Teacher Pension “Its not too late”

I said not long ago that there was still about five minutes to lobby for the Teacher’s Pension at the legislature. The Union is finally getting on the stick and has sent some folks on a bus to St. Paul. Frank Wanner told me it was a coach not a school bus.

This email was forwarded to me to show my comments about the DFT ignoring the threat to their pension is being addressed. I’ve excerpted it:

Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 8:02 AM
To: East
Subject: FW: Duluth pension merger and Food Drive Info

Greetings,

Below is a brief update of the pension merger moving in a forward direction…it’s not too late to send Governor Mark Dayton a letter.
Capitol Room 130
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

From: Rachuy, Sharon [MN] [Sharon.Rachuy@edmn.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 12:06 PM
To: Frank T Wanner
Subject: Duluth pension merger, House budget targets

Greetings D.F.T. Building Stewards and Executive Board:

Please share with the members in your building.

Thanks!

Sharon

Education Minnesota’s weekly update from the Capitol
March 18, 2014

Duluth pension merger moves forward
House releases budget targets

Join us for lobby days
LATEST NEWS
Duluth pension merger moves forward
We understand how important a secure and stable pension is to attract good teachers and encourage them to make teaching a long-term career.

That’s why we’re successfully pushing legislation to merge Duluth teachers’ pensions into the statewide Teachers Retirement Association, with full state funding for the unfunded liabilities. HF1951/SF1803 passed the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement earlier this month.

The House has included, and it appears the Senate will include, the $14 million in annual state aid necessary so TRA members and their district won’t bear the consolidation cost.

The Duluth Federation of Teachers engaged members early on this issue, making calls and writing letters to legislators urging their support and sending a busload to St. Paul to lobby lawmakers in person.

The Duluth Teachers’ Retirement Fund Association faces a severe funding shortfall through no fault of the workers. If the Legislature doesn’t act now, the costs of resolving the issue will only increase going forward.

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