Here is a snippet from the Tribune:
OLYMPIA FIELDS -- Rich Township High School District 227 officials this week unanimously approved a 4-year contract with the district's teachers that will pay an average 4 percent annual increase....OK, here goes. This looks very similar to the contract CTU negotiated when Lynch and PACT were in charge. 4% raise a year for 4 years. Individual costs for medical coverage go up (but they did not double under Lynch's negotiation).
..."It was amicable and done very professionally," said school board President Betty Owens. "Each side respected the other, and we were able to talk through issues on both sides of the aisle."
The contract also calls for adding another HMO option, Blue Advantage, which is part of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The district also opted to "unbundle" its PPO and HMO insurance choices, making each plan self-supporting. Deductibles will double under the plan. (emphasis mine - Ed.)
This is what I keep hearing from so many CPS teachers. They voted for UPC because Lynch got a bad contract and medical went up (but, once again I say, it did not double). These same people seem to forget that UPC had run the union for 30+ years and the contracts negotiated under Reese had increases in medical and 1 or 2% raises, and those raises were not every year. That was the extent of the UPC expertise. Small raises or none at all. In the middle of the go-go 90's, when the economy was exploding, Reese and UPC delivered the weakest contract in CTU history.
Lynch came to town and what do you know, in the middle of a recession CPS coughs up a contract with a 4% increase every year for 4 years.
Compare what Rich Township High School District 227 got and what Detroit got (see my earlier posts on Detroit here).
What do you think will happen to us this June when the contract expires? Will we get another 4% a year for 4 years or will CPS offer us what Detroit teachers were offered from their district (5.5% wage cut and a 20% rise in insurance co-pays)?
Anyone who follows the news of how teacher contracts are being negotiated should know that what Lynch got us 4 years ago was a great deal. No one should trust UPC to get us anything even close to what she accomplished. After all, UPC are the same people who negotiate in secret with CPS to change the contract and make union members file freedom of information act petitions to get access to the documents. That tells you everything you need to know.
What do you think?
4 comments:
I have to argue with you that in some cases the medical costs incurred by teachers both at the doctor's office and at the pharmacy did more than double with our latest contract. Not in every instance, but for me they certainly did. My co-pay at the doctor went from $7 to $15. Now for some people that might be an increase of $14 or maybe $21 dollars a year depending on how healthy they are and how often they go to the doctor. I myself go to a number of different doctors and pay this $8 increase every time. So my out of pocket costs have gone from the neighborhood of $70 a year to over $150. Not a huge deal, but still.
With perscriptions its a whole other ballgame. Every perscription that I have filled used to cost me $7. As frightening as this may be to some, I was on 7 different medicines. So that was about $50 dollars a month. After the new contract, the prices jumped through the roof. I had 2 that were now $10 a piece, 3 that were now $20 a piece, and 2 that were $40 dollars each. My monthy costs now exceeded $150 a month. That definitely makes a difference in a teachers bottom line. What about those teachers with families or husbands and wives where these costs could quadruple or more? I guess the message is stay healthy or marry someone with better health insurance coverage teachers!!!
I'm not saying Lynch didn't get us the best deal she could, and I certainly doubt that Stewart will be able to even come close this time, but that's where we're at. I am fairly certain that if Stewart doesn't deliver the teachers will vote her out too. Keeping promises seems to be a thing of the past for some people.
You know what I would like?
Contract terms that Stewart has negotiated made public before the election, so people could make an informed decision regarding the election.
Not a chance of that happening, but one can always hope.
Dear Anonymous,
Have you tried the mail order option for your prescriptions? Instead of $10 each for generic (or the actual cost if it is less than $10), you can get a 3 month supply for $5 each--less than you were paying at the store in the old contract. It is very easy, too. Just ask your doctor to write a 3-month prescription, send it to Caremark (check the back of your medical card for their info. Within days, you have the 3 month supply. It's that easy--and a 50% discount on preferred and non-preferred, too. I use it for my family's needs and have saved alot. Try it!
P.S. Our co-pays went from $10 to $15, not $7 to $15, FYI.
and now from $15 to $20. With emergency room visits jumping from $30 to $100. wow!
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