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Whittier educators union presents petition alleging unlawful health‑insurance premium deductions
Summary
The Whittier Regional Educators Association told the school committee it has documented miscalculated health‑insurance premiums and asked the committee to direct administration to halt unauthorized payroll deductions and comply with the collective bargaining agreement and Massachusetts law.
Katie Stuntton, president of the Whittier Regional Educators Association, told the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School Committee during public comment that the union discovered the district “had been improperly calculating health insurance premiums for our subscribing members” beginning in June 2025 and has repeatedly sought information from the administration to resolve the issue.
Stuntton said the association collected 75 teacher signatures on a petition asking the committee to “direct the administration to fulfill its obligations under the contract and the law to remove this issue without further delay.” She told the committee members that, despite outreach and negotiations with Superintendent Maren Lynch and business manager Cara Cosmus, the administration has “unilaterally and unlawfully subjected members to additional payroll deductions to account for a mistake they have refused to take responsibility for.”
The petition alleges at least two instances in which members were assessed additional payments after payroll deductions had already been taken, and that promised cease‑and‑desist actions by the administration were not honored. Stuntton said the unresolved errors have left members anxious about “missing hundreds of dollars from their next paycheck.”
The association requested that the school committee, which Stuntton described as the employer of record, exercise its authority to ensure the administration complies with the collective bargaining agreement and Massachusetts law and come to a fair resolution for affected employees. Stuntton said WREA leadership has a sit‑down meeting scheduled next week with Superintendent Maren Lynch and business manager Cara Cosmus to pursue a mutually agreeable fix and that the union expects the administration to bring complete information and legal analysis to that meeting.
The committee did not take formal action on the petition during the meeting. No administration response was recorded on the public‑comment record at the time Stuntton spoke.
