The constitutional convention took center stage at the NYSUT Retiree Contiguous ED 51-53 At-Large meeting in early October. Speaker after speaker urged the retiree activists to keep hammering home the risks of holding a constitutional convention, and the importance of getting themselves, and others, to the polls on Nov. 7 to vote no.

IMPORTANT:
The contract between Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Hartford HealthCare has lapsed.  The parties reached an impasse and have not renewed their contract.  As a result, Hartford HealthCare facilities will be treated as out-of-network by Anthem, significantly increasing the cost for services at the following facilities, among others, if you are insured by Anthem:

It is possible that the State House of Representatives will hold a vote on Tuesday October 3^rd in an attempt to override the Governor's veto of the budget bill which passed both chambers of the General Assembly a couple of weeks ago.  A two-thirds majority vote is needed to override the veto in the House and it doesn't appear the votes are there, but if they are holding the vote, it is certainly a risk.  If the veto over-ride is successful in the House, then the State Senate would convene and hold a veto override vote within days.  The Governor (thankfully) vetoed the budget whic

On September 5, President Trump announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will end in six months unless Congress moves to protect DACA recipients and Dreamers. Contact Congress Now! Ask them to pass the Dream Act.

October 2017

Published by the Clearwater TRIF UNIT

CLICK to READ

If you care about future beneifts, call the Governor and urge him to
VETO THE BUDGET!!!

As a reminder, the budget:

• Increases pension contributions for all employees to 7% of salary in 2027
• Lowers the Tier2, 2A, 3 pension calculation in 2027
• Ends retiree pension COLAs in 2027 for ALL retirees
• Ends OT in pension calculations starting in 2027.
• State Labor contract agreements or arbitrated agreements would be rejected if not voted on in the legislature within 30 days.  Any rejected agreement would then have to be arbitrated (or re-arbitrated) and sent back to the legislature for automatic passage.
• Limits what an arbitrator may consider for the State's "ability to pay" during negotiations.
• Allows the State to break contracts under certain circumstances.  This is not just labor contracts this is any and all contracts...it is unclear if they actually tried to deem themselves this much power and authority, but it certainly seems to violate federal contract laws.
• Limits SEBAC and union agreements to 4 years
• Requires the Comptroller to annually review the SEBAC2017 agreement to ensure that the projected savings are achieved and allows the Governor to recover any lapse if insufficient savings.

Yesterday, Governor Malloy vetoed the budget which was passed by the legislature.  That budget made unilateral, statutory changes to State Employee pensions and introduced other anti-collective bargaining rules.  The budget was a mess, it was unbalanced and vindictive, the dollar figures were in fantasyland; it was a budget in name only.  So the Governor rejected the mess and released a message with the veto.

Recent events in Puerto Rico, Houston, Florida, and other areas remind us of the high value placed on those who volunteer in response to natural disasters.  Those who volunteer at such times are driven by an urge to help others in need.  They are willing to sacrifice the comforts of home and family to head into disaster areas and hazardous circumstances to render assistance.

The NYSUT Retiree Membership Handbook is designed to answer questions Retirees might have about continuing NYSUT membership & Retiree Services.