Publications

Chapters in Action

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Chapters 119C & 1199J

In April, retiree members of Philadelphia Retiree Chapter 1199C and New Jersey Retiree Chapter 1199J gathered in Atlantic City for the biggest conference the groups have ever sponsored. Nearly 800 retiree members attended the event, where they participated in sessions on current retiree issues and heard from a variety of speakers. The top item on the agenda was political action. International Pres. Gerald W. McEntee served as keynote speaker. McEntee decried President Bush's anti-labor record and said that Bush's Medicare legislation was a bad deal for seniors.

His remarks were echoed by other key speakers, including Henry Nicholas, president of District 1199C (and an International vice president) and Joe Franklin, president of District 1199J.

CSEA Chapter 1000 — Florida Locals

CSEA/New York Chapter 1000 has re-organized its Florida retiree units — made up of over 6,000 public retirees from New York who now live in the Sunshine State. Until recently, only one group, Retiree Local 950, represented CSEA in Florida. Now, a new structure has been developed, reflecting a growing membership that lives all over the state. In March and April, three retiree locals held their first annual conventions. Local 950 met in New Port Richey. The new Local 951 met in West Palm Beach. And the new Local 952 met in Ocala.

More than 300 members attended the three meetings, where they socialized with former co-workers, received information on their New York pensions and health benefits, heard a presentation on the new Medicare prescription drug law, learned about retiree bills in the Florida legislature and got to meet CSEA Pres. Danny Donohue (also an International vice president) and other top officers who came down from New York to help launch the re-organization. Donahue delivered the oath of office to the Local 952 officers, including Pres. Sarah Jones (r). The other local presidents are Joe McCormick (Local 950) and Judy Richardson (Local 951).

Alaska Chapter 52

Anchorage was the location for Alaska Chapter 52's biennial convention, held on May 8. The program included two presentations on federal issues. The first explained the new Medicare prescription drug law. The second dealt with the two Social Security offsets — known as the GPO and WEP — that unfairly reduce benefits for approximately 25 percent of public retirees (including nearly all in Alaska). Other discussion centered on two lawsuits the chapter has filed on behalf of Alaska state retirees — one to restore pension benefits and another to prevent the state from cutting back on retiree health coverage. Ann Bay and Gordon Severson conducted the chapter's election of officers. The process was made more complicated by the resignation of Pres. Bill Bryant shortly after the convention and by the need for a runoff election for the office of vice-president. The permanent officers will be announced soon.

NYC Chapter 37

On March 13, Chapter 37 held its first-ever education conference, drawing over 500 members to the all-day event. Called "Retirees Working for Future Generations," the conference was held at DC 37 headquarters in New York City. Welcomed by Chapter Pres. Stuart Leibowitz, the crowd heard from a series of expert panels discussing political action, federal issues such as Social Security and Medicare, pensions and retirement income, and DC 37's member benefits. Major speakers included International President McEntee, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Lillian Roberts — executive director of DC 37.

After several successful organizing projects, Chapter 37 currently counts over 25,000 dues-paying members.

Colorado Organizing Commitee

AFSCME's Colorado Retiree Organizing Committee recently met in Pueblo for a workshop on the AFSCME Retiree Program and to plan future organizing activities. The committee is co-chaired by Phyllis Zamarripa and Jerry Solano, both longtime AFSCME leaders who retired from state service. In the last few months, the committee has already signed up over 200 members for a prospective Colorado retiree chapter.

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