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Teachers, School Service Personnel Rally Ahead Of PEIA Hearing In Morgantown
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Teachers and school service employees rallied Tuesday night ahead of a Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) hearing in Morgantown.
PEIA is holding hearings across the state to receive input from state employees and retirees on proposed price increases to their health care plans that would take effect next summer. Changes include a 14 percent increase to premiums and a 40 percent increase to deductibles.
Members of the American Federation of Teachers – West Virginia (AFT) gathered outside of the Erickson Alumni Center at West Virginia University ahead of testifying in front of the PEIA Finance Board. They were joined by the West Virginia Education Association, as well as the United Mine Workers of America, who represent some school service workers.
Tena McElwain, a bus driver for Monongalia County Schools and the AFT service personnel president for the county, said the rally is a show of solidarity.
“The rally is just to show support, unity,” she said. Hopefully we can take care of PEIA this year, working through the legislatures and finding appropriate funding for it.”
McElwain said the proposed increases would cut even further into paychecks for service workers, and make vacancies even harder to fill.
“Right now there’s a shortage in Mon County for bus drivers, secretaries, aides, custodians, cooks, because of the PEIA increases,” she said. “We’re more or less working to pay insurance. We’re not taking anything home after PEIA comes out, we still have bills.”
Cullen Hencke, also a Monongalia County teacher and the vice president of the local AFT chapter, said teachers and school personnel aren’t the only ones that will be impacted by the rate increases.
“Sometimes we’re the loudest voices about these issues, but we know that they affect lots of other people who West Virginians care about and look to and in times of need,” he said.
Carol Roskos, a Monongalia County teacher and president of AFT Moningalia, echoed McElwain’s concerns of the rate increase’s economic impact.
“I would like to see the public hold their elected officials accountable for being responsible for helping West Virginia to run efficiently as a state,” she said. “If West Virginia is not taking care of their employees’ health insurance, there is a possible economic fallout that could happen if folks tend to leave the state or seek employment somewhere else.”
At least four officials elected to state office were present at Tuesday’s meeting, including Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia and Del. John Williams, D – Monongalia, but many attendants expressed dismay that more politicians were not present.
Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, was recently elected to the state senate for District 13. He spoke to the rally ahead of the hearing, and said PEIA’s problems were created by the legislature, and they can be fixed by the legislature.
“They’re fixes that an incoming governor can propose when we get into the legislative session this coming February,” Garcia said. “I’m hopeful, I think these people here are hopeful that their voices will be heard. And I just said a second ago, you can listen, or you can actually look at something, and see where people are. And I think that’s what we’re going to see a lot tonight about how this has affected people in their pocketbooks.”
Kristie Skidmore was elected president of AFT – West Virginia over the weekend. She echoed others and said she is concerned the rate increases will worsen the existing teacher shortage.
“A big picture that we need to look at is when members can’t afford health care, and they can’t afford to stay in the state, they’re going to go elsewhere, and they’re going to make more money, and they’re going to have better health care,” she said.
Dale Lee, president of the WVEA, said that healthcare is a national issue that cannot be fixed at the state level, but some of the burden needs to be redistributed away from employees.
“The burden of the increased cost shouldn’t be borne solely on the employee, and in this plan, more than 40 percent of the costs are going to directly to the employee,” Lee said. “Because not only do you have the premium increases of the 80/20 which, by law, you have to do, but you have $76.4 million in benefit reductions that is born solely on the employee.”
Lee pointed out that pay increases implemented by the legislature were intended to help address PEIA rate increases, but have had little effect.
“It’s really not a pay raise, because you’re not being able to have any more additional dollars for gas bills, electric bills, groceries, things like that,” he said. “You’re actually seeing your buying power decrease in this. So we really haven’t received a raise. It’s been an offset.”
The final public hearing in the series will be held in person Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Culture Center in Charleston.
Over the course of three hours, retirees, teachers, emergency services personnel, and a range of state employees with PEIA health insurance spoke about anticipating more financial strain.
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