At his weekly press conference Wednesday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott made it plainer than he ever has before: He wants uniformity in health care benefits for public school teachers throughout the state. He insisted such a standard is the only way to maximize savings for taxpayers, which he continues to identify as $26 million.
“I don’t know how you [ensure maximum] savings by ignoring the fact that everyone’s getting something different,” he said. “I just think that having all of the uniformity, of having the health care plans the same … that’s essential.”
Scott formally proposed centralizing negotiations for teacher health insurance in late April. The majority-Democrat legislature objected to removing health care from local bargaining between school boards and teachers, and proposed a number of mechanisms designed to save money without changing the collective bargaining process. The Vermont-National Education Association has lobbied strongly against any restrictions on bargaining.
The standoff remained unresolved after more than two weeks of discussions between administration and legislature. In the end, lawmakers passed their own budget and teacher health care plans. On Wednesday, the Republican governor repeated his promise to veto both bills when they reach his desk.
Scott claimed to have an open mind on the subject. “Maybe there’s a different approach. I’m willing to listen to anything,” he said. But whatever that approach might be, he insists that it achieve uniformity in teacher health care.
“We don’t have to have government to do this,” he said. “What we need is the NEA and the school boards association to get together and determine what they would put in place. If they could agree on a solution that had the same plan, we could do this without legislative approval.”
And if wishes and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a wonderful Christmas. The chance of the Vermont-NEA agreeing to negotiate statewide health care benefits with the Vermont School Boards Association is precisely zero, and Scott has to know that. He’s just trying to make himself appear reasonable.
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) isn’t buying it. “If you’re going to ask for statewide uniformity, it’s dictating the terms of local agreements,” she said.
From all appearances, no ground has been given since the legislature adjourned on May 19. The two sides are even telling different stories about efforts to return to the table.
“They did, I think it was about 4:30 on Friday afternoon, they reached out,” Scott said. “We’re going to respond to them in writing and set some guidelines as to how I think this negotiation should work.”
Not so fast, said Johnson.
“We were supposed to have a meeting yesterday afternoon, which they canceled,” she said. “And we were in the process of scheduling one for tomorrow afternoon when I started getting information about [the governor’s] press conference.
“We’re willing to sit down and talk to try to work something out,” Johnson continued. “The fact that he canceled a discussion with us and instead chose to have a press conference is pretty frustrating.”
In fairness to the governor, this was a scheduled weekly press conference, not one specifically convened to discuss the health care issue. However, in fairness to Johnson, the governor did choose to address the issue at length on Wednesday, and made it clear that he sees the legislature as responsible for injecting politics into the situation.
If anything, Scott’s performance showed that he is equally responsible for the political nature of the debate.
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So the VT NEA says we shouldn’t want teachers to have smaller salary increases, we should want everyone to earn more by supporting their union. The fallacy is that the union is making demands on a profitable corporation raking in billions. But this equation is backwards: The union is the greedy corporation making demands on working Vermonters struggling to pay their bills.
I know at least a dozen retired teachers in my town, all under 60, all who travel extensively. That’s great, except teachers keep asking for more and more and more. And if taxpayers complain, everyone yells that we’re against schools and children, fair pay and unions.
I am grateful to Governor Scott for being brave enough to take on teachers, almost like being against puppies for a politician. Vermont teachers earn excellent pay and benefits and vacation beyond compare. Vermont pays more than any other state, the VT NEA has sucked taxpayers bone dry and enough is enough!
This kind of smarmy doublespeak is Republican talk from the 1960s when they still were in the minority nationwide and had to try to talk nice while being pig-headed. Hate to tell the governor that it was 50 years ago. He has clearly taken a “my way or the highway” stance that has no chance of resolution, particularly when he cancels meetings without cause and instead talks to the media. Politics involves people getting together and ironing out their differences, at least at the state level. Scott obviously has no interest in doing this.
Here’s an idea. If he’s so good at all this, why doesn’t he just create the single payer plan that Shummy couldn’t? It would have two immediate benefits. It would solve the health care conundrum in one fell swoop. And it would be a poke in the eye at his predecessor.
Anyone notice Blue Crosses 12+% increase? Oh, that’s the “free enterprise” system working it’s magic for whats left of the middle-class.
Mitzi Johnson and Tim Ashe’s talking points sound as if they were written by the NEA. They probably were.
@artieberger, legislative or legislate? A teacher taught me the diferance between the two a long time ago. Nothing personal, just pointing out mistakes happen. Be well and have a great day.
Dear Representative Bob Frazier, I can see that your frustration with teachers is a personal frustration as they failed to give you a proper grade school education (such basic lessons as the difference between “to” and “too” for example). As a Vermonter, I ask that you, maybe for the first time in your life, not legislative based on personal grudges and pettiness but do what is right for the state.
If you make the right choice here, I promise to personally teach you “which” “witch” is which.
Why is the governor stopping at teachers? What about police? Firefighters? Town officials? All of these impact property taxes. Somehow teachers alone get to face his ire. Surely politics aren’t the source of threats against one of the most important professions out there….
Stand strong Governor Scott, this is to important of an issue for Vermonters. Please do not sell out to the VTNEA like Johnson and Ash have done. #VTNEABUYSVOTES
Gee I thought according to some hack , “the Governor Just Wave the White Flag ” a few days ago . Can’t wait for next weeks “take” .
I believe that governor Scott is establishing a pattern, wanting to appear to be reasonable while saying no. S.22 in particular can lead us on a path of richer resources to apply to education for instance.