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Solidarity assures members Our new Retirement Board members were installed last month. Lilly’s report will fill you in on the details, but I want to note that our representatives took up their new positions with vigor. They are prepared and determined to put the retirement system on a secure footing, and to ensure that the Board follows established procedures and that our members’ interests are adequately represented. I recently had the opportunity to meet with a number of members from Mojave and the Owens Valley. They are a group of real hard-working people who have been “working more, with less” for a long time, even before the phrase became popular. Typically, all they ask for is to be given the appropriate tools, equipment and staffing to do a good job. A number of them told me how much they appreciated the solidarity that the membership showed on health care issues. It was an easy decision for me to stand in support of their efforts against the actions of Cigna. It reminded me of the motto non-union people like Cigna and their supporters, i.e. Rick Caruso, will never understand, that “An injury to one of us is an injury to ALL of us.” The Safety Trust proposal is slowly moving through the bureaucracy. The pace is frustrating. This program is a clear mutual benefit for labor and management and we are all on board. It should be a slam-dunk. Instead, it is taking a tedious path through the political labyrinth. I’m sure it will be approved, but it’s taking longer than it should. |