More than 500 union members and supporters turned out for an April rally in Oklahoma City that was the culmination of a successful effort to defeat the superintendent's proposal to privatize the school district's food service operations.

The Oklahoma City Federation of Classified Employees, which represents about 500 food service workers and a range of other PSRPs in the district, worked with other AFT locals in the state as well as other AFL-CIO unions and community groups to fight the proposal.

The anti-privatization campaign included letter writing and phone calls to school board members, marches and informational pickets, and the rally in conjunction with a school board meeting. Food service workers also wore buttons the week before the rally indicating their years of service to the district. David Gray, who leads the classified employees local, said the union had planned a second--even larger--rally, which proved unnecessary when the superintendent backed off the privatization plan.

Denver Local Gains Funds for Health Insurance

The Denver federation for paraprofessionals won an important new benefit for the 1,400 paras and other staff it represents when the local school board agreed to provide $315,000 a year to help employees pay for health insurance.

The employees, who have no health coverage through the school district, will be eligible to receive reimbursement for at least part of their private health-insurance premiums through new pre-tax flexible spending accounts.

Although the new funds won't fully cover the $174 per month that it costs paraprofessionals to purchase health insurance, "this is a great step for us," says local president Bernie Iron. She hopes to build on the initial amount so that the fund is renewed and grows each year.

"We're losing people because of health problems" and expensive insurance coverage, Jiron says. She and her negotiating team also managed to make everyone who works at least four hours a day eligible for the accounts, improving on the district's initial proposal that would have allowed only those who worked at least six-hour days.