As Open Enrollment begins this week, Professional Staff (ProStaff) at UC in UAW 4811 will benefit for the first time from premium increase caps and cost subsidies that staff negotiated in our union contract for Kaiser and Blue and Gold. This means that the rates you will pay as a UAW employee will be lower than the rates UC publishes for non-union staff. Many Professional Staff enrolling in Blue and Gold will even pay lower premiums than in 2026. Professional Staff choosing the UC Care PPO or Health Savings+ PPO will continue to enjoy the choice those plans provide. This is important to understand when making your decision about plan enrollment.
These 2027 benefits build on the wins from early in our contract campaign last year, when we secured an agreement with UC that locked in planned healthcare premium reductions and froze rates for plans that UC had intended to increase in 2026. As a result, UAW 4811 Professional Staff in the SSAP and RPSP units paid lower premiums throughout 2026 than other UC staff for most health plans.
These benefits were only won because Professional Staff exercised our collective power as unionized workers. ProStaff will need to show the same unity as we bargain for a fair wage scale in the new year. See below for more info about your premium rates.
