Oct. 3--WALLINGFORD -- Amid a crescendo of car horns and shouts of encouragement from passersby, members of the union representing 190 teachers' aides in the district took their fight for health insurance benefits near the doorstep of Town Hall.

About 50 members of Local 75 of the Paraprofessionals Union staged a 90-minute rally during Thursday's evening rush hour at Center and Main streets.

"We're doing this to show the town that we're serious about getting health care benefits," said Annie MacDonald, who is president of the union local. "We want to educate people and let them know that we're the only union of town employees that doesn't receive health benefits."

The union's members are working under the terms of their old contract, which expired at the end of August.

Union officials and representatives of the Board of Education have been negotiating since June and school officials have yet to make any kind of contract offer to the union.

Instead, MacDonald said district officials have asked the union to agree to mediation with the state Board of Labor Relations, which helps settle disputes involving public employee unions. The union has agreed to mediation, MacDonald said. Superintendent of Schools Dale Wilson was not available on Thursday to comment on the status of negotiations. Michael Votto, who is chairman of the school board, said a member of the board does not participate in negotiations with the paraprofessionals union. The district is represented by Wilson and board attorney Peter Janus.

"What they don't tell you is that health care benefits were on the table five years ago and their negotiators elected to bargain it away for higher pay over the life of the contract," Votto said.

MacDonald said she believes the board engages in subtle sexism when it comes to the negotiations.

"We're a union whose membership is predominantly female," MacDonald said.

Debbie DeCusati, a union member who is in her 10th year of working as a teacher's aide, said she knows firsthand the importance of paraprofessionals having health care benefits of their own.

"My husband lost his job and I had to pay $1,400 a month to get COBRA benefits," DeCusati said, referring to Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which allows laid off workers to get health care benefits for a limited amount of time.

DeCusati said she has a skin condition and needs health care benefits to pay for prescription medicines and treatments.

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