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Jefferson Federation of Teachers' Health and Welfare Fund
The Jefferson Federation of Teachers' Health and Welfare Fund was established through collective bargaining between the Jefferson Federation of Teachers and...
Jefferson Federation of Teachers' Health and Welfare Fund
The Jefferson Federation of Teachers' Health and Welfare Fund was established through collective bargaining between the Jefferson Federation of Teachers and the Jefferson Parish School Board to deliver supplemental health benefits — specifically dental and vision coverage — to eligible employees and their dependents within the Jefferson Parish Public School System. It operates as a jointly trusteed welfare fund, a structure common in public-sector labor agreements where employer contributions are held in trust and administered by a board with equal union and management representation. Because the Fund is a welfare benefit plan rather than a pension plan, its investment posture is fundamentally different from that of a public retirement system. Assets are deployed conservatively to ensure liquidity for current and near-term claims. The Fund does not publicly disclose a target asset allocation, but comparable multi-employer health and welfare trusts typically hold portfolios concentrated in short-duration fixed income, money-market instruments, and investment-grade credit to match liability durations of one to three years. There is no public evidence of allocations to private equity, venture capital, or real assets. Day-to-day oversight rests with a Board of Trustees on which Kesler Camese-Jones — president of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers — serves as chair. Sandra Hauer holds the secretary/treasurer role. The Fund is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers through the local union, which places it within a national network of labor-sponsored benefit plans. No separate investment staff or outsourced chief investment officer relationship is publicly documented. What distinguishes the Fund from a conventional institutional investor is that it operates entirely within the collective-bargaining framework of a single parish school system. It does not seek external limited partners, does not manage third-party capital, and does not function as an allocator in the traditional sense. Instead, it is a purpose-built trust designed to deliver a defined set of health benefits to a closed membership — making it relevant to institutional peers only in the narrow context of public-sector labor fund governance.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Metairie
Corporate office
Metairie, LA, United States
Principals
Kesler Camese-Jones
Chair of the Board of Trustees; President, Jefferson Federation of Teachers
Sandra Hauer
Secretary/Treasurer
Frequently asked questions
Is the Jefferson Federation of Teachers' Health and Welfare Fund a pension fund?
No. Despite being captured in some institutional databases alongside pension funds, the JFTHW Fund is a health and welfare trust — it provides dental and vision benefits, not retirement income. Its investment portfolio exists to support benefit claims, not to fund long-term pension liabilities. The distinction matters for any allocator evaluating the Fund as a potential co-investor or peer.
Who sits on the Board of Trustees, and how are they appointed?
The Board is composed of trustees appointed by the Jefferson Federation of Teachers and the Jefferson Parish School Board under the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. Kesler Camese-Jones, the union president, chairs the board. The joint-trustee structure means both labor and management share fiduciary responsibility for the Fund.
Does the Fund invest in private markets or alternative assets?
There is no public record of the Fund allocating to private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, or real assets. As a health and welfare trust with short-duration liabilities — dental and vision claims are paid within months — the portfolio is almost certainly limited to highly liquid, low-risk instruments. Comparable trusts typically hold government securities, investment-grade corporates, and cash equivalents.
How large is the Fund's investment portfolio?
The Fund does not publicly disclose its asset size. Its annual benefit outlays are a function of the number of covered employees and their dependents within Jefferson Parish Public Schools, but no audited financial statement or Form 5500 is readily available through public filings that would confirm a specific figure.
What is the Fund's relationship to the American Federation of Teachers?
The Jefferson Federation of Teachers, the Fund's sponsoring union, is a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). This places the Fund within the AFT's broader network of labor-sponsored benefit plans, though the Fund itself is a Louisiana trust governed locally — the AFT does not directly control its investments or administration.
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