The Administration in Monroe Public Schools recently proposed insurance changes that would place an unfair share of the burden of healthcare costs on the district's paraeducators. Union Secretary-Treasurer Patrice Peterson joined leaders of our local Chapter representing the nearly 100 paras working in the district's six schools to call for fairness and
urge immediate negotiations on the proposed new plan at Wednesday's school board meeting.
Patrice told the nine members of the school board that their paras were simply seeking fairness and equity in healthcare, and to reaffirm our previous
request to commence negotiations. The current collective bargaining agreement for our Paraprofessional Council's Chapter I31 is set to expire on June 30.
But there is added urgency because their insurance carrier,
HealthNet, is terminating its services in the Northeast after being taken over by former rival, UnitedHealth. At an
information session we mobilized members to attend in January, district officials announced the changes would be effective March 1.
Read the statement Patrice handed to each member of the Board of Education and District Superintendent Colleen Palmer. Members in the Monroe area can watch her testimony on
Cable Channel 17's MCTV where the meeting will be re-aired Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday at three times -- 9:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 8:00 PM.
We made clear to the school board that we are committed to fight for each and every one of Monroe's paraprofessionals to ensure their healthcare security is protected. And we will stand up to any attempts to force them to bear an unfair burden of the
cost of the proposed changes.
After all, we know from decades of advocacy that the Administration's approach of segregating its workers by personal demographics -- namely, their age and gender -- is the wrong way to lower insurance costs. In fact, it runs counter to the concept of
"pooling" larger groups of workers to reduce risk and make coverage more affordable.
Added to these concerns over the degradation of their healthcare security, Monroe's paraprofessionals also face an uncertain future as the Board of Education moves forward with plans to
close one of its schools. Difficult times like these are a stark reminder of the importance of belonging to a strong union that has the power and influence to
fight for school paraprofessionals and ensure they are treated fairly.
That's why we are mobilizing Union members to come back to the
next school board meeting at Masuk High School on Monday, March 1 at 7:30 PM -- the same day that the health plan changes are scheduled to be effective. Monroe's paras must demonstrate that while we recognize the severity of this economic recession, we will not stand for balancing the district's budget on the backs of the employees that are the engine that keep the schools running.
Posted by:
Matt OConnor on 2/19/2010 at 3:05:00 PM