School District Staff Requests Relief from the Rising Cost of Health Benefits

Debbie Hamme

Now that our school board election is behind us, and we are beginning to return to some sense of normalcy, we find ourselves at that time of year when bargaining proposals are addressed. The Association of Classified Employees—Culver City attempts each year to find ways in which to find solutions to the problems and concerns of our members, while being cognizant of the financial challenges the district faces.

This year we are hopeful that we can overcome the adversarial dynamic that has existed in the past and replace it with a joint spirit of camaraderie and compromise in an effort to find long-term solutions that will benefit all stakeholders.

As you will note when reading our proposal, the teachers and the support staff have different priorities. The challenge will be to find solutions to the issues of both bargaining units and the district in a way that is do-able for the board.

We firmly believe that this can be done and are anxious to get to work.

There are a few sections of our contract in which the language is vague or open to several interpretations. In an effort to clarify language so that all ambiguity is eliminated, the following articles will be addressed and none of these issues have a negative financial impact to the district.

Article 4--A.C.E. Rights

Article 12—Transfers

Article 15—Holidays (discussing that members of certain departments are paid for their negotiated holidays differently than others)

Article 16—Vacation Accumulation and Vacation Carry-Over Language

Additionally, we will be discussing these issues:

Article 31—Health and Welfare

The conversation regarding medical benefits for employees has been in the media for a long time, and we have heard it argued from a variety of perspectives. However, in these uncertain times, it is only natural that employees would want to protect medical benefits for themselves and their families. When I started working for CCUSD 17 years ago, benefits were covered 100%. This was a way for the district to attract quality employees to our district. In the last several years, the district has asked us to absorb every annual increase, and today, district employees are paying roughly 50% of their own annual premiums.

Of course, one could say that this is a better alternative to paying 100% or having no insurance at all, but the reality is that this is a significant pay cut for us. Add that to unpaid furlough days and having had no raise since 2007, and the result is members of our unit that cannot make ends meet.

To improve this situation, we are proposing the possibility of adding additional carriers for medical benefits or finding a provider other than CalPers in an effort to reduce premiums across the board. While we want to investigate these possibilities, if it is not feasible to reduce medical benefit premiums through a change in providers, then we will want to discuss raising the district cap (the amount the district pays toward the annual premium).

This is not something the certificated unit has proposed, so the solution to this issue may prove complicated. In the past, the district has not liked to negotiate something with one unit that the other has not proposed.

We are also asking that the district use VSP Vision coverage in place of MES Vision coverage for employees. The district has provided Medical Eye Services coverage for their employees at no expense to the employee for years and we are asking for the switch because VSP provides better coverage that is accepted by more providers.

We are also requesting that the district replace US Life disability coverage (which the employee pays for), with coverage from American Fidelity, which provides more comprehensive coverage for about the same monthly premium.

Lastly, we will be discussing the addition of a salary step under Article 32—Wages.

If any member of the community has any questions or concerns about our proposal; please do not hesitate to comment on the blog and I will be happy to respond.

Debbie Hamme is the President of the Association of Classified Employees and the Secretary at El Rincon Elementary School.