Union Officials Site Worst Healthcare Plan in Valley as Primary Issue

A host of articles today in both daily papers reporting on the teachers' strike.

The Express-Times included a summary of the proposal and link to the district press announcement (read it here) and an article addressing the issues the union found not to be resolved (health care, pay, and prep-time - read it here)
In today's Morning Call Arlene Martinez reports (read the article here) that the Nazareth Teacher's Union was more concerned with having the 'worst healthcare plan in the Lehigh Valley' than any other issue.

The issue isn't the cost, but the plan itself, union officials said. ''Currently, our members pay a hefty amount for one of the worst health care programs in the Lehigh Valley,'' NAEA President Dan Ifkowitz said in a release.

What the district pays in benefits — which includes vision, dental, workers compensation and life insurance but is mostly medical insurance — increased substantially in the last three years.

Supporting this statement was the following:

''We got to that one spot and that's where we sat,'' said Nazareth Area Education Association lead negotiator Ed Klepeisz of Thursday's negotiations. ''We really have an issue with our health care and it needs to be addressed.

The Express-Times article did not focus on the healthcare as much as it hit the salary and prep time. Included were the following statements:

The union wants higher salaries comparable to teachers in districts with a similar tax base or population, said Ed Klepeisz, chief negotiator for the teachers union.

It also demands more preparation time for classes. Teachers, particularly in elementary schools, often get tied up with meetings and other initiatives that diminish productivity, Klepeisz said.

So we have some more information to work with, but to know specifically what the teachers want remains outstanding. What correction to the healthcare benefit is desired? How much more salary is needed? Which districts does the union consider equal to our own (when I reviewed the PSSA scores there were only about 20 statewide that I identified and I'm sure the areas have very different costs of living)? How much prep time is needed? What meetings are not relevant?

It would seem only until we have that information can a genuine assessment be made, until then on the surface it apears to me at least that a guaranteed raise over 4% for each of the next five years and a nominal fee for medical benefits is a more than fair offer.

What do you think? What information would you like to have that you don't? What accomodations would need to be made, if any, by the teachers to get what they want - for instance to get more prep time maybe they need to work a longer day, or to get a better health plan (assuming it is as bad as they say) maybe they need to make a larger contribution?