Members of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association (KPEA) and the Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association (KPESA) voted on Wednesday to authorize a strike over rising healthcare costs. The strike will take place this fall unless an agreement can be reached with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
David Brighton, KPEA President: “We have three sticking points with the District. The first is that we need to remove the healthcare cap. The second is we can’t agree with the district who says we’ll sign off on a contract now and figure the details out at the healthcare committee later. We need to know what the healthcare benefits are going forward. And finally we need to be sure that employees will take home a paycheck and not be forced to write a check to the district for the cost for their healthcare.”
The strike vote was held from May 17 to May 21 and was open to all bargaining unit members of both KPEA and KPESA. 93% of certificated employees (KPEA) voted and 75.2% voted “Yes”. 84% of classified employees (KPESA) voted and of those 74% voted “Yes”.
According to Peggy Erkeneff with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) the associations would need to provide the school district with 72 hours advance notice prior to the strike.
Peggy Erkeneff: “The associations have not informed the district of their intent to strike. So if and when that time happens, then the district will respond with information particularly for our parents and our students in the community so that everybody understands what would happen.”
Both the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association have been in negotiations with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District since February of 2018 prior to their contracts expiring on July 1.
With the school year concluded for the summer, the time frame for the strike is still undetermined.
David Brighton, KPEA President: “Were deciding exactly when the strike would take place. That hasn’t been determined yet, but it would be after the first day of school.”
KPBSD is hopeful that negotiations will continue throughout the summer with a resolution prior to the start of the new school year.
Peggy Erkeneff: “Were hopeful that through continued negotiations, that a plan can come forth to bring healthcare costs under control for both our employees and the district as a whole. And healthcare continues to be the sticking point.”
No further bargaining has been scheduled.
The public can view and read the School district Collective Bargaining webpage which includes the Advisory Arbitration April 2019 report to KPBSD, KPEA, KPESA documents, and most recent proposals.
