Decatur teaching assistants return to work, but health insurance battle remains
Union members, who are striking over what they say are unfair health insurance cost increases proposed by
"It's fitting that on
The teaching assistants, who have been negotiating with the district since April, say the district's health insurance proposal is too expensive for them, particularly those with family coverage. District leaders have said they're offering reasonable benefits, including the option of a high-deductible plan with lower monthly premiums. They accused union leadership of failing to communicate details to members.
The union represents 275 hearing interpreters, licensed practical nurses, hearing-vision technicians and teaching assistants. Because of the strike, more than 500 special education and prekindergarten students whose programs rely heavily on teaching assistants have been kept out of class.
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Busboom said teaching assistants will be working without a contract when they return. She said the union has notified the federal mediator handling the negotiations of members' desire to return to the table, but the district has not yet responded.
"If teaching assistants are at work, all pay and all benefits will be earned," Swarthout said. "We have had teaching assistants who have been working this week and they continued to earn their benefits." She declined to say how many teaching assistants worked this week.
The district had announced before the strike started that teaching assistants would lose their health coverage if they were not working. During a press conference Monday morning, board member
But
"There's always rumors of it dropping," he said. "It's quite possible that those rumors follow through and this is one of them."
Busboom said the cost of keeping that coverage would be exorbitant.
Both sides have pointed to health insurance costs as the major sticking point in the negotiations. The district is offering two plans: the current level of coverage, known as the "gold" plan, and a new high-deductible "silver" plan. The union says the monthly premium cost increases under the gold plan are too high, and the silver plan is "not feasible" for members because of the high deductible.
Teachers currently pay
Under the gold plan, costs in the contract's final year, 2023, would range from
Under the silver plan, the district would cover all of a single employee's monthly premiums and 85% of the premium for the other categories of coverage. Costs would be roughly
A single employee would have a
Nadler has said the district would need to lower the rate of increase to monthly premiums under the gold plan in order to end the strike. Because teaching assistants pay for their full year of coverage over the nine months they are working, union members with family coverage would have to pay
The union proposed increasing the cost of family coverage to
Previously, the union said it was told that all seven school board members voted not to offer any changes in health insurance premiums during the most recent mediation session
Union leaders also said they have filed a charge with a regulatory body accusing the district of unfair labor practices. Nadler cited what he described as "unprofessional and illegal" comments at the district's Monday press conference, when school board President
Busboom said the suspension does not mean the union will give up on its stance on healthcare.
"We can walk out again," Busboom said. "This is not over. Like I said before, this is just the beginning."
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