These comments follow along the lines of my PowerPoint presentation (found on our website www.aft6157r.org under Documents).
Part I. One of the first meetings I attended on Friday, March 14 was the Health Care, Retirement, and Benefits’ Resolutions Subcommittee. Of the four resolutions created by the Retirement Policy Committee, all were adopted. Briefly, here is the focus for each resolution:
Resolution 8: “Compelling Social Security as a Retirement Option for all Part-time Community College Faculty”
The key word is “option” here. For some of our faculty, social security might be a better option for them in retirement in comparison to other options that the district provides.
Resolution 9: “Oppose All Efforts to Privatize Social Security and Support Efforts to Stabilize the System”
The resolution clearly defines what “privatizing” the Social Security system means, starting on line 27: “Whereas, one of the strategies used in these attacks involves ‘privatizing’ the system . . .” The negative effects of this privatization are explained starting on line 47: “Whereas diverting payroll taxes to private accounts . . .” This resolution is very clearly written and can provide all of us with important information related to our current Social Security system and possible changes. I encourage you to read its full text.
Resolution 10: “Save Medicare from Privatization”
Line 34: “CFT states its opposition to Medicare privatization and urges our federal legislators to level the playing field between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage . . .” For more information about Medicare and Medicare Advantage, see page 17 in Doug Orr’s PPT presentation “Social Security and Medicare / Is there really a crisis?” Email Leslie for a copy of this PPT.
Resolution 11: “Fighting the Harmful Impacts of Private Equity on Our Economy”
The goal for this resolution is to support CalSTRS and CalPERS in their efforts to curb or stop these negative impacts.
It was very exciting for me to watch how members reviewed and edited some of these resolutions in real time. And then when they went to the floor, to hear the comments and debates by the delegates. People were very engaged. Keep in mind that there were a total of 24 resolutions. When the final drafts are made available, I will definitely have a copy. Please email me for a copy or link.
Part II. CFT President Jeff Freitas, State of the Union
President Freitas gave a brief history of the “wins” we have achieved the past two years. He stressed that now is the time to “fight back and then fight forward.” He encouraged us to go forward joyfully. He discussed recent positives occurring in our local CA unions – raise increases, membership increases, and ballot success (many of our unions have endorsed candidates to local school boards with great success, including our own Paul Fong). He discussed the major impact that the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act has had on the federal level. Our own Kathy Jasper and others in our community have worked tirelessly to see this through. He then discussed the state of California and its current deficit, which has led to proposed layoffs of teachers and staff and cuts to public education. He talked about two unions who have been effective in fighting back and reducing the layoffs in their districts. At the federal level, he said that we must be willing to take it to the streets as well as fight back via the ballot box and in the courts. He then stressed his strong support for Climate Justice, Universal Health Care, and fair tax policy, including a wealth tax. Please consider listening to his speech (see the URL in my PPT).
Part III. AFT PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN
This was the first time I had seen Ms. Weingarten speak in person. She was very reflective and passionate as she spoke. She said, slowly, that she was hopeful now. She talked of the importance of street action. She also said that she had been reading a book by the author Tim Snyder (I have one of his books now on my “to read” shelf – On Tyranny; another one is On Freedom). She said we must protect, defend, show up, and care. She also said that AFT is in the courts daily to battle what is happening at the federal level. In my PPT, I have included a short clip of the speech at the Convention as well as a recent article by Weingarten about the current cuts at the federal level by Elon Musk and President Trump.
Part IV. Other Items of Interest
Well, I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I really enjoyed reconnecting with my AFT 6157 colleagues, especially my former English colleague at SJCC, now Vice President Jessica Breheny. I enjoyed a wonderful CFT awards dinner on Saturday night with Jessica, as well as President Steven Mentor, new Executive Director Anthony Prince, SJCC Associate Faculty Rep Carol Abohatab, and EVC FT Faculty Rep Dave Hendricks. The hardworking Jory Segal was also at the dinner. I even saw Gabe Santiago, also an SJCC colleague, at the San Diego Airport in the boarding line. It was wonderful to see our local AFT 6157 well represented and very active at this Convention. The work they continue to do for all of us is truly amazing.
I have the following resources available. Please email me at lesliertravel2025@gmail.com if you would like a copy.
A PPT – “Know your rights: State and federal policy for LGBTQ+ students and teachers”
An online flyer – “AB 800 Know Your Rights” – for employees
**A PPT – “Retirement Planning 101” by Professor Douglas Orr, City College of San Francisco
**A PPT – “AI in the Educational Workplace” / also “AI for Classified Workers”
**A PPT – “Social Security and Medicare: Is there really a crisis?” by Professor Douglas Orr, CC of San Francisco
**(these are the ones I really, really recommend for great information on retirement, Social Security, Medicare, and AI (even for a novice)
Finally – Because of the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act earlier this year through bipartisan support within Congress and President Joe Biden, you really really should check to see if you are eligible for Social Security (or an increase in benefits). For those of us who contributed to Social Security sometime in our lives, our benefits will now no longer be offset by our pension. For those who have never contributed, perhaps you are now eligible for spousal or survivor benefits. How do you check? Create an account with Social Security online (ssa.gov). Through this account, you can usually check your benefits online or make an appointment. You can also call Social Security to set up an appointment. Many of our retirees have already seen more money from Social Security because of this Act. Please, please check your account and see if you are eligible. If you are already in the Social Security system, hopefully you will see the positive effects of this law soon.
Thank you for supporting my attendance at this Convention.
