CAT Tracks for May 13, 2009

Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for May 13, 2009

DISTRICT HEALTH INSURANCE

Evidently a controversy is brewing and since I know more than anybody else out there about this, it's time for me to speak!

My opening line is not ego or brag...it's just a fact in this particular controversy. My experience with CSD #1 machinations goes back 40 years AND I was in the room last night where the controversy began...an eyewitness if you will.

That said...

I can assure you that CAT is NOT trying to usurp the authority of the District Insurance Committee. Without bragging (too much), the Insurance Committee might not even exist today if I/CAT had not fought with a previous superintendent who was going to have his way with District health insurance. It was lowly I that fought the battle to PROVE to him that the District had an Insurance Committee representing the various groups within the District...that said Committee had to be consulted and involved in any changes to coverage. It was lowly I that did the footwork, obtained documentation (being the proverbial pack-cat), and rounded up witnesses to the established procedures. Then, lowly I gladly stepped aside and let the members of the District Insurance Committee do their job.

On several other occasions, new superintendents came to me as CAT President and initiated conversations on what should be done about the District's Group Health Insurance program. I stopped the conversation and directed the superintendent(s) to the Insurance Committee.

Since I have been working with the new CAT leadership and am a member of the current CAT Bargaining Team, I can assure one and all that CAT still knows its place...and that "place" is not to make decisions with respect to the District's Health Insurance Group.

Trust me on this...CAT has enough on its plate with never-ending negotiations to have any desire to expand its sphere of influence or responsibility.

That being said...

CAT originally negotiated the contract language that officially provides for and protects the "power" of the District Insurance Committee. Without that language, the District Insurance Committee could be abolished tomorrow...make that today! There is no law that provides for such a group.

In addition, the contract provides for the District's "contribution" to payment of employee premiums for coverage under the District's Group Health Insurance program. More specifically, a notice went out today that mentioned that "the Board's share" was currently being negotiated.

Actually, THAT item has been TA'd...closed. The BOE will pay an additional $7.50 per month this year, an additional $7.50 per month next year, and an additional $7.50 per month the third year...assuming that current negotiations are successful in producing a new 3-year agreement.

$7.50 per month???

That's all!!!

That is what has been tentatively agreed.

Here's why...

The BOE Bargaining Team made it very plain that they weren't interested in discussing/negotiating a multitude of money items. Their position was that "money is money". It was their desire to keep it simple. The BOE agreed to "continue" the current practice of increasing the BOE share of premiums by $7.50 per month per year, but other than that...roll all of your (our) other monetary concerns into your (our) salary proposal.

Your CAT Bargaining Team did not like this proposal...especially since increases in insurance premium contributions are "tax free". If the BOE pays an extra $100 per month on your health insurance premium, you get $100 worth of benefit...with no tax liability. On the other hand, if the BOE gives you a $100 raise, you do NOT get $100...you get $100 minus state and federal taxes. OUCH! Unfortunately, the message from the BOE Bargaining Team was loud and clear..."You are wasting our time by asking us to pay any more on health insurance premiums."

Your CAT Bargaining Team could have fought this mind set...and we could add another year to negotiations. The CAT Team talked it out. The deciding factor in our decision to TA health insurance was that there are some bargaining unit members who do NOT belong to the District's health insurance group...members who would NOT benefit from any increase in the BOE's contribution. EVERYBODY benefits from a pay increase! Now that the BOE has locked into its frugal $85 mode for pay increases, one could lament that decision...the 20/20 hindsight advantage. However, what's done is done.

Actually, my final point on this topic would qualify that last sentence...

Health insurance has been tentatively agreed upon...as have a host of other items.
Just what does that mean?
It means that the two bargaining teams will no longer discuss those items prior to a ratification vote on a new contract...it is no longer an option for discussion.
However, when a ratification meeting is finally held...all parts of the Tentative Agreement are open for discussion by the membership. A free debate is open and welcome. If the membership does not like a provision of the Tentative Agreement and if that provision is so onerous as to make the Tentative Agreement unacceptable, the membership has the authority (by majority vote of those present) to reject the Tentative Agreement and send its Bargaining Team back to the table to seek an acceptable agreement.
YOU, the CAT membership, have the final say so. Your team "simply" puts in the hours and hours and hours to produce a document for your consideration.
In short, if you want the Board of Education to pay more for your health insurance and that concern overwhelms all others...then you will have your chance to act.

About last night...
The thing that has evidently provoked controversy happened innocently enough during our negotiations session last night.
Everybody wants a new contract settled...NOW!!!
Well, put the CAT Bargaining Team at the top of THAT list. (Where were you from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. last night...the occasion of the 32nd negotiations session. It bears repeating...the THIRTY-FREAKING-SECOND NEGOTIATIONS SESSION...which have averaged about 3 hours per session???)
As your CAT bargaining team looked at the landscape - the desire of members for salary increases and the reluctance of the BOE to give same - we looked for any angle to break the deadlock.
CAT is fortunate to have the (dues paid) services of its IEA UniServ Director Jim Tammen. (Jim is NOT "on the clock"...the meter...like the BOE's attorney. Jim is like us...has a vested interest in bringing negotiations to a close...so he/we can get on with our lives. Unfortunately, the BOE's attorney...negotiating IS his life...it's what produces his paycheck!!! As such, he has no real interest in settlement...he would then have to go out and look for another client! Can you read between the lines?)
Well, as we were innocently sitting at the table, somebody mentioned that the insurance committee had just met...had been informed that the BCBS rates were going up another $90 per month. Quick calculation showed that such an increase would mean an additional $1,080 out of each participating member's pocket...totally wiping out the "Step Increase" and then some.
The CATs did wail..."How are we going to sell the BOE's proposal for a pay increase when it will be eaten up by health insurance?!"
And that's where expertise comes in...specifically in the form of Jim Tammen's experiences in dealing with other districts. (Jim also had extensive experience in health insurance when IEA financed consultants to save districts facing rising health insurance premium a few years ago...moving to form a consortium that pooled the districts' resources to become a "bulk buyer". As CAT President at the time, I worked with Dr. Sam Harbin to get members of the District's Insurance Committee to attend the meetings and participate in the exploration. The consortium was formed, but Cairo chose not to join. But...that's a story for another day.)
Anyway, Jim innocently "blurted out" options that other districts had used to contain premiums, mentioning something called an "HSA", whereby the deductible is increased significantly (like from $250 to $1250), the BOE pays the extra $1000, yet it does not actually cost the BOE money beyond what it is already paying.
Don't ask me anymore about HSAs...I don't know any more. In fact, I'm not sure how what I described above works. Jim says it has worked in other districts...I trust Jim.
BUT...my lack of knowledge is as it should be. The same can be said of the other members of the CAT Bargaining Team.
As I said above...
It's NOT our job!!!
Yes, we called District Insurance Broker Kenny Johnson...to see if it was a possibility in Cairo. We did NOT enter into "negotiations" with Kenny Johnson...
It's NOT our job!!!
It IS our job to look for any way possible to move negotiations...to reach a contractual settlement. If bringing an alternative like an "HSA" to the attention of the appropriate authorities - i.e. Kenny Johnson and the CSD #1 Insurance Committee - so that they may explore the possibilities and maybe significantly reduce the insurance premium paid out of pocket by members of the Cairo Association of Teachers, then that would allow the CAT Bargaining Team to accept a lower salary proposal from the Cairo Board of Education.
BUT, to actually engage in negotiations over restructuring the District's health insurance program...
It's NOT our job...it was never our intent!!!
Folks...we're in this together! At the end of the day...we all want the same thing. Members of the District Health Insurance program want the best possible coverage/benefits at the lowest possible price. Members of the CAT want the best possible raise that they can get...with the least possible deducts.

Speaking of expertise...
...experience in getting "burned" with a switch in health insurance provider.
Buyer beware!
I was given a sheet of the proposed rate increases...the option of switching to Unicare/Healthlink.
I don't know anything Unicare/Healthlink.
As a retired teacher, I have Healthlink through TRIP...the Teachers Retirement Insurance Program. Fortunately, I have had no occasion to use it except for prescription medicine. (Yes, it's the "man thing"...I don't do doctors.)
Anyway...
In a past life, premiums for the existing carrier of the District's Health Insurance plan went up significantly. Another carrier "stepped forward" with lower rates...even promising that it would "inherit" any deductibles already paid. In other words, if you had already met your $250 deductible (or any portion thereof) the new carrier would honor that...you would NOT have to pay it again!
WOW...that's a deal too good to believe!
We bought it!!!
You know what they say about those deals that are "too good to believe"?
BUYER BEWARE!
Ask a follow-up question...
What about the "out-of-pocket expenses"...the $2000 that one has to pay as co-pays for various medical services. Do they "roll over" also???
The year in question...the "blast from the past"...the answer was a resounding "NO!".
By May (like now), we had already met the $250 deductible and had already met the $2000 out-of-pocket expense. Unfortunately, when June 1 arrived - true to their word - we did NOT have to pay the $250 deductible (well, after a couple of months of fighting through correspondence), but we DID HAVE TO PAY $2000 more in out-of-pocket expense...a total of $4000 for the calendar year.
It bears repeating...BUYER BEWARE!

Folks...it's been a loooooooong year.
Everybody's nerves are on edge...and rightfully so.
Do NOT take your frustrations out on your friends and colleagues.
Stay focused...WE are not the enemy.
It's time to take a deep breath...if necessary, take a "chill pill". (Under Unicare, this might cost you an extra $5 per order...might wanna stock up now!)
By my count, only fourteen (14) school days to go!

You are CATs...CATs can put up with anything for 14 days!!!