Question of the Month

 

December/January

How are you tackling the issues of faculty health benefits? How are they being handled at your district? E-mail your answers, suggestions, solutions, frustrations and more today.

Please e-mail responses to Communications Director Keri Goulart at kgoulart@faccc.org. (Please use the subject "December Question.") Your response, along with your name, e-mail address and college, will be published here at www.faccc.org, and may be published in other FACCC publications.

Responses:

Thur 12/9/2004 5:05 PM, Michelle Michelson, SMC District

In our district (SMC), we are forming a joint benefits committee (made up of classified, teaching, administrative and union members) that will advise the district on benefits.

Wed 12/8/2004 9:40 PM, Matthew Johnston, Gavilan College

I am an adjunct faculty member at Gavilan College.  I knew when I was hired that I wasn't going to have benefits but I was surprised to learn that there is nothing available; not even a program where employees pay for insurance themselves.  I currently have no insurance.

Tues 12/7/2004 8:52 AM, Ruth Dills, Coast Community College District

Health benefits for faculty (and all staff) is a negotiated item handled between the unions in our District, and benefit packages apply to all employees that are regular contract employees at least 50%.  It excludes part-time (adjunct) faculty. 

Our District has an excellent benefits plan, and offers to employees three options:  a PPO that has a $200 annual deductible per household and a $5 co-pay, and $5 per prescription.  It is probably one of the best in the state.  In addition to the PPO, the District currently offers two HMO options:  Kaiser Permanente and Pacificare.  Both of the HMO’s are extremely comprehensive, and the cost is $3 per office visit, and $2 per prescription. 

For retirees, about 8-9 years ago, the unions negotiated that retirees would essentially have fully-paid medical up to age 70, and that has been modified so that—though it is handled a bit differently from working folks—retirees (all staff) get full-paid medical insurance indefinitely into retirement.

This does not include dental or optical; those are discontinued after age 70.  

I am with Coast Community College District—includes Coastline Community College, Orange Coast College, Golden West College, and KOCE.

Tues 12/7/2004 7:04 AM, Estella Cox, Member, FACCC Part-Time Committee, Shasta College

Health benefits are non-existent at Shasta College for hourly faculty. They are allowed now to participate in the 125 plan for own premiums for own insurance. The faculty association is working on the issue from the part-time faculty members on the executive board. Not much headway.

Mon 12/6/2004 12:33 PM, Randy Castello, Association of College Educators, Chief Negotiator

At West-Valley Mission, we accepted a prescription card with co-pays and accepted higher deductibles ($250 per person, $750 per family) on our Blue Shield PPO. The people on Kaiser had no change in their benefits. This resulted in a net savings to the District because more people are enrolled in the PPO. Benefits are closed for this year EXCEPT for discussion of a Medicare bridge program for those employees who retire before Medicare kicks in and who have no retiree benefits (faculty hired after 1/1/94). The District has point blank told SEIU that they "want their benefits" and we know that they will be coming for more benefits from us next year. We don't INTEND to give any additional cuts--faculty did not share in ANY of the additional $3 million of revenue and we believe our District has violated the 50% law for several years. What's frustrating is that no one from the District side EVER does ANY financial analysis to support their negotiating positions--our Board is extremely uninformed. Meanwhile our 4 top administrators received $18,000 HOUSING allowances and $6,000 expense allowances--this on top of salaries that start at $130,000.

Mon 12/6/2004 10:42 AM, John Gamber, American River College, Los Rios District

Our union handles those negotiations. We have Kaiser available paid fully by the districtand several other plans (Pacificare, etc.) for varying monthly amounts with the district kicking in the amount Kaiser would cost. We also have Delta Dental at no charge to the employees and are starting coverage for Vision Service Plan.

Some are militating for a cafeteria plan, while others worry that the costs for basic coverage could balloon if we did that.

Fri 12/3/2004 4:12 PM, John McDowell, Los Angeles Trade-Tech College

Clearly health care is one of the top issues in America today, and no less for part time faculty who are among the 45 million uninsured Americans and full time faculty since costs continue to skyrocket each year, far beyond the inflation rate, and districts inexorably seek to have faculty pay more and more for their health insurance.

Rather than just analyze or discuss the problem, we could point to solutions.  For example, in recent years the L.A. Faculty Guild took the initiative and established a labor-management committee which includes members of all bargaining units which has made substantial efforts to control costs.  Our participation in this joint L/M effort is premised on our basic commitment to:  1) preserve lifetime benefits for retirees and their dependents; 2) avoid paying part of the premiums (we have had to accept co-pays and most recently deductibles); and 3) maintain "choice" of both HMOs and at least one indemnity plan.

In LACCD, the Faculty Co-Chair of our Labor Management Benefits Committee, a sociologist specializing in gerantology, points out that we must also go beyond distict efforts to find a political solution.  Clearly, FACCC's successful effort in 1998 to establish a state fund to reimburse districts up to 50% of the cost of part time health benefits, and our effort to increase the meager funding for this effort, are important.  Prop 72 (to require employers with 50 or more employees) was narrowly defeated on November 2, but the fact that we came so close is encouraging. 

Ultimately, I believe we will need a comprehensive solution to the health care issue, such as Sen. Sheila Kuehl's bill which addresses the issue broadly and with vision.  Political solutions require political power, and that's what FACCC is about and which community college faculty need to continue building.

 

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