Jim N. Reed: Some New Year thoughts and words of encouragement and appreciation to all CORE members

Jim N. Reed to Molly Janczyk, January 7, 2007

Subject: Some New Year Thoughts

Molly, I had not read my e-mail for several days and was a bit concerned about the tone I sensed from some messages during the past week or so.

I would certainly hope that CORE members are not being divided so they might more easily be conquered. It seems that we're in an intra-squad scrimmage and suffering some self-inflicted bumps and bruises.

Franklin warned his Revolutionary colleagues that if they "didn't hang together they would most certainly hang separately." (The Iroquois "Peacemaker" admonished the confederacy of the Six Nations to be vigilant of the danger of weakness in the chain coming from the interior of the confederation.)

Not that some constructive debate and difference of opinion are counter-productive. Jefferson, from France, suggested to his Founding Father buddies who were struggling with the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787 that a little controversy and constructive disagreement would lead to the health and strength of the young nation. (We can always debate the reasons for Jefferson's absence from the Convention.)

As we have often discussed previously it is more than likely true that we (CORE) all were attracted to the STRS debate because our retirement system had adversely affected our lives or the lives of someone we cared about. In the early stages of our association with CORE we were wont to express our sense of disenchantment, disillusionment, and disgust with the entitlement mentality we encountered. We were accused of being individual "malcontents" and then collective "malcontents."

"Name-calling" called us to "circle the wagons" and gave us a sense of comradeship and esprit de corps as we rallied behind Dr. Leone's investigative reporting in 2003.

We came to the fray with a wide variety of negative experiences with STRS and it was somewhat of a relief to vent those among our membership since we had been effectively silenced when attempting to get STRS officials to address our individual grievances.

The grievances were widely varied and each retiree hoped for redress and resolution of their issues. FAS challenges, disability identification, counselors' misinformation, a withdrawn 13th check, stagnant COLA's, escalating and then disappearing subsidies for independents' healthcare premiums, out-of-control healthcare premiums for stakeholders, and __________(you fill in the blank).

Then we were made aware of how the other half was living as our retirement system indiscriminately and injudiciously spent our career-long contributions without our representation. There was even an administrative admission that the pension funds weren't ours anyway. Corporate greed and predatory capitalism had reached our retirement system.

The violations of our confidence and trust were difficult to digest. Many of us got a severe case of indigestion that transitioned into a crack in the long-manicured apathy and passiveness for which retired educators were well-known.

Retirees' lives had been changed irrevocably and the pill of forgiving and forgetting was understandably hard to swallow. It's still going down very hard for many of us.

However, we must not allow ourselves to be divided and lose our significance during this time when our retirement system's lifeline is so fragile. Our diversity must not become a weakness and it will not if we continue to believe that the our goals can only be achieved when the needs of the most vulnerable among us are addressed.

It can not be acceptable that some 30-year educators are living on the edge because their pensions and cost of healthcare benefits continue on a collision course. Each of us must continue to inform as many fellow educators, active and retired, to the plight of our older and unhealthy retirees. We must ask ourselves how many of the retirees that appear on the necrology roster at our ORTA meetings might have been better served.

I'm not sure that attacks on all Retired-Rehirees are productive. Dr. Leone's insistence that STRS get out of the R-R insurance subsidy business makes sense but to disparage a retiree's part-time employment (instead of subbing or some other supplementary job) doesn't seem to make sense. Certainly, it's difficult for misinformed or health-challenged pre-2000 retirees to have much sympathy for complaints coming from R-R's with six-figure incomes.

The 35-year retiree does not deserve to be ostracized because he had the health or foresight that some were not as fortunate to have. The recipient of SB 190 is not the enemy even if SB 190 should prove to be.

What about the current jabs at those that have volunteered to disseminate the information so selflessly accumulated by other volunteers within CORE? With so much breaking news regarding STRS in the last three years it is bound to happen that wires may occasionally get crossed. We must be careful not to berate the messenger, especially when the message is controversial or inadvertently incorrect.

Do we collaborate with those perceived to be adversaries? In order to relieve those who are suffering the most in the chain, yes! And I can not forget Tom Mooney's legacy of careful, negotiated cooperation for the achievement of goals that benefit those that are most dependent on leadership constructing wise decisions and policies.

Finally, it seems to me that most of the charter members of CORE and those, like me, who came along after much had already been accomplished would be more than willing to disappear into the transparency of an STRS Renaissance. I've heard several of my learned colleagues say as much and one of our Constitution's prophecies is that the balance of any funds from our organization's demise will go to help those most in need. Our elective demise brought on by achievement should be one of our goals.

Third parties have frequently committed suicide happily. Their ideals and purposes have been either assimilated into the platform of a larger party and delivered or the popular principles of the third party, without election, are accepted by the consent of the governed. Either way, the third party rides off into the sunset gratified from the battle well- fought.

To ALL CORE MEMBERS, I thank each one of you for your contributions and encourage you to activate your rights at the STRS Board's "Public Speak" and to encourage you to keep the chain strong.

Jim N. Reed