Another nail (or two) in ORTA's coffin?

ORTA president Dengler and past president Scatterday promote cut in our COLA (in address to the Summit County RTA, 6/7/10) while ORTA pushes nearly doubling life membership dues to $500: there's something wrong with this picture!

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From John Curry, June 8, 2010

...and, the attack on our 3% COLA? Bob....surely they wouldn't do that, would they? Or.....would they? R.H. Jones stated, "To get back to the SCRTA (Summit County Retired Teachers Association) meeting, of course, ORTA President Bob Dengler and Past President Blinn Scatterday spoke for the cut in our 3% COLA. Personally, I think they are both wrong and the position that they took will hurt us. In my opinion, they have forgotten that they represent retired members of the STRS, not the active members." How much more of this will STRS retirees take before they try to regain control over the leadership of their ORTA??????????????????? I am so glad to say that I never joined ORTA and this gives me one more reason not to join!
John
From RH Jones, June 8, 2010
Subject: SummitCRTA meeting and PERI's attack on our 13th ck

Kathie and all:

I played it by music [a quote from a nephew] and hit a sour note; I will not be coming down to meet Attorney General Cordray at the CORE meeting, Im sorry to say. Here is why:

I have to spend more time in lobbying. Yesterday, as you may remember, I attended the SummitCRTA meeting whereby they were to vote on the unifying of the local SCRTA dues with the ORTA dues -- ORTA will be raising their dues to $30 annual and $500 Lifetime (ORTA Leadership Bulletin, June, 2010.) At the luncheon, a vote was taken and unfortunately the unification passed 67 for and only 37. There were 149 present, 104 voted on paper ballots.

Before the vote, Dr. Fluke and Lloyd Knudsen spoke very eloquently and to the point against it, and then I spoke against, as well. I thought that unity was a bad idea and a big mistake, since ORTA and not done much for us lately in the fight to keep our 3% COLA. Soon, I think, the result will be a drop in both the local and state membership.

It seems to me that forces within and outside are out to destroy our ORTA, our organization that in the past has lobbied hard for us to get the COLA in the first place. It was after the Jimmy Carters 14% inflation in the 1970s that ORTA fought for us to get a modest COLA and eventually the simple 3%. The ORTA must be given credit, too, for lobbying for the inflation-fighting 13th check, which is now being disrespected in this latest edition of the Public Employee Retirees, Incorporated (PERI) newsletter! It can be read on their website.

The PERI is saying, in effect, that STRS was overly generous in providing a 13th check, and it cost a lot of money out of the STRS general fund. The PERI said they lost a lot of members in opposing the 13th check, but they were correct in not lobbying for it. However, the PERI failed to mention that over the years since our STRS board first hired employees, the STRS has enriched the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) by millions, and more millions of dollars of our money -- that was the STRS employer share of the cost of the employees retirement package. The PERI has to be told that if STRS employer and employee retirement contribution went into our STRS retirement account, instead of OPERS, the STRS could now afford to pay us the 13th check!

To get back to the SCRTA meeting, of course, ORTA President Bob Dengler and Past President Blinn Scatterday spoke for the cut in our 3% COLA. Personally, I think they are both wrong and the position that they took will hurt us. In my opinion, they have forgotten that they represent retired members of the STRS, not the active members.

As a Life Member of ORTA, I should not have to be an officer to voice my opinion and feel strongly that I have a right to oppose that which I think is hurtful to the membership. Most certainly, losing 1% of our simple 3% COLA will hurt us retired teachers and that includes the retired administrators and full professors who dominate our ORTA offices.

RHJones, retired teacher