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Retiree Network News

Articles from the AFT Michigan Forum

Volume 68 No. 1, Fall of 2008


Detroit Paraprofessionals Retiree Chapter 2350
Detroit Paraprofessional Retiree Chapter 2350
The Detroit Paraprofessional Retiree Chapter 2350 meets on the 2nd Wednesday
of the month at the AFT Michigan office in Detroit. Ms. Hattie Clark is their Chairperson.

They are an active retiree chapter because they were active in their union local, They easily laugh about "picketing once or twice" when it was needed, They attend their retiree chapter meetings because they want to stay connected, stay involved with politics, and want to know what is going on in the city, They also continue a long union tradition of caring for each other and their community, This year they are putting together a Thanksgiving basket for a family in need, In the past they have purchased school uniforms for students in need and have given money to the schools where they worked.

They take care of each other as well through the fellowship of their monthly meetings which always seem to erupt with laughter, They send greetings to members who can't attend, occasionally have a luncheon, and are looking at offering some trips in the future.

Their main project right now is recruiting new members, And in true union style they have made a plan, assigned responsibilities, and organized their resources, All the while, taking care of each other, their community, engaging in politics, and laughing as they work.

Resources for AFT Michigan Retirees
These websites have been featured in the AFT Retiree E-News, a periodic email publication of the AFT Program on Retirement and Retirees. Visit these sites for information on a variety of topics of interest to retirees.

"DEAR MARCI" Dear Marci is a feature of the Retiree e-news, It is a free, weekly newsletter to keep you in the loop about health care benefits, rights and options for older Americans and people with disabilities. Dear Marci is a service of the Medicare Rights Center (MRC) (www.medicarerights.org), You must subscribe to the AFT Retiree e-news to receive Dear Marci, To subscribe to the AFT Retiree E-News, or for more information about the AFT Program on Retirements and Retirees, go to http://aft.org/retirement.

Digital TV Transition
http://www.dtv.gov
On Feb, 17, 2009, all television broadcasts will switch to from analog to digital signals. If you don't have a digital TV or cable, you may need a converter box, which generally retails for between $40 and $75, Find out more about the switchover and what it means to you at this FCC Web site.

2008 Prostate Cancer Report Card [pdf]
http://www.fightprostatecancer.org/library/2008_State_Report_Card.pdf
The 2008 state-by-state report from national Prostate Cancer Coalltion, a non-profit group of business and researchers, ranks states by mortallty, screening and detection measures and support for increased federal initiatives to combat prostate cancer.

Support the Employee Free Choice Act
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/efca_card_support
The AFL-CIO is seeking 500,000 signatures supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. The Act can help reclaim the American Dream by restoring workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. The Federation's ultimate goal is to gather I millon signatures

Consumers Report Health
http://www.consumerreports.org/health/doctors-and-hospitals/hospital-home.htm
This new site from Consumers Union evaluates approximately 3,000 hospitals natiomvide. View graphs that rate the intensity of care provided by the facilities from the most conservative treatment to the most aggressive treatment, including time spent in the hospital, number of physician visits and average out-of-pocket costs for nine serious medical conditions, including cancer and hean failure, treated dUring the last two years of life,

Medicare.gov: Nursing Homes Compare http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare
Medicaid beneficiaries and families can now find information about nursing homes on this site highlighting nursing homes with a history of poor performance or repeated violations of state and federal health and safety rules. Information about the homes (I 34 of about 16,000 nursing homes) includes performance scores on quality measures, staffing information and a three-year history of the home's health, safety and fire inspection reports,

Medicare.gov
http://www.medicare.gov
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a new outline tool to allow users to enter the list of medications that a Medicare beneficiary currentiy takes, to determine the amount that each prescription drug plan charges for premiums, co-payments and deductibles, In addition, the tool allows users to compare Medicare prescription drug plans based on customer service and other areas.