Since mid-school year the PAT has asked the District to enter into conversations about health benefits eligibility for Substitute educators. The reason this has been an area of concern is that the current collectively bargained agreement requires that an educator work a minimum of seventy days in a year to be eligible for benefits in the following year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has essentially made it impossible for most substitute educators to work 70 full days. That means that most substitute educators who have Health and Welfare Trust insurance face the loss of that benefit.  

We are happy to report that the District has stated that it is willing to bargain a reduction in the number of days that a substitute educator must work for insurance eligibility, but that is the best we can say. Unfortunately, PPS has stated that it will discuss the issue only as part of the full-bargain for a successor agreement. In addition, even though the two sides met to begin bargaining, the District did not make an insurance proposal.  

Your PAT Substitute Bargaining Team asked the District to consider bargaining a separate MOU for next year’s insurance requirements. The District rejected that request. 

As we move through bargaining, we will do all we can to keep you informed about this extremely important issue. To accomplish that we will be sending substitute members substitute-specific bargaining briefs.