Arbitration Over Retiree Health Insurance Stayed

Retiree health insurance is becoming more and more expensive and for a number of years employers have tried to cut back. Matter of County of Monroe v. CSEA, ___A.D.3d___(4th Dept. June 9, 2017), is just one recent example of litigation.
There retirees retired under a CBA that provided that claims concerning retiree health insurance were not subject to arbitration, but years later a new CBA indicated that such claims were arbitrable. The problem is that the plaintiffs retired under the old CBA and therefore, they could not arbitrate their claim. As the court explained:

 We conclude that the court properly determined that the parties did not agree to refer to arbitration the retiree health benefit disputes of those who retired prior to January 1, 2000. The grievance clause in the 1994-1999 CBA specifically excludes retirement benefits from the grievance and arbitration procedure (cf. Matter of City of Niagara Falls [Niagara Falls Police Club Inc.], 52 AD3d 1327, 1327).