ARTC happenings

2010-12-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

Have they been naughty or nice?
We're making a list and checking it twice,
AFJ is very precise.

We cheer at their best
And boo at their worst.
Sometimes, they just seem cursed.

We want to know who should get the coal?
Who took the leading role?
Hearing your thoughts is our goal.

Go on, submit your vote
Be the first and you can gloat!

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The end of the year is approaching and the holiday season is upon us, which means it is time for the Alliance for Justice 2010 Naughty or Nice list!

Our current nominees include:

Alliance for Justice
Naughty or Nice List: 2010 Edition

Naughty
Nice

The Roberts Court, for engaging in judicial activism favoring the interests of powerful corporations over everyday Americans. Justice Stevens, for thirty-five years as a defender of individual liberties, and equal access to justice.
Glenn Beck, for using his national platform to promote fear-mongering and divisive politics. Dahlia Lithwick, for serving as a cogent voice in opposition to the conservative Corporate Court and torture.
BP/Halliburton/Transocean, for causing the worst offshore oil spill and environmental catastrophe in history. Keith Jones, for courageously transforming the personal tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon explosion into efforts to reform to the Death on the High Seas Act.
Bart Stupak, for limiting low-income women's ability to access reproductive health care under the Affordable Care Act. Nancy Pelosi, for standing at the helm of the successful effort to pass health care reform.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, for leading Arizona's charge to use discriminatory tactics to detain undocumented workers. Independent Judges, for issuing fair and independent decisions.
Mitch McConnell, for engaging in unprecedented obstruction to block yes-or-no votes on President Obama's judicial nominees. Al Franken, for speaking out against the rise of the Corporate Court.
Judge Martin Feldman, for refusing to recuse himself from deepwater drilling cases despite his significant financial stake in the industry. The Judges of the Iowa Supreme Court, for their commitment to an independent judiciary and core constitutional values.

Everybody has their own ideas about who deserves to be on the Naughty or Nice list for 2010. We want you to tell us who you think should be added. Did a senator, organization, campaign, community leader, judge or individual really inspire you this year? Or did they do just the opposite?

Send us your nominations by December 14th and the best ideas will be added to our list!

Who was Naughty and who was Nice in 2010? Tell us by clicking here.

We look forward to your nominations,

Alliance for Justice

P.S. As a supporter of Alliance for Justice, we know you'll make the Nice list for 2010! CLICK HERE to make a tax deductible year end contribution.

Click here to view the message online.

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2010-11-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

The election is over, but the results for Governor are unsettled. Whoever wins we will work with them to protect retirees rights. We will begin an educational push for all new legislators. We must get them to understand our health issues. Almost all the people we endorsed were elected and that's very important.
Michael

2010-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

Vote on Tuesday for Malloy, Wyman, Nappier, Merrill, Jepson, Blumenthal.Don't worry about the spelling. Just Vote! Vote for Himes, Murphy, Larson, D'Rosa, Courtney. These are all proven friends of retired educators.

2010-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Come to our ARTC Luncheon at the Aquaturf on Oct. 19th at, 9:30 a.m., and meet and hear the Governor candidates, Tom Foley and Dan Malloy.
If you haven't ordered your health Flashcard do it now. This is a fantastic deal. it costs a $35 one time fee. The card contains all your medical records and tests that you input and you carry it with you and can be downloaded onto your doctors computer. Go to are website at artct.org to order or come to the Fall Luncheon where they will be on sale.

2010-10-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Please put on your calendar October 19th for the ARTC Luncheon. Our guest speakers are Dan Malloy and Tom Foley the major candidates for Governor. This is your chance to question the candidates.

Political Negativism

2010-10-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am disgusted with the present election campaigning. I can not remember an election in Connecticut with so much negative advertising. Both parties are guilty of it. Much of it borders on hate. I receive so much misinformation that I now go immediately to Snopes.com to verify the information. Almost always the information is false.
In order to vote intelligently this year one must wade through the dribble and sound bites that have become part of each campaign.

2010-08-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hi one and all,
All of ARTC's supported candidates won at the primary polls. Our friends Dan Malloy and Nancy Wyman will be the Democratic candidates for Governor and Lt. governor come November. Should they win, ARTC will have a stronger voice in Hartford than ever before. Usually ARTC,AFT, and CEA are in agreememt when it comes to elections, but this year we chose to support proven education supporters rather than the big dollars.
Michael

2010-07-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Major news: ARTC is supporting Dan Malloy for Governor and Nancy Wyman for lieutenant Governor in the August 10th Democratic Primary Election.If you are Democrat remember to vote and support Dan and Nancy. Dan has done a great deal in Stamford for children and education. Nancy as Comtroller for CT save the retired teachers Prescription Health Care.

2010-06-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hi One and All,
Great News! ARTC has added a new benefit to your membership. For a one time fee of $35.00 you will receive a special card that looks like a business card,but will contain all your medical records,prescriptions,doctors names and adresses, and emergency contacts. The ARTC Health Flash Card can hold an individuals entire health history.
Personal and family information
Doctors' and insurance information
Allergies and medications
Doctors visits and check-up history
Blood test results
Radiology and MRIS
Complete surgical history
When you visit a doctor he can plug it into his computer and he can update his records. This card will fit in wallet or purse and can go anywhere you travel.
ARTC is also looking into a plan that will allow you to purchase reverse mortgages.

Glenn Moon Scholarships

2010-06-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hi one and all,
I've had some minor surgery so I took a vacation from ARTC Happenings. On May 18th, ARTC awarded four scholarships. Brandon Dexter from St. Bernard High School,Montville, Emily Freunt, Danbury High School, and Justis Lopez, Manchester High School each received $1,500.

Stephanie Hardisty, New Milford High School received $2,000 of a four-year annual renewable scholarship

2010-05-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

This something from NRTA

CALLING ALL AUTHORS!

Enter To Win a Chance to Have Your Book Published!

Are you - or a family member - an aspiring author? Then don’t miss this opportunity to break into the publishing world and have your fiction or non-fiction manuscripts reviewed by a dedicated team of publishing professionals.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation, in cooperation with Charlesbridge Publishing (Boston), has launched the 2010 Children’s Book of the Year Contest for aspiring children’s book authors. This is your chance to get your work endorsed by the NAESP Foundation and published by a nationally known publisher.

Entries can be submitted until February 15, 2011. For entry details and fees, please visit www.naesp.org/Children_Book_Award.aspx.

Spring Luncheon

2010-05-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Spring Function.

President’s Report Spring Luncheon 2010
Greetings, this has been a very active year for ARTC. We’ve had a very good turnout for our Lobby Day. Well over a hundred retired teachers showed up in Room 1A in the Legislative Office Building and then later at the Legislative Luncheon in the Capitol. Many legislators joined us for lunch and we were able to get our message across about the need for Connecticut to continue to support the TRB’s health insurance program. We were also able to convince most that section #5 of a new dental insurance bill would have a negative effect on retired teachers. We were successful in bringing about Bill #393’s defeat and saved you from added costs to your dental treatment. I am tired of the state trying to solve their budgetary problems on the backs of those least able to handle it. When we were teaching the towns kept our salaries low in bad times, but in good times they didn’t improve our conditions. The same is with the state. It took us years for the state to finally secure our pensions and not until we backed them against the wall. Now they are playing games with our health insurance. ARTC must continue to be vigilant to protect us from these and other inroads.
We are constantly being told that teachers and state employees because of their benefits make more than those in the private sector and that the loss of Social Security benefits really has little effect on our incomes. This is just not so!
Let me share recent research from the National Institute on Retirement Security and the Center for State and Local Government Excellence titled, "Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation Over 20 Years."

According to this report, employees of state and local government earn an average of 11% and 12% less, respectively, than comparable private sector employees. An evaluation spanning two decades shows the pay gap between public and private sector employees has widened in recent years. This study provides an original analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (To see the report, click on http://www.nirsonline.org/.)

 Jobs in the public sector typically require more education than private sector positions. Thus, state and local employees are twice as likely to hold a college degree or higher as compared to private sector employees. Only 23% of private sector employees have completed college as compared to about 48% in the public sector.
 Wages and salaries of state and local employees are lower than those for private sector employees with comparable earnings determinants such as education and work experience. State workers typically earn 11% less and local workers 12% less.
 During the last 15 years, the pay gap has grown - earnings for state and local workers have generally declined relative to comparable private sector employees.
 Benefits make up a slightly larger share of compensation for the state and local sector. But even after accounting for the value of retirement, healthcare, and other benefits, state and local employees earn less than private sector counterparts. On average, total compensation is 6.8% lower for state employees and 7.4% lower for local employees than for comparable private sector employees.
ARTC sent two separate delegations to Washington, our executive director, Wayne Woodtke, and myself to one in which we met up with our NRTA counterparts and we discussed several issues that affect seniors, especially health insurance. We also pushed our agenda for changes in Social Security. The following week in early March we sent Frank Cooper and Rhoda Dix to a Social Security summit. They reported back to us that although a majority of Congressmen have signed on to the bill to eliminate the SS Offsets most have signed on believing that the SS Fairness Act would never come out of committee. We are not giving up the fight to eliminate this highly prejudicial provision.
This year we added a full benefits package from AMBA to your membership. It includes long term care, identity theft protection, discounts on computers and supplies, discount hotels, flowers, books, travel and more.
Our latest move is to create ARTC affiliates in Florida which is not SS offset state. When Congress realizes that retired teachers from CT and the other 14 states are part of their constituency we might finally get them to act. The response from our Floridian members has been wonderful, and I predict that before the end of the year we will have two new flourishing affiliates
A short while ago I asked the membership to tell me how they volunteer their time. Elizabeth (Betty) Waters wrote that she is a retired teacher from Windsor, CT where she taught Mathematics and Gifted Ed for 31 years. She retired in 2001 and moved to Westerly RI. She is a lifetime member of ARTC.

She writes upon retiring she began to volunteer at the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, The Jonnycake Center is a social service agency which helps people to become self-sustaining members of the community in a variety of ways. She serves in many capacities - Member of the Board of Directors, Fundraising, Grant Writing (now advisor),among others. They have a social service department which advises clients of the places where services are available, qualifies them for food, clothing, household items, financial assistance and education grants. (RI does not have town social services departments as in CT so Jonnycake Center is the place of first resource for people in crisis.)

In addition to the Jonnycake Center, which is her first love, She has volunteered 7 years as an AARP Tax Preparer,sheI works with the Westerly College Club of which she is a member to raise scholarship funds and she is a member of the "Helping Hands" committee of her church.
Many of the people she volunteers with are retired educators. Some days she wonders how she had time to work. I would not be surprised if many of you here today have similar stories. Please share them with us and we will share them with the media. This would give us greater name recognition.
On another note it would be remiss of me to forget to congratulate AARP’s new president Lee Hammond, a former Maryland Retired Teachers Association State President. He will serve as AARP’s lead volunteer until 2012. As AARP president, Hammond will articulate the positions and views of AARP; provide leadership; and foster creativity and enthusiasm in AARP’s volunteers, members, and staff. Additionally, he will represent AARP and AARP/NRTA members at key national and international meetings and events.
I have started a blog with new inserts weekly to keep you better informed on ARTC issues. Finally we need your email address. Many things happen both nationally and in Connecticut that warrants our reaching out to you quickly. Please help us out by giving us your email address. A form will be passed out for you to fill in. Thank you, and remember ARTC’s primary concern is you our retired teachers.

AMBA

2010-05-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

ARTC Members!

AMBA (Association Member Benefits Advisors) is seeking to employ local CT ARTC members as benefit representatives. If interested in this opportunity, please contact:

Kyle Hafner at 1.800.258.7041, ext. 126

As you should know by now…

Your membership with ARTC gives you access to many valuable benefits!

ARTC endorses the following member benefits:
 Long Term Care / Home Health Care Insurance
 Tax-Deferred Annuity
 Medical Air Services Association (MASA)
 Astrum Hearing Solutions
 Government Employee Travel Opportunities(GETO)
 Vacations-to-Go Cruises
 LaQuinta Inn & Suites Discount
 Hertz, Avis, & Budget Car Rental Discounts
 AMBA TravelPERX
 Identity Theft Protection
 Dell Computer Discount s
 Apple Discounts
 Apple Electronic Products Discount
 1-800-Flowers Discount
 Barnes & Noble Online Discount

To learn more about any of the endorsed benefits, please call AMBA at 1.800.258.7041

Wayne P. Woodtke
Executive Director
ARTC - Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut, Inc.
Toll Free# 1-866-343-ARTC (2782)
FAX# 1-860-649-9457
wpw@artct.org

Please take a moment NOW to visit our ARTC website by simply clicking on this link... www.artct.org ...You'll find it's full of information on our AMBA Member Benefits, Legislative/Insurance NEWS, Social Security NEWS, along with CT Legislator contact links and CT Consumer Protection links....

Site designed and maintained by Association Member Benefits Advisors 800-258-7041 www.amba.info

CT News Junkie | Retired Teachers Grill Lawmakers Over Insolvency#more

2010-05-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

CT News Junkie Retired Teachers Grill Lawmakers Over Insolvency#more

2010-05-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

It is not to late to sign up for the Spring Luncheon on May 18, but hurry because space is filling. Our keynote speaker is Darlene Perez, the executive director for TRB.
At a recent Legislative Committee we had a chance question Denise Merrill. She is presently Majority Leader for the State House of Representatives. The big question was What is happening to the Teachers' health plan. Her response was that the fund is safe and will not be part of the budget cuts in 2012-13,

2010-05-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hi one and all,
This new blog from your ARTC President will let you know the most recent things that affect retired teachers.
First, we are waiting for the governor to sign the bill that will lower electric bills for senior citizens in CT.
Second, we are beginning to organize new affiliates in Florida.
Third we need to write to all our Congressmen that it is time to bring the Social Security Fairness Act out of committee.
Michael

welcome

2010-05-09T12:00:00.001-07:00

Good afternoon- this is the first entry of the ARTC Happenings blogspot. Come back often to learn about events, activities, and information concerning all things ARTC.