I am writing to bring you up to date on the Davis Faculty Association’s and the Council of University of California Faculty Association’s efforts to pressure the UC Administration to adjust downwards the cost of the health care plan options it presented to UC employees in the recently closed Open Enrollment period.
Because CUCFA meets with the UC Union Coalition on a regular basis, we were able to learn of the dramatic rise in health care plan costs in advance of public release of the new health care plan cost structure (albeit only 72 hours in advance). This allowed CUCFA to draft and submit a letter protesting the cost increases to President Drake and the Regents even before Open Enrollment began.
CUCFA subsequently offered the letter protesting the health care plan cost increases for concerned faculty to sign, an offer that drew responses from 1,600 faculty members from every campus and elicited 400 wrenching testimonials about how these huge increases would undermine faculty members’ and their families’ quality of life and faculty members’ ability to carry out the teaching and research that sustains UC. The letter with the 1,600 signatures and a selection of testimonials from each of the ten campuses was delivered to President Drake and the Regents on November 12.
In addition, CUCFA signed on to a letter co-authored by members of the UC union coalition further protesting the health care plan cost increases which was presented to the Regents ahead of their November 15-16 meeting at UCLA. Unions also offered testimony on the health care plan cost issue during the public comment section of the meeting.
CUCFA is currently exploring next steps for addressing the health care plan cost issue.
Don Palmer,
DFA Chair