Can I gripe for a moment, why is it educators who are always at the
bottom of the ladder in terms of benefits and pay? No, we don't have
PhDs, but we're the ones usually working with the public, day in and
day out. If it wasn't for educators, museums wouldn't offer the
variety of programs that bring people into museums. Not everyone wants
to listen to a curator lecture. We are the ones dealing with school
groups, which typically make up a huge chunk of a museum's admissions.
If anyone needs health care, it's the educators who are in constant
contact with an army of germs from dealing with the public.

If you have to dole out health care or decide who gets and who
doesn't, it should be based on time at the museum or some other equal
factor not singling out one career field.

And really get the facts on single health care plans. Most don't offer
prescription drug benefits and have high deductibles. Thus even if
someone is making a lot more money and paying for their own plan, they
still might not be going to the doctor or getting their meds because
they are paying a crapton of out of pocket expenses.  Someone who has
student loans and paying out of pocket for health care, just might not
have the money to shell out $200 for a prescription, esp. if it is a
monthly one. So in terms of total value, it might be worth it to offer
people health care as corporate plans usually come with prescription
drug benefits. The more healthy people are, the more they'll be at
work. That's a more valuable employee than a "cheaper one" who is
working for less money/benefits, has crappy health care, and doesn't
get their meds or go to the docs as much as they should because they
can't afford it.

Deb Fuller


> On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:59 PM, Thomas Close <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> The museum I work at is growing rapidly. As the new healthcare legislation starts to set in, we're interested in hiring contracted full-time,
>> non-benefited educators and other staff. However, our HR department (coming from a for-profit, corporate background) is hesitant to do so without more
>> information on the topic. Although I'd love for everyone to receive benefits, I know we have many more people who'd simply prefer to have
>> full-time hours instead of part-time.

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