Alliance for Retired Americans Blog

Nevadans rally in support of Wisconsin's public workers

Post by Rita Weisshaar

There was a great showing of union solidarity in Carson City!

There were probably 300-400 people at the President's Day rally. They came from a wide variety of unions in Nevada who came out to support the state workers in Wisconsin.

Vicki Borst, pictured at right picketing NV Energy last summer, is a NV Energy retiree and activist with the IBEW Local 1245 Retirees Club. She came out on February 21st to rally and support public workers in Wisconsin.

“I think it’s an awesome show of unity and solidarity in Wisconsin, and I see the same thing going on here today,” Borst said in a channel 8 TV report.

All four of the local TV stations, including the FOX network, covered the rally.

Nevada AFL-CIO chief Danny Thompson was the MC for the rally and several from the state workers, teamsters, teachers and other unions spoke on the importance of collective bargaining and the importance of the services state workers provide.

A few members of the legislature came out and stood with us in support of the state workers and collective bargaining. Senator Horsford furnished pizza to the people in the crowd saying he would rather give than take away from the state workers.

There was a great deal of enthusiasm in the crowd and it was reflected by the people in passing cards who honked their horns in support. There were a few anti-union protesters but they were outnumbered probably 20 to 1.

There was a good showing of Local 1245 retirees at the rally - about a dozen. One of them, Jim Walker, brought his young son. There were lots of families at the rally because of the Presidents Day holiday. It will create a memory for them they'll never forget.

It was a great day!

Rita Weisshaar is a retired NV Energy employee and IBEW Local 1245 shop steward. She is also an organizer for the union.

WI Retiree Leader Blasts Gov. Walker for Refusing to Negotiate with Workers

It’s Time to Stop the Power Struggle, Restore Balance in State


The following statement was issued Monday, February 21st by Leon Burzynski, President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans (WIARA):

Last Friday, public employees through their union, offered major concessions related to their pension and health care plans, as Governor Scott Walker set forth in his budget plan, in exchange for retaining their right to bargain collectively and have a voice through their union.  Despite the fact that these same workers already made significant concessions during Governor Doyle's administration, last week public employees were willing to accept Governor Walker's proposal on pension and health care plans to help solve the state's budget challenges.  They felt  it was time to restore balance to the state and move forward.  The Governor's rejection of their offer is  a slap in the face to working people in our state. 

Wisconsin workers – public and private – are not responsible for the state budget challenges.  While the Governor talks about Wisconsin's budget challenges, last month he added $120 million to the 2011-2013 deficits alone by passing tax breaks predominantly for large corporations.  In dealing with the state's budget challenges, what sacrifices is the Governor asking of wealthy Wisconsin citizens and these corporations to balance the state budget?

Communities across Wisconsin are voicing their opposition to the Governor's "Budget Repair Bill" that hurts Wisconsin middle class families. Collective bargaining is not responsible for our budget challenges.  Bargaining collectively and having a voice through one's union has been and must continue as a great tradition of Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin retirees know the value and benefit of having a voice through their union. That’s why they have been out at the capitol, out in their communities, speaking to their social networks and the media about what this affront really means. They also know that workers like nurses, highway workers and teachers are essential to the well-being and safety of our families and communities. They make Wisconsin a great place to raise a family and retire. They deserve better!

It’s time to stop the power struggle. Our leaders, including Scott Walker, need to work together to create and maintain quality jobs here in Wisconsin and to address the problems facing the middle class.  If the Governor refuses, state lawmakers need to stand up and open a dialogue to get the state moving forward.

Contact:  Billy Feitlinger (608) 239-5384 for more information or interviews with retired workers

Follow WI Alliance photos on Flickr 

Follow WI Alliance on Youtube

Video of protests by Matt Matt Wisniewski

 

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Part II

 

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest Pt 2 from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Sandoval Slashes Seniors Benefits

Statement by Richard Miller - Retired Teacher (AFT) and Alliance leader in Nevada

The Governor’s  budget proposes to slash essential services to seniors is now being revealed for what it is.  Seniors are smart enough to recognize a scam when they see it.

A tax increase for the most vulnerable group in Nevada, seniors are being asked to sacrifice while the Governor’s rich friends are held harmless.

Where is the “shared sacrifice” he espouses?

Using his unrealistic bumper sticker slogan of  “No New taxes” diverts attention from the real issue from the voting public.

These mean-spirited cuts hit the most vulnerable the hardest.  He is willing to balance the budget on the backs of seniors and other most in need and can’t afford it.

He wants to remove the small benefits of $335.00 for the average Senior who is struggling to hold on to their homes, provide food on their table and make their prescription drug and home payments.

These benefits become essential to seniors and disabled in the name of shared sacrifice while protecting the richest and most powerful in our State.

The  17,000 seniors and with  further downturn of the economy these are the very people who can least  afford this loss of the Senior citizens’ Property Assistance Program.

No one should believe the Governor’s rhetoric of his simplistic approach of “no new taxes”: when seniors who qualify because of their low income will be given the tax increase by removing this small but essential benefit.

While seniors and their grand children are sacrificing, the mIning and Casino industry go without paying their fair share of the tax burden and are free to make enormous contributions to their friends in the Governor mansion and the legislature.

Year after year, there have been commissions that have made recommendations to create a broad-based and fair tax system to move this state to a sustainable future and continued growth.
 
Over the year, no one has been willing to muster the political will to fix the antiquated tax system, which allows businesses to go virtually untaxed and doesn’t provide adequate funding to sustain essential and basic services.

These proposed cuts reveal that the “shared sacrifice “ is anything but shared.  

Be assured the proposed budget is just a shell game.  The plan is to not only cut services from those in most need, but to take money from the Counties, thereby cutting even further the essential services seniors and the young depend on.  This will force local government to raise our taxes and fees

In this way the Governor can say he didn’t raise your taxes.

Instead of approaching our budget crisis in a courageous and creative way, the Governor’s proposal merely pushes the problem off to the future and on to the backs of the poor, elderly, disabled and the young.

Unless the legislators step up,  we again will see wheel chairs taken from seniors  and again denying them the essential services they require for them to live out their golden years with some dignity.

We call upon the Legislators to not approve this heartless cut.

2011 State of the Union Watch Parties

Post by Asiah Gayfield, student at Butler University Indianapolis, IN

 Social Security was on the minds of Alliance Members all over the country as they tuned to President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 25, 2011. Members gathered in living rooms, community centers, and restaurants to hear what the President would say about the state of the country, the growing national deficit, and if Social Security would play a part in helping to pay down that deficit (which Social Security does not and cannot by law contribute to).

Seniors citizens were no doubt relieved, and some where even moved to cheer, when the President declared “To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.  We must do it…without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement  income to the whims of the stock market.”

The watch parties were not only a way for members to socialize as they watched the important event, but were also incubators of great discussions. One group of energized seniors in Gig Harbor, Washington spent three hours at their State of the Union gathering both watching and discussing the President’s speech, including their ideas about Social Security and health care reform. A group of senior activists in Toledo, Ohio made up their own criteria to grade the President on before his speech and stayed after to discuss what grade the President should receive. And another group in Tucson, Arizona were so inspired by the Presidents speech they decided  they were going to follow up with their Member of Congress.   

When asked about their opinions of the State of the Union address, party participants had great things to say. A retiree from Arizona exclaimed, “It was really positive – he’s on our side!” Another retiree from Washington summed up the whole speech by saying, “Obama hit that out of the park!” Many retirees even ventured out on a limb and tried their hand at new technologies by using the popular websites Youtube and Twitter to share their feelings about the State of the Union and the Republican responses. The Arizona Alliance, for example, tweeted on their Twitter account http://twitter.com/azretiredams while the Florida Alliance hosted a member teleconference call throughout the State of the Union Address and a press conference call afterwards. FLARA then posted video responses from members and part of the press conference call on YouTube here.

The success of the State of the Union watch parties underscores the value of holding such events because they are a mobilization tool to help organize seniors to discuss current events and respond to them as they happen, in real time.

Response from Doug Hart, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans President

Slideshow (watch parties & events across the country featuring AZ, CA, CT, IA, IN, NH, OH, TX & WA)

Photos: above at right ~ top to bottom: Connecticut, New Hampsire and Indiana Alliance parties

Spotlight on Dan Fonte - Alliance activist in Canton, Ohio

Dan Fonte is an Ohio Alliance activist and leader in Canton, Ohio.

Seven years ago, he retired as the business manager of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 94 after 24 years working there. Currently, he serves as the director of the Harry Mayfield Senior Center in South Canton.

On January 10th, at Walsh University in North Canton, Fonte confronted newly elected Congressman Jim Renacci (R) on repealing health reform. It’s well worth a watch here:

 

Fonte’s apt question prompted Cleveland’s Plain Dealer to construct a “PolitiFact” check on Renacci’s statement that there are “a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare that are going to go into place as a result of health care reform.” The “truthometer” generously rated Renacci’s statement as “barely true.”

Photos: Top ~ Dan Fonte speaks at a Social Security forum in Canton; Bottom ~ Dan Fonte MC's a candidate forum in Ohio.

On why he stands up for the health reform law, Fonte says, “I don’t look at just me and my case; I look at the broad spectrum and if it’s gonna help people.”

Fonte said, “When my parents immigrated to this country,” he said, “it was because of a union job that my father could afford to raise a family and have health care."

Pension security and senior issues are important to Fonte. Fonte says that he stands up to Representatives like Jim Renacci on issues such as health care and Social Security out of respect for future generations, stating, “Not everybody’s gonna get pulled up by their bootstraps.” He holds Representatives like Jim Renacci accountable on such issues for his children and grandchildren and “for working people who’ve struggled so long all their lives.” 

“When you’re a doer, you’re a doer,” Fonte said. The Alliance is glad that Dan Fonte is a doer.