Legislation would help retired vets Last month, I wrote about bill S2329, which would provide veterans who qualified and retired from the state before 1998 a “supplemental allowance” to their pensions. PEF has issued a memorandum of support for this legislation, and you may want to call your state senators and urge them to get behind it too. Help build labor’s muscle The state AFL-CIO has reorganized 25 central labor councils into five new Alliance of Labor Federations, or ALFs, to improve labor’s regional organization and political-action efforts. Six labor councils have not been converted to ALFs. They are New York City, Long Island, Westchester-Putnam, Northeast, Jefferson/Lewis and Central NY. You can help make the labor movement a more effective advocate for working people and retirees by volunteering to work for the new alliance in your area. The ALFs are asking retirees to volunteer and share their experience and expertise to build a stronger labor movement for us all. Long-term-care plan offered If you have been worried about the high cost of nursing-home care, check this out. A long-term-care plan is now being offered to PEF members and retirees. NYPERL (NYS Public Employee and Retiree Long Term Care Insurance Plan) gives you a choice of two plans. One allows you to retain assets under Medicaid Extended Coverage. For more information, call 1-866-474-5824. Strong voice in Washington In late January, I attended the American Federation of Teachers 2002 Retiree Leaders Conference in Washington, DC, where I was the facilitator in a discussion of how to “Add spice to your meeting programs.” The conference was attended by 160 chapter presidents from throughout the country. AFT represents the issues of working families and retirees at the federal level. Our PEF Retirees chapter in Albany meets March 4 at PEF headquarters and the Long Island Chapter meets March 27 at the Region 12 office.