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Posts tagged ‘CEA-Retired’

Sep 23

Lessons on Involvement and Activism Focus of CEA-Retired Conference

CEA-Retired President William Murray introduced State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, a speaker at today’s CEA-Retired fall conference.

“As you know, many groups out there in the wider world, don’t like unions but they also don’t like pensions. They’re out to cut down pensions and undermine them in whatever way they can,” CEA Executive Director Donald Williams told CEA-Retired members at their annual fall conference this morning.

Luckily Connecticut active and retired teachers understand how important it is to have their voices heard in the political process and turned out in record numbers for last year’s state elections—electing many pro-public education candidates, including State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, one of the speakers at today’s conference.

“Last year we elected a treasurer who successfully fought to reamortize the Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Fund while preserving pension benefits,” said CEA-Retired President William Murray. Read more

Jul 2

CEA Members Head to Houston to Represent CT Colleagues

CEA-Retired President Gloria Brown, CEA President Jeff Leake, and CEA-Aspiring Educators Chair Katie Grant are ready for the NEA RA.

CEA members are trading warm Connecticut temperatures for the truly hot weather of Houston this week—all in the name of representing their fellow teachers at the NEA Representative Assembly (NEA RA).

More than 100 CEA members are joining the nearly 7,000 elected delegates who are representing their colleagues around the nation. The world’s largest deliberative body is meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center this year.

A highlights of this year’s RA will be a Presidential Forum from 3-5 p.m. EDT on July 5, where a number of 2020 presidential candidates will answer questions submitted by NEA members about the future of public education. Confirmed attendees include former Vice President Joe Biden, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Mayor Bill DeBlasio, Sen. Kamala Harris, Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Rep. Tim Ryan, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Read more

May 21

CEA-Retired Members Elect New Leaders, Commit to Continued Activism

Elections and activism took center stage at today’s CEA-Retired meeting at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, where members voted for leaders to represent them and learned more about federal and state policy issues facing educators.

At today’s meeting, CEA-Retired members elected Mary-Beth Lang as treasurer, Bill Murray as president, Gloria Brown as vice president, and Karen DiMenna as secretary.

CEA-Retired members elected William Murray, currently CEA-Retired vice president, president. He succeeds Gloria Brown who was unable to run again due to term limits. Brown was voted in as CEA-Retired vice president, Karen DiMenna will serve as secretary for another three years, and Mary-Beth Lang was elected treasurer. Read more

Apr 30

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Retired Teachers Lobby Legislators to Support Teacher Pensions and More

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Members of the CEA-Retired Legislative Advisory Council prepare to meet with their elected officials at Retired Teachers Lobby Day.

In an overwhelming turnout for Retired Teachers Lobby Day, hundreds of former Connecticut educators gathered at the Legislative Office Building this morning to meet with their elected officials about issues critical to public education and the teaching profession. Among the biggest of these are funding teacher pensions and avoiding a proposed cost shift.

 

“We must avoid any shift of the state’s responsibility to fund teacher pensions onto cities and towns,” said CEA-Retired member and legislative co-chair Karen O’Connell—a move she cautions could impact education budgets, and in turn, students and teachers. The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee is expected to vote on the issue by the end of the week.

O’Connell and legislative co-chair Myles Cohen said that Retired Teachers Lobby Day—a joint effort of CEA-Retired, the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut (ARTC), and AFT Connecticut—brings longtime educators and legislators face to face to discuss issues ranging from adequate funding of teachers’ retirement and healthcare benefits to the resources necessary to support public education. Read more

Sep 10

Retired Teachers Urged to Speak Up and Vote

CEA Retired President Gloria Brown told retired teachers, “This is an extremely important election.”

“Today is a very special day—not only because we’re here together in an air conditioned space instead of in a hot and humid classroom,” CEA President Jeff Leake told members of CEA-Retired, who had gathered for their annual fall conference on an especially hot and stifling September 6. “Today is a particularly special day for us to commemorate because, 40 years ago on the first day of school, only 36 of Bridgeport’s 1,247 teachers showed up for work.”

Leake continued, “Let us remember today what those striking Bridgeport teachers did for this union and teachers across the state. They stood strong, supported by our members from across the state. They were stronger together, and they did not give up.” Read more

May 10

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Retired Teachers Applaud Legislative Funding, Ready to Stay Active and Engaged

CEA Executive Director Donald Williams thanked CEA-Retired members for reaching out to their legislators in such great numbers.

“Those of you who went to retired lobby day, who reached out to your legislators, I can’t thank you enough,” CEA Executive Director Donald Williams told members of CEA-Retired gathered for their annual spring meeting this morning. “You made a tremendous difference and had a big impact on the legislature this year.”

In the budget that passed the Connecticut General Assembly late last night, legislators designated $16 million for the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund—contributing their full share for the first time in many years. While the state is supposed to contribute one-third of the fund’s actuarially required amount and retired teachers and active teachers each contribute one-third, the state has not been funding its share recently—putting the fund on the precipice of bankruptcy.

“Full state funding for the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund has been one of our top priorities in recent years,” Williams said. “Thank you for your great work.” Read more

Apr 4

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Retired Teachers Meet Face to Face With Legislators to Discuss Policy Issues

“I always tell my colleagues, ‘Never go up against retired teachers,” Representative Matthew Lesser told a crowd of retired educators today. “You guys are smart and have a lot of time on your hands!”

In the biggest turnout ever for Retired Teachers’ Lobby Day, more than 200 retired Connecticut educators converged on the Legislative Office Building this morning to meet with Lesser and dozens of other elected officials about issues important to retired educators and public education.

Rep. Matthew Lesser addresses over 200 retired educators at Retired Teachers’ Lobby Day.

The event, a joint effort of CEA-Retired, the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut (ARTC), and AFT Connecticut, brought longtime educators and legislators face to face to discuss issues important to both retired and active teachers. Read more

Jul 28

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CEA-Retired Member’s Work Highlighted by NEA

NEA Today is featuring retired educators who are still making a difference—and one of those highlighted is Connecticut’s own Jon-Paul Roden. A former CEA-Retired president, Roden was recently elected to his second term on the NEA-Retired Executive Council.

Read about Roden’s continuing contributions to the teaching profession below.

Jon-Paul Roden
Computer Science Teacher, Vernon, Connecticut

When Jon-Paul Roden started teaching in 1965, he needed to take on a second job to help supplement his income. This side job, along with others, made him eligible for Social Security benefits when he retired in 2000. His colleagues who didn’t take outside work and had only teaching pensions were left without a Social Security benefit, and most importantly, the Medicare Part B coverage. Read more

Mar 31

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Retired Teachers Meet Face to Face With Legislators to Discuss Policy Issues

CEA-Retired Legislative Committee Co-Chairs Myles Cohen and Karen O’Connell.

“I find it’s important to stay involved in our Association and pay it forward,” said John Battista, one of nearly 200 retired Connecticut educators who converged on the Legislative Office Building this week for Retired Teachers Lobby Day. The event, a joint effort of CEA-Retired, the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut (ARTC), and AFT Connecticut, brought longtime educators and their elected officials face to face to discuss issues important to both retired and active teachers.

Battista, a former physical education teacher in Westbrook, said, “I wasn’t an advocate early in my career, but over time I developed a passion for the issues critical to active and retired teachers. Teachers are the most important part of our economy. I want to see our profession lifted up to where it should be. ” Read more

Sep 20

National Teacher of the Year Thanks Retired Educators

CEA Retired President Gloria Brown.

CEA-Retired President Gloria Brown.

The nearly 200 retired teachers gathered this morning for the CEA-Retired Fall Issues Conference were reminded of why they went into teaching and everything they love about it still.

“We will always care about public education,” said CEA-Retired President Gloria Brown. “Our organization provides many opportunities for retired members to continue to be active in public education.”
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