Health Insurance for Vermilion Parish Teachers

This link is worrying--it's about the financial distress that the Vermilion Parish School Board is in because of high health insurance claims. That means that every employee of the VPSB is in danger of losing health insurance or getting much more expensive health insurance due to the financial problems that exist. 

It is easy to connect the dots here--the teacher's union contract is massive. I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons why the VPSB is in dire financial straits, but the teacher's union contract is definitely contributing. It includes all sorts of perks for union officers and officials. If the teacher's union contract in Vermilion Parish were to be looked at critically, I'm sure there are reasonable cuts that could be made in order to ensure the VPSB has the money to pay health insurance. 

If health insurance costs rise, is anyone under the impression that the union is going to lower their dues to compensate for the expense? To make it easier on their teachers? I sincerely doubt it. 

If They Knew

I am already receiving a lot of support from teachers in Vermilion Parish who want to know more about the teacher's union contracts. I am pleasantly surprised that people actually care about this issue--especially teachers, who want to know where their money is going.

In the coming weeks, I'll be exploring other parts of the union contract. One thing I can tell you is that I know very few teachers in Vermilion Parish who would support this contract if they knew what was in it.

This Is Why I Am Anonymous

I wanted to try to push information to teachers in Vermilion Parish about their union and the contract that was negotiated on their behalf. I did so anonymously because I feared that there might be repercussions if local union officials and other teachers knew I wasn't 100% behind the union.

Today, I saw one of those repercussions. Someone reported my Facebook account and I have now been locked out of it because it did not use my "real name". I am going to work with Facebook to see it restored--but in the meantime, please like my new page.

This fight isn't over. I'm committed to seeing teachers in Vermilion Parish get the support they deserve, instead of seeing a contract that only benefits the union officials and their bosses. They think they can shut us up, but they can't. We're going to keep speaking out!

So God Made A Teacher

Thank you to whoever made this video. It is a brilliant illustration of how much work a teacher does and what sort of impact we can have.

Dues to LAE Support Democratic Politicians

I am not a terribly political person by nature. I believe in certain tenants of fairness very strongly, though. I started looking at all of this information because I was curious as to why dues for the teacher's union in Vermilion Parish were nearly $500 a year. The chart below details how much money the Louisiana Association of Educators gives to political candidates and committees each year and breaks it down by partisan affiliation. As you can see, LAE gives much more money to Democrats than Republicans.

If you're a teacher in Vermilion Parish who's a member of the union, then you're giving 50% of your dues to an organization that is not only using your money to support politicians, but is doing so in an overwhelmingly partisan way. While I can't seem to find information on the Vermilion Association of Educators' spending habits...I'd be willing to bet that they get involved in politics in a partisan way as well.

Chers Bebes

A great event is happening in Lafayette on October 13th. Make plans if you want to attend.

Questions and Contact

Thanks so much to those who have reached out. Unfortunately, I've already had people trying to figure out who I am, so I'll be keeping my gender and location concealed from now on. I do not want the repercussions that come with exposing teachers union contract details in a small Parish.

I do want to thank all those who have offered help. I will be reaching out to some of you. The best thing you can do is share this blog with other teachers and begin a conversation about why it is that we're paying so much in teachers union dues and why LAE has a monopoly in our Parish.