Mr. T and the OEA

From Duane Tron, February 5, 2008

Kathie,

The following are the exact numbers for our health costs. The monthly premium for my wife is presently $669.00/month and my premium is $181.00/month. This figures out to $850.00/month. Multiply this times 12 months and it figures out to $10,200.00. My wife chastised me because I was $400.00 too high in the amount I quoted yesterday. Oh Well! The premiums are still in excess of $10,000.00/year.

Two years ago our out-of-pocket expenses for health insurance and related costs factored out at $16,520.00/year. This was because I had a 20% hospital co-pay. Last year the total was $15,650.00/year. This year it will factor to about $17,000.00 for the year like I previously explained. This will take almost half of my yearly compensation.

Any reasonable, prudent, and rational person recognizes that this is insane and outrageous. The problem has been, and continues to be, that they keep placing all of the cost increases squarely on the backs of retirees with non-teaching spouses who have not attained Medicare age of 65. If I would have had any prior warning of these events I would have never retired. The problem was they dropped this on us without any advance warning and without providing any kind of phasing in over a specified period of time.

If they would have said we're going to have to phase this in and it will be achieved over a period of five years I would have maintained my principal's certificate and gone back to work. The problem was that when they informed me of the drastic and radical changes I had allowed my certificate to lapse. Wonderful! It also meant that I was four years older and my marketability was diminishing by leaps and bounds due to age. Add to that the fact my wife is two years younger than me so she has to go three more years on my health insurance plan before she qualifies for Medicare.

I look at OPERS and then look at what the OEA ilk pulled on us and people can't understand why we are irate?? It isn't rocket science and I will do everything in my human power to flush OEA down the toilet and make them irrelevant! I worked extremely hard as a classroom teacher, coach, building rep, association president, school principal and it took a toll on my health. The 10-15 hour days as a building principal really damaged my body and health. Then I have something like this dumped on me!

At one time I coached three sports and taught six classes with over 180 students/day. I attended graduate school full-time while teaching full-time and coaching varsity basketball and junior high volleyball. I wasn't supposed to do this but my advisor allowed me since I was carrying a 3.872 GPA. I received numerous awards for teaching excellence and that obviously didn't mean a thing.

I was recognized by President Clinton at a Town Meeting in Akron for my work with minorities. That obviously didn't mean anything, either. I have served with Dave Speas for eight years working with disadvantaged and academically challenged children from ten elementary schools in a city and that obviously hasn't meant anything to anyone apart from the children. On the other hand it is really all about the kids isn't it?!

Golly! What am I thinking? Some of us have always taken our responsibilities seriously and placed children first. Then I realized why would OEA honor and take care of retirees? Why would they seriously consider our needs and welfare? After all they have never cared about children or teachers apart from collecting all of that dues money to support their obscene lifestyles and take care of themselves. Tell me one thing OEA has done to place children first during the past 20 years??!! I have been thinking for days and I can't find a single event that distinguishes them as child advocates! Imagine that??!!

When you reflect on the majority of STRS Board they aren't even retiree advocates. Why not?? Ask a silly question! Because retirees aren't paying dues to them any longer so retirees are just a worthless burden draining money away from them. Ah! Now I get it! It wasn't really that tough to figure this all out was it??!! Active teachers need to wake up and dump OEA and get a union that really cares about children and teachers. Go OFT!

Please look up and post the salaries received by top OEA officials and it will explain everything clearly.

Duane Tron,
Retired 1998