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Happy Friday. Short but important update today.
I would like to take a moment to debunk the idea that AEA has not been transparent during the healthcare provider selection process:
When insurance for all was switched by APS (only procurement and HR were involved in the conversation) back in 2023, it caused a great amount of hardship and frustration for many APS employees. We (AEA) were outraged that no non-Syphax employees (including AEA members) were consulted. We started bargaining our first contracts* in 47 years, and if you refer to the contract (Article 25 G, to be specific), you will see that AEA negotiated seats at the table when the next round of healthcare discussions occurred. This translated into 6 seats (3 licensed and 3 support staff). We had 3 licensed staff volunteer and no one from support staff (I took that spot). Notes were taken at each meeting of the Benefits and Wellness Engagement Committee, and you can find them here: Healthcare Benefits Contract Renewal Process. You can also find the results of the healthcare survey that was sent to all APS employees on this page. I mentioned the fact that we secured this position, asked for volunteers, and referenced the survey multiple times in my weekly newsletter, "News From the AEA Office". The Request for Proposals (RFP) that was sent out was written by APS procurement. This process follows strict laws, but the RFP was shaped by survey results of employees.
We also negotiated (again Article 25 G) representation on the Selection Advisory Committee (1 support, 1 licensed). This was the first time in years that non-Syphax employees were allowed to participate in the procurement process. By LAW, all participants in the process had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). We were not allowed to speak about vendors who presented or any other details, without legal consequences. This is standard practice. I can tell you that all vendors presented their healthcare 'package', and the team scored each vendor on a variety of factors--one of which being "availability of providers" and another being "provided the most benefit to employees". To date, the NDA has not been lifted.
As for the AEA member that is being attacked on Facebook: As union members, one of our core tenets is building relationships. Josh is someone who speaks at every school board meeting--sometimes in favor of APS actions, and sometimes against. Most times he is speaking as an individual, but sometimes he does speak for AEA, and when he does, he will state that. Josh studies every published budget from cover to cover and knows more about employee compensation than any other person I know. As you can see, the answers to questions about healthcare are lengthy, and lend more to face to face conversations, as opposed to screaming into the void of Facebook. It has nothing to do with secrecy--he is an educator, after all. Additionally, neither Josh nor "AEA" has the capacity to understand every single detail of the plan and how it will relate to specific employees--we defer to the experts on this. I was truly disappointed to see our colleagues attack him for trying to do something good. I continue to be disappointed that certain employees never assume positive intent and continue to push the narrative that AEA is some sort of secret society. It is not. When you ask me, I will tell you. The opportunity to be informed has been presented multiple times, in multiple ways.
AEA has communicated what we could at every step of the way. We coordinated the announcement with APS, and they have already published information here: HR - Benefits - Home.
*You can find the contract here: Labor Relations and here: www.aeavea.org. Hard copies are available, and there is probably a QR code to access contracts on your AEA bulletin board at your worksite.