School Committee Brockton v. Brockton

Municipal Corporations, Group insurance, Collective bargaining. Labor, Health benefit plan. Contract, Collective bargaining contract. Arbitration, Collective bargaining. KASS, J. What the parties dispute is a variant of the problem considered in Everett v. Local 1656, Intl. Assn. of Firefighters, 411 Mass. 361, 582 N.E.2d 532 (1991) (Everett I), and its sequel, Everett v. Labor Relations Commn., 416 Mass. 620, 624 N.E.2d 552 (1993) (Everett II). Attention to the over-all approach, as well as the details, of those opinions points to the Conclusion that the dispute in this case, which, like the Everett cases, relates to employee contribution to health insurance, should be submitted to arbitration, rather than resolution by a court. Accordingly, we vacate a judgment of a Superior Court Judge permanently staying arbitration.