At VSEA’s 76th Annual Meeting, VSEA members participating were greeted by State Treasurer Beth Pearce, and she cautioned state employees to begin preparing (again) for a renewed attack soon on state employees’ defined benefit pension plan. Actually, Vermont’s own pension Chicken Little, David Coates, has never stopped his now decade-long campaign to convince lawmakers to implement a 401K plan for new hires to state government. Mind you, the last time VSEA checked, a majority of exempt state employees (read: not VSEA members), when given a choice, chose a defined benefit pension plan.
Pearce did stress that she is unsure right now what action(s) state employees could be asked to make to shore up the pension fund, but she warned it could include a call for employees to increase your contribution. Pearce promised to keep us informed, and she vowed to continue to fight alongside VSEA members to protect your pension.
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Today’s video post from newly elected VSEA President Aimee Towne is the first video update she’ll be sharing with the membership weekly. New updates will post every Monday morning at roughly 10:30 a.m.
Towne says she will be covering some of the content contained in the previous Friday’s Week In Action newsletter, as well as providing members and retirees with any calls to action, urgent needs, updates from the State House, pension news, and whatever else important is on VSEA’s radar screen.
This Week:
VSEA President Launching Weekly Membership Video Updates
Clerk Warns Special Meeting To Discuss Dues Proposal Adopted At Annual Meeting
Union Power! Newly Organized SAS Employees Unite To Win Right To Participate In State’s Free Flu Clinics
No Premium Rate Increase For Employees & Retirees In State’s Medical Plans
VSEA Reiterates Opposition To Any Additional Request To Shift Membership To OneCare
VSEA President’s Message About Reconstituted Member Committees
California Furloughs Create Massive Backlog In Processing Unemployment Claims
Four Maine State Employees Who Maintain Gov’t Buildings Test Positive For COVID
Read The Full Newsletter Here!
In a recent article posted to a site devoted to pensions and investments, State Treasurer Beth Pearce’s position on pensions is compared with that of her main opponent’s, Carolyn Whitney Branagan. Their answers make it clear who deserves VSEA member and retiree votes.
“The defined benefit style of building a retirement system is old-fashioned, it doesn’t work anymore,” Branagan says. “So we need to come up with an alternative, a more modern way of building retirement.”
vs.
“Defined benefit plans, when they provide adequate dollars in retirement, are an economic generator because they result in folks buying goods and services and that creates more jobs,” Pearce says. “They also “provide the best benefit for those employees and facilitate better recruitment and longevity of our employees. “Note: Ask yourself. When Ms. Branagan says a DB plan “doesn’t work anymore,” who exactly isn’t it working for? And “alternative, more modern way” translates to putting new hires in a defined contribution plan, which benefits whom exactly?
This Week:
VSEA Announces 2020 General Election Endorsements
Tuesday’s BOT Meeting Allocates Time For Member Input
House Resolution Honors State Employees’ Service During Pandemic
VSEA President’s Message About Reconstituted Member Committees
Monday, October 5 Is The Deadline To
Self-Nominate For VSEA Council Seats
Quote Of The Week!
UA Secures Full-Time Status Restoration For UVM Lecturers
Missouri Governor Proclaims September 30 To Be “State Employee Appreciation Day”
Article Reminds That State & Local Governments Are Crucial To Economies
Safety & Security Division Offering SSIR Reporting Training
Current Executive Branch Unit Contracts Posted!
Now Is The Time For Corrections Members To Self Nominate To Be On Bargaining Team
Read The Full Newsletter Here!
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