Welcome!
NYSUT Retiree Council 45
Serving NYSUT Retirees across souther portions of Central New York State.
Hello Fellow Retirees,
Happy New Year!! I just returned from a wonderful walk in 40 degree temperatures, in CORTLAND, NY. It is a new year and RC #45 has a renewed sense of purpose.
New leadership is taking charge in our country. Vaccinations are out there for our retirees and frontline workers. We are back to being able to hold meetings, virtually, but still meet! The last board meeting we held this month had 100% attendance for us because weather was not an issue!! Our officers and board members did not have to spend more time getting here in their cars than we actually took to conduct our meeting. A new way of doing business that is more cost effective and more user friendly. We would also like to encourage our members to create a profile on our website so that we may have a quick way to communicate with you regarding time sensitive information. Further along in this article our Webmaster (and Board Member) Tom Gath will outline the process for you. We do not share your email addresses, we intend to use them solely to communicate with you.
I am grateful that after the last newsletter was mailed out we received several voluntary contributions, thank you to all of you who sent yours in!! We also had a new retiree step forward and volunteer to act as our secretary. We are proud to announce that on January 6, we appointed Paul Davis as our NYSUT RC #45 secretary. Paul rounds out our board quite nicely and you will read a brief note from him later in this newsletter. How gratifying to have my pleas for retiree involvement not fall on deaf ears. We do need to continue to hear from you, your questions and with what do you need assistance? We still have over 40 districts that are not directly represented in our retiree council. We are your voice and your connection to NYSUT – let us speak for you.
Retiree Services is planning the launch of a series of webinars for February. Topics include: Covid and Vaccinations (2/3), Valentine’s Day Cooking Class (2/10), Chair Yoga (2/17), and a Cabin Fever Music Festival (2/24). The dates for all sessions are tentative at this time, and each one will run for no more than 60 minutes. More information is forthcoming on the NYSUT website: https://www.nysut.org/members/retirees
Stay warm!!
In solidarity, Vicki Darrow
President, NYSUT RC #45
RC 45 Nominations and Election Meeting
Tuesday, October 13, 1:30 PM
A secret ballot election for the following offices is scheduled to take place via mail ballot election upon completion of this meeting.
President
1stVice President
2nd Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
NYSUT Delegate (3)
NYSUT Alternate Delegate
RC Director (5)
AFT Delegate
AFT Alternate Delegate
Nominations may have previously been accepted for these positions. Additional nominations may be submitted in person at the scheduled virtual elections Zoom meeting listed above. All positions are for a three-year term.
All RC 45 members are eligible to vote in these elections. RC members who wish to receive a mail ballot for this election must register for and attend the elections Zoom meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, at 1:30PM in order to request a ballot.
To register for the virtual elections meeting, please visit:
Deadline for registrations is Monday, October 12, 2020. If you have any problems or questions about registering for your meeting, please contact Theresa Bernacki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Hello Fellow Retirees,
Happy New Year!! I hope this letter finds you warm and cozy with visions of warmer weather. I have done some traveling to the Charleston, SC area and then Memphis, TN. No, before you ask, Elvis was not seen by me or my husband. We leave shortly for Arizona for a couple weeks so I had best get this newsletter out to you!
As I always mention, thank you to those of you who have already mailed your voluntary contributions and if you have yet to do so, please consider sending your 2019-2020 voluntary contributions. As you now know, we do rely solely on your donations to support our efforts in keeping you informed and advocating on your behalf. No one representing the RC receives any compensation for his/her work.
I want to speak with you about getting involved. We have a few members who serve as officers and board members for RC #45. We need more!! They are doing a great job but we need help to meet the needs of our members. We need to hear from you! What are your questions? With what do you need assistance?
Of the 53 NYSUT Locals that RC #45 represents we have the following districts represented on the board: Afton TA, Cortland UT, DeRuyter TA, Groton FA, and Homer TA. That leaves well over 40 districts that we need to hear from. Please consider being a representative for your former local or district. We are only successful because of the people we serve.
Stay warm!!
In solidarity,
Vicki Darrow -
President, NYSUT RC #45
PLEASE CONSIDER BECOMING A CONTRIBUTOR TO RC 45
Please complete the form below and send your voluntary contribution for 2019/2020 to: Maxine Cleveland, RC 45 Treasurer, 5 Brentwood Drive, Homer NY 13077. Please make checks payable to: NYSUT Retiree Council 45
Name:_______________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________
District From Which You Retired:_________________________________
E-Mail: ______________________________________________________
(Your e-mail address will only be used to communicate information from RC 45)
As August winds down and September draws near the absence of the back to school stress that we retirees used to have this time of year is mostly absent. Yes, it still presents itself to us but the feeling is quickly dismissed with a sigh as we relaize, "Yay!! I'm retired!"
August has traditionally been the month of the NYSUT Leadership Conference and 2020 is no exception. NYSUT opted for a virtual conference using Zoom. So instaed of the usual 3 days away from home to learn and share, this year was 3 days at home for the Union leaders. With daily Keynotes and breakout sessions the Conference flowed much like the typical in-person conferences did except on the breaks you had to make your own snacks and drinks. The NYSUT team did a wonderful job of setting up the virtual conference sessions and discussion "Zoom rooms" and when it was over the inspirsational feelings of new ideas was evident in the participants reviews.
RC 45 was represented by its leaders as were retiree councils from the tip of Long Island to Buffalo. The theme of the Conference and the subject of the opening keynote was "Union For Life! The importance of strong retiree activist networks". The breakout sessions that followed throughout the three days were focused on creating, maintaining and leveraging these networks. Here are some of my take aways from the sessions that I attended:
1. The member email list is the heart of the member network. There are many ways to reach members today however there is no substitute for doing the hard work of creating and maintaining a database of member contact information.
2. Using the above mentioned Member contact list, there is a clear move toward digital communication among members.
3. Our pension fund is still fully funded even after the Pandemic.
Dear Fellow Retirees,
As I write this letter the spring newsletter I see my tulips and daffodils popping up in spite of the six inches of snowfall on April 1. I have recently returned from an outstanding meeting of NYSUT ED #51 under the leadership of Loretta Donlon, our director. The conference left me energized and ready to step into spring with the tools I need to represent you and your interests at the NYSUT Representative Assembly in Albany on May 3rd and 4th. As always, our goals as retiree council officers and board members are as follows:
- 1. Work to keep pensions secure and to improve COLA.
- 2. Work with in-service members and the community to secure access to affordable health benefits for all retired members.
- 3. Work to enrich the lives of retiree members through educational and social activities.
- 4. Continue to organize, represent, advocate for and provide services for retired members.
- 5. Work with in-service members to promote collective bargaining, political action, better education and improved health care working conditions.
- 6. Work for positive socioeconomic societal changes.
- 7. To defend income security (including Social Security and Medicare) for all retired workers. (Source NYSUT Retiree Handbook March 2018)
I would like to thank the many members who are sending in their voluntary contributions, it isn’t too late to send your once a year contribution. We do rely solely on your donations to support our efforts in keeping you informed and advocating on your behalf.
Enjoy the spring air, get out and do some outdoor activities!!
In solidarity,
Vicki Darrow
President, NYSUT RC #45