Protecting Retiree Rights

New Mexico's public employees and state workers in Maryland can rest easier about their retirement plans. They have AFSCME members on watch.

In September, members from Council 18 were elected to fill the three vacant positions on New Mexico's Public Employees Retirement Association. PERA's 12-member board represents 49,000 active New Mexico employees and more than 20,000 retirees. Former Local 3022 Pres. Loretta Naranjo Lopez — now retired — defeated a 10-year board incumbent for the retiree seat. Local 477 member Nancy Hewitt, an attorney for the Public Defender Department, used a solid grassroots program to win the most difficult battle against the incumbent board chairman. Patty French won her seat in a four-way race. The Local 3022 member, a records supervisor with the Albuquerque Police Department, received endorsements from a number of employee groups.

In Maryland, Local 1319 (Council 92) Pres. Sheila Hill won a five-person race for the "active-employee" seat on the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, which serves more than 275,000 teachers, police and government workers. Many union endorsements — and a well-crafted campaign — helped put her over the top.

These activists are part of our union's continuing drive to ensure that members have a voice in the decisions made in behalf of their pension plans.