This may not bode well...

...for the Municipal Partnership Act if this keeps happening across the state:

Swampscott’s town employee unions walked out of what was supposed to be a bargaining session to discuss health insurance last week.

Adam Forman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, says he is disappointed with the actions of the union in dealing with a plan, unanimously endorsed by selectmen, to have town employees join the state employee group insurance plan, administered by the commonwealth’s Group Insurance Commission.

Such action would save the town between $500,000 and $800,000 in the coming fiscal year, Forman and many other town officials said in a joint statement issued Monday, Sept. 17. It would also result in significant savings for a great majority of town employees, they said.

However, 70 percent of town employees and retirees must approve the plan by Oct. 1 this year or lose eligibility for it until July 1, 2009.