The witty quips broke out within minutes of the AssociatedPress reporting the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA) had filedsuit claiming Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) were discriminating against maleemployees by failing to provide insurance coverage for Viagra.
The timing, of course, couldn’t be worse. The storycame as demonstrations were taking place in Milwaukee over hundreds of MPS teachers beinglaid off.
Many of those teachers now could be rehired afterSenate Democrats finally overcame a Republican filibuster blocking federalfunds from going to the states to stop massive teacher layoffs across thecountry.
But people who obviously care little about theeducation of public school students now have an opportunity to loudly bemoanthe priorities of unions today.
From the moment Viagra came onto the market, it hasbeen the beneficiary of overwhelming media attention. Not that it wasn’t anamazing medical breakthrough: For $20 a pill, middle-aged men could achievesomething that used to require purchasing a $60,000 sport utility vehicle.
To explain why the MTEA would intentionally walkinto all the eye-rolling and forehead-slapping that goes with seeking insurancecoverage for erectile dysfunction requires something we rarely do: Thinkingabout sex seriously.
Maybe we should start with the fact that sex is nota joke. That it is one of the most important experiences in our lives and inhuman relationships.
If we can agree on that, then sexual dysfunctionreally isn’t very funny either. Maybe the reason we treat it with such hilarityis out of the fear that if we don’t laugh loudly enough, someone might suspectwe have a problem.
Because sexual dysfunction is a serious medicalproblem, MPS included Viagra and other drugs under its insurance coverage in2002.
However, as the popularityand apparent needforsuch drugs grew, MPS proposed eliminating coverage in the 2003-2005 contract toreduce costs. Those negotiations went to arbitration and the arbitrator sidedwith management.
Since then, MTEA has pursued legal action to restorethe drug coverage. It argues eliminating coverage for approved, medicallynecessary drugs to treat a condition that affects only men violates Wisconsin’s law againstsexual discrimination.
It is the same argument unions once had to use toprevent employers from discriminating against female employees when they becamepregnant.
Long Legal Battle
As usual, the legal fight followed a long andwinding path.
In 2008, the MTEA filed a charge with the state’sEqual Rights Division, noting MPS covered treatment and drugs for sexualdysfunction in women, but specifically excluded Viagra and other medicallyapproved drugs for men.
One of the most head-turning arguments made by theschool district was that excluding coverage for Viagra was justified becausesuch drugs were “mainly recreational.”
What century do lawyers live in when they can arguesex is only fun for men? It harkens back to an age when sex for women wasconsidered a grim duty. They were supposed to grit their teeth and endure it.
A state administrative law judge for the EqualRights Division never ruled on the issue of discrimination. Instead, the casewas dismissed on a technicality. The union is now seeking review in the courts.
That’s why the MTEA is still pursuing the benefitscase at the same time hundreds of teachers are being laid off. The timing givesunion opponents an opportunity to decry that a dozen or so laid-off teacherscould be rehired for the cost of covering Viagra.
But it’s not an either/or. It is the job of everyunion to fight both to protect the jobs of its members and to prevent the lossof benefits.
That is especially true in today’s hostile,anti-union environment when every contract negotiation begins with management’sdemand for drastic cuts in both jobs and benefits.
Many people are blind to the fact this importantrole of unionsprotected by federal lawdoes not just benefit the union’smembers. It benefits all of us.
We are still emerging from the worst recession sincethe Great Depression. Every time a job is saved by a union, every time aninsurance benefit provides coverage for medical treatmenteven treatmentsubject to mean-spirited jokesmoney is being spent that helps the nation’seconomy recover for everyone.
The more people have good jobs with benefits, themore money gets spent on goods and services. That in turn creates more goodjobs with benefits to manufacture more goods and provide more services.
Republicans vote against job creation and formassive teacher layoffs because they don’t want any strong signs of economicrecovery before the November elections to help the Democrats.
They’ve shown before they don’t need Viagra to dowhat they do to the country. n
