afscmeretirees161.com (version 0320)

Good morning all,

 I want to talk to everyone about what’s going on with state contract negotiations and our role in this situation.

 The most important thing for our Retirees to know is that state contract negotiations WILL impact them. Most notably, the Rauner administration is continuing to press for major cuts to the State Group Health Insurance Plan. By some estimates, his proposal would result in a 500% increase to out-of-pocket costs for Retirees as well as state workers on state health insurance plans.

Now, some members may ask: “didn’t the Supreme Court recently rule that they can’t come after our health care?”  We need to constantly reinform them that the ruling in the Kanerva case only dealt with charging retirees premiums– and did not affect rising out-of-pocket costs. This should be apparent to all our state and university members since they already saw their co-pays go up on January 1.

Currently, our contract negotiations will continue until October 1. At that point, it seems extremely likely that the Governor will declare an impasse in bargaining leaving us with two options: accept the governor’s proposal- including all the parts that would impact Retirees; or go out on strike. We have not had a state wide strike in 40 years of bargaining, and it is not something that any public servant wants to see happen as it would adversely affect the communities we serve. Rauner knows this, but as we have seen time and time again he is fundamentally opposed to any state services that assist our most vulnerable citizens.

Right now though, there is another option. SB 1229 would forego the possibility of a strike and send our contract proposals to an arbitrator. This would allow state services to continue and not put at risk all the people and communities that our members serve.

This bill has already passed the House and Senate, but then was vetoed by Governor Rauner. Now, we need to get enough votes for a veto override, and by all accounts it’s going to be an extremely close vote.

We need all of our members to call their state senator and state representative and urge them to vote Yes on the veto override.  Attached is a flyer that we are circulating with the union’s legislative hotline that will connect you directly to your state rep and senator. If you are unable to view the flyer on your computer, we are asking Retirees to:

Call 888-912-5959 and follow the prompts to be connected to your elected official.

When connected tell them:

“I support Senate Bill 1229, which helps keep state government working and ensures fairness for state employees. I urge you to vote to override the Governor’s veto.”

If you get a voicemail, leave a message. If its busy keep trying. Basically, keep calling and don’t give up- there’s simply too much at stake.

In the next week or so I will also start rolling out the various pieces of Retiree involvement in the coming fight to secure a fair contract. This will include community outreach and communicating to our members (and the general public) what is at stake this fall. But for now, we need every retiree, family member, and friend to call their state rep and senator about SB 1229.

Solidarity,

David Amerson

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FLYER 

Remember all Subchapter 161 members are invited to the annual S.O.R.E (Skokie Organization of Retired Educators) picnic. See: https://afscmeretirees161.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/sorepicnic1.pdf

Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax presents a summary and then the full text of AFSCME Council 31 handout of their position on Governor Rauner’s plan to force a strike or lockout. See:

http://capitolfax.com/2015/07/23/afscme-rauner-plans-to-force-strike-or-lockout-and-union-has-no-strike-fund/

9 July 2015

AFSCME Sub-chapter 161

Dear member:

We will meet again at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant at 5203 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Il., on Wednesday, 15^th of July. The meeting starts at 11 AM. If you know interested retirees, bring them.

At this meeting we expect to continue our effort to build an active membership through person-to-person efforts and alliances with other organizations. Sub-Chapter elections for officers and executive board members will be held in September.

See below for additional news items and announcements of upcoming events.

Sincerely,
Charlie Hogan

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(All can be viewed by clicking here)

From Chaya Rubinstein, S.O.R.E:

Bernie Sanders campaign meeting

From member David Rolston:

Invitation from Northside Greens

From member Shannon Seiberling:

Article about Governor Rauner from Pantagraph

Charlie Hogan reported on the quarterly meeting of the retirees’ subchapter presidents. A copy of his notes may be seen by clicking here.

The main topic of concern was the agenda of Governor Rauner, acknowledged to be strongly anti-union.  Copies of Governor Rauner’s documents may be seen by clicking here.

Chaya Rubenstein, from S.O.R.E. (Skokie Organization of Retired Educators), provided a set of events that our members are invited to attend (click to see details):

THE COALITION TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY

STOP RAUNER’S TURNAROUND AGENDA/THE COALITION TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY/THE 2015 JUSTICE PROJECT: THE MARCH CONTINUES

S.O.R.E. 2nd Annual Picnic

10 June 2015

AFSCME Sub-chapter 161

Dear member:

We will meet again at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant at 5203 Old OrchardRoad, Skokie, Il., on Wednesday, 17^th of June. The meeting starts at 11 AM. If you know interested retirees, bring them.

Information from the Council 31 Retirees June meeting will be available. The focus for us will shift to contract negotiations. If you have been following the message roll out in the media, you know we have to respond to attacks on government employees and retirees. We’ll need a fact sheet every member can use whenever the subject comes up among friends and neighbors. We’ll want to discuss it and plan how to use it individually and in group activities. Bring any appropriate articles you have read and internet sources you have found. We will use them as part of our effort to build a active membership through person-to-person efforts and alliances with other organizations.

Sub-Chapter elections for officers and executive board members will be held in September.

Sincerely,

Charlie Hogan

13 May 2015

AFSCME Sub-chapter 161

Dear member:

We will meet again at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant at 5203 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Il. on Wednesday, May 20th. The meeting starts at 11 AM.

Our Guest speaker is David Amerson, AFSCME 31’s Retiree coordinator. This is an annual visit. He will have updated news on the ILSC’s pension decision. If you have questions about your pension and benefits, this is an opportunity to ask them.

Tuesday, May 12^th, the subchapter held its first evening meeting under the auspices of the ILARA. I led a workshop on building membership. (Every S/C161 member is an automatic member of the Alliance.) This was a first effort to connect to members who can’t attend the morning meetings, as well as to create an umbrella group that non government retirees could join.

I will have a report for you on the suggestions offered during the workshop. After David’s briefing and the follow-up Q&A, I will try to give a condensed version of the workshop. It is activity for re-tooling the person to person GOTV effort of last year. With improvements we can use it to push our legislators to pass a properly funded state budget. It can also be used as a continuing part of our effort to build an active membership as well as alliances with other organizations.

Set time aside for this meeting. There are six weeks left in this year’s Legislative session. Negotiations for a new AFSCME/state contract are on-going. We have to act together to win a good outcome for ourselves, our families, and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Charlie Hogan

8 April 2015

AFSCME Sub-chapter 161

Dear member:

We will meet again at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant at 5203 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Il., on Wednesday, 15^th of April.The meeting starts at 11 AM.

This will be a mix of a guest speaker as well as a working meeting for members. Information from the recent quarterly retiree meeting will be available.

I have invited Ms. Bea Lumpkin, a union activist, to speak about building labor and grass roots community movements. We want to stop the attack on our pensions, benefits, and the well-being of our extended families and our communities. Bea has seen variations of this attack in the past. She was a part of the labor/community response to them.

During past meetings, we have been discussing and trying new ways of building membership and member power for what we know will be a hard political fight. Since to “wait and see” only yields the advantage to our enemies; our efforts to learn, communicate, and grow our sub-chapter is the best preparation for any strategy Council 31 asks us to carry out.

Come to the meeting. Bring family and friends to hear Bea. Come with your best ideas and stories of what is working as we organize one-to-one.

Sincerely,

Charlie Hogan

11 March 2015

AFSCME Sub-chapter 161

Dear member:

We will meet again at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant at 5203 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Il. on Wednesday, 18^th of March. The meeting starts at 11 AM.

This will be a working meeting for members. Information from the Council as well as other sources will be available for you. I want you to have facts to counter the lies that will be in the mainstream media. We will also look at the new legislature and bills being discussed.

The focus will be on building one-to-one connections. We first educate ourselves, then family, friends, and sympathetic listeners wherever we meet them. This is foundational work. It’s not dramatic. But it is the basis of what we have to do to save our pensions and benefits.

We have to act: testing new ways to meet active people and building a base of support in each legislative district. We have to learn and apply new skills in order to attract and focus supporters. Council will shape a strategy to beat off the legislative attacks. We have to be ready to support the plan with our new skills and connections.

Our sub-chapter has a reputation for taking action. Past efforts at Town hall meetings and office visits have educated us as well as the legislators. Actions, properly done, lead to knowledge and power.

But blocking bad law isn’t enough. If this crisis leads to anything; it should be an appreciation for a legacy we would want to leave for our families and community. In general terms, we are working to build a “pressure of possibility” that doesn’t exist in Springfield.

Sincerely,

Charlie Hogan,
President

Charlie Hogan

Members are advised to start contacting state legislators about protecting our pensions and benefits. Also, to start educating friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. and to encourage them to also contact legislators.Below are documents that may be helpful (click on a title to view the document). Click here to view our contact page which includes additional useful links and addresses.

Sample letters from President Charlie Hogan to his legislators:

Letter to Senator Steans

Letter to Representative Harris

From The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability:

The High Cost of Doing Nothing

Issue Brief: The Pending FY2016 Fiscal Cliff

From United Working Families:

Elected School Board Now

Statement from Jorge Ramirez, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, Regarding State of the State Address

AFSCME responds to governor’s State of the State address

Recommended by our members:

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “FAIR SHARE” AND “RIGHT-TO-WORK.”

Selections from Declaration of Independence

Statement by member David Rolston.