It is tough being the Union Rep. My own feelings aren't supposed to matter as I represent the will of the group. And I think I disagree with the will of the group on this issue. But I spent two hours Thursday at a general meeting to hear the facts of the case. At stake: the school district wants to put an upper limit on the amount of health benefits they provide, which is currently unlimited for a family under the current (expired) contract. This will cause families of more than two people to start paying out of pocket for things they haven't had to pay for before.

My issue, why are married people getting more gross annual income than single people? It can be a difference in salary of thousands of dollars per year just because someone has a spouse and children. The single gay man in me (who is not allowed to legally marry in this state) is upset that someone makes thousands more a year than I do simply because the government allows them to be legally wed. Why should they get more benefits than I? I repeat, I'm conflicted on this issue because another part of me thinks we should be happy to be employed and secure in these hard times, and if tens of millions of other Americans pay for their own healthcare, why shouldn't we?

Then again, economic factors are not as dire as one might think. Our district has more than enough money in actual income and reserves to fully fund things at status quo levels for more than two years. So why the rush to terminate benefits now? I'm glad that I represent the will of the group, because I have a feeling if I spoke my true mind on this, I'd wind up on someone's shit list.