As expected, a survey by the trustees of the Local 237 Welfare Fund recently confirmed that the spiraling cost of prescription drugs is a major concern for members and their families. The second most important issue to the membership, according to the survey, was dental care.

“Because the drug companies are continually coming out with new products that sell for astronomical prices, the membership is concerned that this could pose a severe threat to their health and that of their families,” Local 237 President Carl Haynes said.

The Local President added: “We, and other unions throughout the country, have been mobilizing to seek ways to assure that adequate and proper health care is available to all workers and their families at affordable prices.”

The survey was conducted to find out members’ thoughts regarding current benefits available to them and what improvements might be made to make them even better.

Paul Juergensen, director of the Welfare Fund, said: “Even though the response was lower than expected, each member who responded to the survey plays an important role in the decisions for future benefit increases.”

Haynes pointed out that Local 237 members “are fortunate to have one of the best welfare funds of all New York municipal unions, and recent agreements with the city provide members with even better health benefits and greater funding to improve the great welfare benefits we already have.”

He noted that over the next five years the city will contribute an additional $1 billion to the municipal unions’ health and welfare funds. For members of Local 237, this means more money to cover supplemental benefits not currently covered by the health insurance plans and for additional prescription drugs, optical, dental, disability and death benefits.

Since 1995, Haynes said, the contracts signed have allowed the Local to double the prescription drug cap to $10,000 a year for active members with no increase in co-payment, expand the number of stores where eyeglasses may be obtained from 40 to 240, and increase the number of dentists participating in the dental plan.

Haynes said the new death benefit provides members with $2,500 for the loss of a spouse and $1,000 for the loss of a child. Disability benefits have been increased from $175 a week to $200 for full time workers, and from $70 to $80 for part-time workers.

Provisions have been made also for hearing aids with a reasonable co-payment.

“We’ve worked hard to keep our funds strong,” Haynes asserted. “While the cost of health care has been rising and members of other unions have been forced to shoulder more of the burden for fewer benefits, Local 237 members have seen benefits improved at no increased cost to them.”

The results of the survey conducted by the Welfare Fund will help the trustees determine how best to use the new funding to improve benefits.

Questionnaires were sent out to members in May requesting their input on the best ways to use the additional money.