CALL TO ACTION: PASR Board
Promotes Four Point Plan
That Governor Rendell and the General Assembly acted to balance the
state’s budget with reductions in contributions to PSERS and refused
to take action on any COLA legislation should outrage all school retirees.
Enough is enough! It is time for all school retirees to unite, organize,
and deliver a forceful response.
The PASR Board of Directors, meeting on July 29-31, 2008, spent hours
discussing the situation and debating potential courses of action. In
the end, the Board unanimously adopted and is recommending to the membership
a four point-plan of action. The elements of this plan include:
1. Increase PASR Membership
Members need to understand that PASR does not currently have the strength
to overcome the opposition and secure passage of COLA legislation. There
are more members of the general public contacting their legislators
and expressing opposition to a COLA for retired public employees than
there are retired public employees contacting their legislators and
expressing support for a COLA. This is the fundamental problem that
confronts us. Very simply, we have to engage more retirees in our efforts
to contact legislators and urge passage of a COLA.
Our existing members need to also understand that the Association, its
staff, and volunteers are severely limited in their abilities to recruit
more members. Since PSERS stopped providing the names and addresses
of school retirees to PASR nearly five years ago, in retaliation for
PASR’s aggressive campaign to secure passage of the last COLA
and an audit of the retirement system, the number of potential members
in our database has declined dramatically. We can not recruit enough
new members from the current list to even replace those members we lose
through death each year.
Our members, though, can certainly increase membership in PASR, quickly
and dramatically, if each would simply get just one other school retiree
to join. Each of us surely knows at least one person who is not currently
a member. You need only explain to that person that you and your fellow
members of PASR are fighting to protect the retirement system and secure
a COLA for all school retirees and ask for his/her support.
Within the next few days, every PASR member will receive a letter from
Joan Peters, PASR State Membership Chairman. If we all follow the instructions
she gives us, and use the application provided to enroll a friend, PASR
will double in strength and resources overnight!
2. “TeleRally” Beginning September 15
Much consideration was given by the Board to staging massive demonstrations,
either at the Capitol as PASR has done successfully on two previous
occasions or in select legislative districts across the state. Ultimately,
the Board concluded that it would not be possible to organize and conduct
massive events in such a short amount of time before the legislators
are scheduled to return to Harrisburg. Many chapters would be unable
to reserve buses to transport persons to Harrisburg on such short notice,
and Headquarters would not have sufficient time to conduct the multiple
mailings needed to advertise the event(s) and coordinate reservations.
There were also considerable concerns expressed about PASR not having
the $100,000 or more that would be required to organize the event(s),
and the great risk that massive demonstrations could be portrayed negatively
by the media and further incite public opposition to our cause.
The Board concluded, instead, that a more effective demonstration of
school retirees’ concerns for passage of a COLA might be achieved
by organizing and encouraging all members to telephone their legislators
in Harrisburg every day that they are scheduled to be in session. Rather
than ask members to take a lot of time and spend a lot of money to come
to Harrisburg for a rally lasting but a few hours on one day, everybody
can take a couple minutes to telephone their legislators in Harrisburg
on each of the nine days that the legislators are scheduled to be in
session.
If we all do this simple task, we will most certainly capture the legislators’
attention. When PASR members called the Governor’s Office en mass
last November, his phone lines were totally shut down for several days.
Of course, the Governor is not able to run for re-election again, so
he could easily ignore the massive number of pleas for help from school
retirees, but the same is not true for legislators.
The legislators are scheduled to return to Harrisburg on September 15.
During the week of September 8, every PASR member will receive a letter
from President Kirkwood providing the dates to call, phone numbers for
the legislators, and instructions on what the members might say when
they call.
3. Organize Support for Legislative Challengers
At this point, most if not everyone agrees that change is needed in
the legislature. Legislators who have been acting in their own self
interests, and who have been ignoring the needs of their constituents,
must be removed from office and replaced by individuals who will place
the needs and interests of their constituents first.
In considering the variety of options available for political action,
the Board concluded once again that the Association’s real power
is with its individual members. Organization endorsements are, in reality,
meaningless. No organization can compel its individual members to vote
for its endorsed candidates and the candidates know it. Campaign contributions
are also ineffective for most organizations, unless they have the ability
to raise and dole out huge sums every year. If a legislative candidate
doesn’t get a contribution from one group, there are hundreds
of other groups that will contribute the necessary funds.
PASR members can be most effective in bringing about change in the legislature
by: (1) personally volunteering in the campaigns for candidates that
are seeking to unseat an incumbent legislator; (2) reaching out to all
other school retirees in the district and promoting support for the
opposition candidates; and (3) utilizing their extensive contacts in
the community and family members to promote support for the opposition
candidates.
The Board has adopted new rules governing political action. The prohibitions
on endorsing candidates or contributing funds to individual candidates
will remain in place. However, there will no longer be any restrictions
on providing support to PASR members who might wish to organize support
for a candidate seeking to unseat an incumbent legislator.
Any PASR member who would like to help organize support for an opposition
candidate should call PASR Headquarters in Mechanicsburg (717) 697-7077.
The Executive Director, Richard Rowland, and the PASR L/PEC Fund have
been directed and empowered to render all necessary and available assistance
to PASR members seeking to unseat an incumbent legislator.
More information about this new political direction will be contained
in the letter from President Kirkwood, which all members will receive
during the week of September 8.
4. Prepare for the Long Term
Whether or not the legislators will act on our concerns in the nine
days that they have scheduled for the remainder of this session is anyone’s
guess. If we can dramatically increase membership, engage everyone in
the “TeleRally,” and begin to show legislators that school
retirees are organizing locally to support their opponents, our chances
for success are much greater.
There exists, though, great concern that the legislature will be paralyzed
and incapable of accomplishing anything, as a result of the “bonusgate”
scandal and squabbling within and between the caucuses caused by this
disgrace. Accordingly, the Board has directed its Executive Director
to meet with various law firms and secure legal advice on a variety
of options, at both the state and federal, to take its concerns into
court and/or refer them to other administrative agencies and regulatory
authorities. If the legislative branch is unable or unwilling to perform
its proper functions, we must look to other branches of government.
A lawsuit would take time, and cost a lot of money. Should PASR elect
to file suit against the state a detailed analysis of the prospects
for success and estimated costs will be presented to all members. Members
would ultimately be asked to contribute more to PASR to help pay the
legal fees, so a very thorough explanation to the members is required
before the Board could proceed.
It is also likely that organizing massive demonstrations will again
be considered by the Board, should the legislature fail again to address
these issues in the fall. There would be plenty of time to organize
massive demonstrations in late spring/early summer, before the legislators
begin consideration of next year’s budget. Again, though, additional
contributions from members would likely be required.
The best way to prepare for these long-term initiatives, and minimize
the additional cost to individual members that may ultimately be required,
is to focus now on the first task of the Board’s four point plan—increase
membership!
If we each simply get one person we know to join PASR this would double
our membership from 40,000 to 80,000. Then if we have to stage massive
protest demonstrations and/or file suit against the state, the cost
that each of us may have to contribute to offset the costs of taking
these extraordinary actions would be half.
Summary:
Watch your mailbox for the PASR mailings from Membership Chairman Joan
Peters in the next few days and from President Kirkwood during the week
of September 8. In these you will find instructions to:
Get just one person you know to join PASR immediately.
Put your legislators on speed dial and call them every day they are
in session this fall.
Support candidates opposing incumbent legislators.
Richard Rowland
Executive Director
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