s payment share of employee health insurance premium costs was increased from 75 percent to 83 percent, premiums under the new system went down so significantly that Brookline has saved approximately $16 million over the last three years. Due to its savings with the new contract, the town agreed, in its Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), to pay a portion of employees’ out-of-pocket insurance co-payments to health care providers.

Now, the agreement has surfaced once again for renegotiation. The town now hopes to cut its contribution toward employee health insurance premiums further to 80 percent and, according to Hantakas, threatens to take away employee HRA benefits if town workers do not comply with the new 80 percent deal.

“We’re just asking the town to keep its commitment to what we gave it and what we both agreed to,” said BCRS Chairman James Chet Riley. “We want to continue what we’re doing so retirees and employees can have some financial stability, and we want to convince the municipality that this is good for them and for us.”

Protesters carried a box symbolizing the employee’s “gift,” according to Riley, of $16 million in savings for Brookline due to the 2009 health care agreement. A label on the box called for the town now to “keep its end of the bargain.”

High school math teacher Kathy Hitchcock said that losing HRA benefits would leave Brookline town employees’ families vulnerable. HRAs pay employees back for high-cost procedures, including emergency-room procedures, that are not covered under their health insurance, according to Hitchcock.

BEU President Jessica Wender-Shubow, a key organizer of the protest, said a main goal of the movement was to protect employees’ families by fighting for fairness in health care delivery.

High school special education paraprofessional Rebecca Jenness said that she had to pay 90 percent of her income last year under the 2009 health care agreement to cover medical costs for her sick children, one of whom has diabetes.

Selectwoman Nancy Daley said it was inappropriate for her to comment because the matter was still being discussed.

Some union members expressed hope that the employees and the municipality could reach a mutually beneficial agreement regarding health care.

“The reason we are here now is because town meeting members have always been somewhat compassionate and understanding of our position,” said Riley. “We would just like them to continue that.”