LANSING UPDATE

From: Ellen Hoekstra
AFT Retirees Update
July 26, 2010

August 3 Primary
Retirees are reminded that it is important to vote on August 3. In many legislative districts, because the people who live there are predominately either Democratic or Republican, your vote in the primary will determine who gets elected in the fall. And whom you select is important to retirement benefits for you and for future retirees. See the home page of AFT Michigan's website to click on the names of endorsed candidates. As a retiree, you can be the backbone of AFT Michigan's political action with your help with our candidates in the fall, when your friends who haven't retired yet go back to work.

The recent "retirement incentive" legislation that was enacted is a prime example of why your political action is important. We need more legislators and judges who are willing to guarantee your retirement health benefits. Too many of those currently elected and serving were perfectly willing to vote for a 3% payroll deduction for retiree health care - without any guarantee that the benefits they worked for and helped pay for would be around once they retired! Not surprisingly in these tough economic times, only about half of the projected employees were tempted by the retirement incentive offer.

The legislature has completed only the K-12 part of the state budget, and their summer schedule is sporadic. We are hearing that the Senate Education Committee may be doing more work on SB 802 (Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland) to make it more palatable to K-12 school interests. This legislation is opposed by AFT Michigan and would permit community colleges to opt to have all newly hired employees removed from the MPSERS system. AFT Michigan opposes the bill, which creates a slippery slope towards moving public education employees out of a defined benefit plan with health benefits and into a defined contribution plan - with no health benefits! Please urge your senator to vote "NO" on SB 802.

The Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System Board has a summer meeting on Thursday, July 29 at 10:30 a.m. It will be held at the State Secondary Complex, a short drive from downtown Lansing, at 10:30 a.m. All of the Board's meetings are open to the public, and members are encouraged to watch them in action. For directions, agendas, and minutes from previous meetings, check their website at www.michigan.gov/orsschools

By: Ellen Hoekstra,
Capitol Services, Inc.
July 26, 2010