Page 2 - Retiree News Spring 2024

CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan:
Keep our retiree union strong
CSEA Family,
When you
retired,
you
knew you had
the security of
a guaranteed
pension, Social
Security and
other benefits that help you live a dignified life. One major reason you have this kind of security
in retirement is because of your membership in CSEA.
During your careers, many of you fought for fair pay, benefits
and retirement security. You played an important role in our union’s hard-won advancements that have improved the lives of working people.
You have worked hard and earned your retirement. We cannot afford to be complacent when
it comes to all that we gained, including our retirement security. Our opponents want to take away all the benefits we have secured for ourselves. It is important that we continue to stand strong and use our collective voices to prevent this. I urge you to continue to help us keep our retiree union strong.
There are many ways you can help accomplish this. You can spread the word that we have
a strong retiree union that not only provides great member-only benefits but will actively fight to protect what we have earned.
Another way that you can
help make a positive difference
is to share your experiences and knowledge with working members. By doing so, you can help educate them about our union’s history, which can be an important tool in helping us address challenges that face us.
We need to keep up the efforts to reach out to former members who have retired and did not join the Retiree Division. In many cases, they may not be aware of our strong retiree division or maybe
no one has asked them to join. Let’s change that and ask them! There are also working members who plan to retire soon. We must connect with these members and ask them to join our union as retiree members so that we don’t lose contact with them.
To help retiring working members move into our union’s Retiree Division, some CSEA locals and units will pay first-year Retiree membership dues. Public-sector retirees are also eligible to pay Retiree dues through pension deduction.
It is also important to know that membership in our union’s Retiree Division is open to any former
member of CSEA who has retired, as well as those who receive a pension from either the New York State and Local Retirement System or the New York State Policemen’s or Firemen’s Retirement System. Membership is also open to spouses and domestic partners
of current CSEA Retiree members, even if they were not members of CSEA or receive a public retirement pension.
Please help us continue to do
all that we can to strengthen our Retiree Division and continue to protect everything we have worked so hard to accomplish!
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
first-year Retiree dues for new retirees. Now, I call that a good deal!
Our union has many resources for retirees and actively fights for members’ retirement security, but it takes all of us to ensure that our guaranteed pensions and benefits stay strong because there are people who want to take it away from us. The more of us who join and get involved, the stronger we will be.
Have a Happy and Safe Spring season!
In Solidarity,
Bernie
Bernadette Giambra, Chair
CSEA Retiree Executive Committee
Retiree Executive Committee Chair Bernadette Giambra:
Spring into joining the Retirees
Hello! Hello! Happy Spring
to all of you! As
the weather gets
warmer, many of
us are eager to
get out more. In
the midst of your
spring activities,
don’t forget about your CSEA Retiree Local.
Many of our Retiree Locals are holding meetings, and we would like to have many more of you join us. Membership meetings not only give you a chance to reconnect with former co-workers and CSEA members who live in your area, but they are an opportunity to
get important information about the issues our union is facing. You will also be able to get the latest updates on member-only benefits
2
that can save you money.
We love seeing members at our
local meetings, but we also know that there are so many more people who could join us.
We need to grow our retiree membership to stay strong, and you can help.
Our union is working hard to get more eligible retirees to join our Retiree Division. One way that we are working toward growing our Retiree union is through connecting with working CSEA members who are planning to retire soon and urging them to join the Retirees.
We have been hosting tables at statewide and region conferences to reach out to these members so that we can have them fill out a CSEA Retiree membership application. The best way to get these members to continue their CSEA membership is to recruit them before they retire.
Unfortunately, many CSEA members retired without joining
a Retiree Local and we would like
to see these former members once again. If you have a family member, friend or former co-worker who was either a CSEA member or receives a pension through the New York State & Local Retirement System, New York State Policemen’s Retirement System or New York State Firemen’s Retirement System, encourage them to join the Retirees or learn more.
Are you going to meetings without your spouse or domestic partner? Now, they can join the CSEA Retirees, too, even if they had never been a member or receive one of the eligible pensions.
CSEA Retiree membership dues cost $36 per year, and public-sector retirees are eligible to pay by monthly pension deduction. Many units and locals also pay the
CSEA RETIREE NEWS