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Retirees dues boost needed to meet expectations
The PEF Retirees continue to grow as a formidable presence defending the rights
and benefits of retirees. We are a voluntary organization with the majority of
our dues being used for administrative support.
In 2005, the PEF Retiree Executive Board, using information presented by our
Financial Committee, decided it was prudent to dedicate more dues revenue to the
local chapters. It is our intention to develop a greater cadre of activists to
protect our benefits and promote the advancement of our issues.
In December 2006, the Financial Committee advised the board of the necessity to
raise our dues 50 cents per month. There are several reasons for this increase:
• As we grow, we have created a greater work load on our administrative staff
(currently one full-time and two part-time). The dues increase will allow us to
replace the two part-timers with a second full-time position.
• As our level of activity increases, more and more PEF retirees are
participating in our chapter functions. Although this is what we strive for,
it’s also costing more.
• Our Financial Committee has warned us that we are spending significantly more
than we take in with our dues. We’ve never asked for an increase since our
inception more than 20 years ago. However, we can no longer finance these
increased expenses and sustain this continued loss of our reserve.
Many PEF Retirees have commented on the extraordinary service they have received
from PEF Retiree assistant Alice Hughes. One couple writes;
“Ms Alice Hughes has been kind and helpful on so many different occasions! She
is also efficient! When we call with a problem, she takes the information,
checks it out and gets back to us within a very short period of time. Ms Hughes
makes an extremely challenging time a little easier for us.”
This is the level of performance we are committed to retain in our
administrative office. The additional full- time staffer will ensure our members
continue to be well served.
We all know the tremendous amount of money that special interests spend on their
lobbying efforts. Between January ’05 and June ’06 the drug companies spent $155
million to ensure passage of Medicare Part D. Washington lobbyists spent $5
million on average per day to promote their special interests. Many of these
initiatives are harmful to seniors, working people and the poor.
Lou Dobbs, in his latest book, “War on the Middle Class,” has stated, “There is
almost no countervailing influence in our society to mitigate, even at the
margins, the awesome and all but total ownership of our political system by
these special interests.”
The PEF Retirees, along with other senior and labor groups, are the
countervailing influence in our society.
Beginning August 2007, the PEF Retirees dues will be $18 per year. The dues
processing fee will remain at $3 for those members who continue to pay annually
by check. Your renewal will be $21. If you have been paying the annual
processing fee, do yourself and the PEF Retirees a favor by changing to pension
dues deduction. That way you’ll avoid the processing fee, which amounts to 25
cents per month.
We must continue to remind our legislators that the goal of government is to
work for the common good and the national interests. We remain dedicated to
protecting your rights and benefits. The PEF Retirees asks that you continue to
support it in this effort.
Want to volunteer for the NYS Fair?
The NYS State Fair is coming August 23 and will run through September 3 in
Syracuse.
Members of PEF Retirees who would like to work at PEF’s booth at the fair should
call Chris Henderson at PEF’s Syracuse field office (315) 471-2311 as soon as
possible to volunteer.
Be sure to tell her you are a retiree and which day and shift you would prefer
to work. If she is not available to take your call then, leave your name and
number and Chris will call you back. However, to be scheduled you must actually
speak with Chris.
Callers will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Shift hours for
the booth are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 4-10 p.m. One PEF Retiree member and one PEF
member will be scheduled for each shift.
The Communicator June 2007
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