R etiree NEWS cseany.org Danny Donohue, President Winter 2017 A letter from your new Retiree Program Specialist Christine Meehan Meehan Hello, CSEA Retiree members, My name is Christine Meehan, and I was recently appointed as your Retiree Program Specialist. I am honored and excited to be given this opportunity, and I am committed to working diligently to expand and continue to develop this program that my colleague Diane Sheldon worked so hard to support. I appreciate the benefits of union membership and know how important it is to protect our benefits, including our pensions and health care. I was raised in a union family. My father, who had worked as a union electrician, not only earned a living wage but enjoyed retirement security thanks to his union. While my dad is no longer with us, my father’s retirement security continues to allow my 90-year-old mother and brother to still reside in our childhood home. Moving forward into the new year, we will be facing changes and challenges that will affect us all, including the state Constitutional CSEA delegates also approved three constitutional amendments that affect Retiree members. The AFSCME Retiree Council, the International Executive Board and the delegates at the 2014 AFSCME Convention had approved an increase in the Retiree per capita dues. Because of AFSCME’s measure, as of Jan. 1, 2017, annual CSEA Retiree dues have increased from $24 to $36, or from $2 per month to $3 per month. The last time that the dues of Retiree members were increased was in 2007. Costs for staff, travel, printing and postage have risen over the past 10 years. In addition, costs related to retiree-specific litigation that defends against employer attempts to reduce retiree health insurance benefits have also significantly increased in recent years. CSEA delegates also approved an amendment allowing spouses and domestic partners of CSEA Retiree members to become Retiree members. Delegates also approved an amendment that allows retired CSEA staff to join a CSEA retiree local. Convention ballot vote. One of my goals will be to work together with the Retiree Executive Committee and my colleagues to educate, inform and empower our membership on strategies to address these issues. I will draw upon my CSEA work experience of more than 14 years to accomplish these goals. I hold a bachelor’s degree from Siena College and a human resources certificate from the ILR School at Cornell University. Before this position, I have served our union as an administrative assistant in CSEA’s Human Resources Department and as an office manager in CSEA’s Field Operations. In this latter role, I was given the opportunity to connect with and meet many of our members, through efforts like the Strong Communities Work initiative and more recently, Member Engagement. I have also worked closely with our union’s Local Government Executive and Special Memorial Scholarship committees. I am looking forward to getting out to meet as many of you as possible and working together as a group. I know that working together will strengthen and empower us to move forward and address these challenges and any others that come our way. There is strength in numbers and together, I know we can accomplish great things. CSEA constitutional amendments affect retirees
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