Retired Articles
Retirees stay true to the cause – keeping political, union skills sharp
AFT activists don’t stop being active when they retire. United Teachers Los Angeles retiree Jimmie Woods-Gray, for example, remains a whirlwind in the fight to stop the privatization of public education. UC-AFT Riverside’s Stephanie Kay, meanwhile, continues the daily fight for lecturers’ rights on University of California campuses.
L.A. retirees adopt schools to support potential strike; new Santa Cruz chapter casts endorsements
Contract negotiations between United Teachers Los Angeles and L.A. Unified were already heading toward impasse when UTLA-Retired members began to “adopt” schools to support in case of a strike.
Council of Retired Members taps a resource: Retirees are “stickin’ to the union”
Download a single-sheet illustrated history of the Council of Retired Members
What retirees have that unions need — knowledge, experience and memories — are concentrated in the Council of Retired Members, the newest division of CFT. Convention delegates in 2014 overwhelmingly voted to add the council to the union’s governance structure so retirees could contribute in the same way as working teachers and classified employees.
Medicare-for-All could free billions for our classrooms
CFT retirees at the annual CARA Convention, from left, Ann Killebrew, San Francisco; Bill Philllips, Santa Cruz; and Margaret Shelleda, Oakland.
Most American schools and colleges pay for employee healthcare out of their budgets. Education activists are enthusiastic that a Medicare-for-All approach for faculty and staff would free up billions of dollars for classrooms.
CalSTRS pensions analyzed in light of GOP attacks
Teachers do much better with defined benefit plans than 401(k)s
Most public school teachers working today count on traditional pensions — which guarantee a monthly income based on age, salary and years of service — as their main source of financial security in retirement.
Pension battles shift from ballots to courts
Tracking the latest strategies that attack public employee pensions
For years, people have been trying to attack pensions with ballot propositions, said Doug Orr, an economics professor at City College of San Francisco and the chair of the of the CFT Retirement Policy Committee. Those propositions always go down in defeat, Orr said, and now those attacks on pensions are coming to the courts.
Retirees prepare to stand firm in a hostile new world
Social Security and Medicare targeted by majority party
Candidate Donald Trump told the American people he didn’t want to cut Social Security, but Republicans have opposed the system since its creation during the Depression.
Retirees work presidential election in swing states
Pajaro Valley’s Julie Armstrong named top volunteer in Florida
Because Hillary Clinton needed to win in Florida, I volunteered, along with CFT and AFT retirees from other states, in the Sunshine State.
A veteran teacher’s perspective on magic, old and new
Will “newer” always be seen as “better,” despite the evidence?
I recently received an email from a first-year sixth grade teacher asking about my classroom management system. I’ve taught for 37 years, making me a veteran teacher by any reckoning.
Retirees! CFT welcomes your participation in the new Council of Retired Members
Retirees! CFT welcomes your participation in the new Council of Retired Members
CFT has formed a new division welcoming retiree participation and action, the Council of Retired Members. It is the first constitutional division the union has added in several decades.
Union establishes Retiree Organizing Committee to build new chapters
The CFT has established the Retiree Organizing Committee to help local unions take advantage of the experience, skills and commitment of retired union members.
The goal of this new standing committee is to organize AFT retiree chapters around the state so that retirees may continue to contribute to their unions — and have opportunities to connect with former colleagues.
New retiree chapters offer social connection, wield political clout
Expertise of post-career members brings valuable asset to mid-size locals unions
Although it began as a social group, the recently chartered retiree chapter of the ABC Federation of Teachers has become increasingly political, says its president, Gayle Pekrul. “Many retirees are not interested in just being social — they want to be involved in the issues.”