CEA-Advisor_April-2023-issue_web

CEA-RETIRED NEWS

APRIL 2023 CEA ADVISOR 15

CEA-RETIRED MEMBERS RE-ELECTED TO STATE TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT BOARD

CEA-RETIRED PRESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN NATIONAL CONFERENCE

CEA-Retired members Clare Barnett and Bill Myers were re-elected to the State Teachers’ Retirement Board, which administers educators’ pensions and retiree healthcare benefits. The STRB—which includes four active teachers and two retired teachers, each serving four-year terms—helps ensure the protection and smooth administration of teachers’ retirement benefits. Endorsed by CEA’s Retirement Commission, Barnett and Myers were re-elected to the STRB by active and retired CEA members in a February vote. Barnett, who chairs the STRB, has been a long-time advocate for retired teachers. For more than 30 years she has worked to ensure the security of teachers’ retirement and health funds, spending 19 of those years on the Investment Advisory Council, which advises the state treasurer on pension fund investments. In addition to serving as president of the National Council on Teacher Retirement, she has presented at numerous state and national conferences and provided testimony on teacher pension issues at the state and national levels for over 20 years. Barnett worked for over 39 years as a middle and high school teacher and

Joy, justice, and excellence: the strength of educators, the brilliance of students, the power of community, and the experience of retired—those were the themes of this year’s NEA-Retired Conference, which took place March 12–14 in San Francisco. CEA-Retired President William Murray, who attended the three-day event, said, “The focus of the NEA-Retired Conference was to illustrate and enhance the importance of the retired membership. We want active and retired members to know that retired teachers are a vital contributing group within NEA. We represent 11% of the association’s total membership.” Workshops and discussion topics included • community activism • cybersecurity • communications strategies • building membership

Clare Barnett and Bill Myers were elected to continue serving on the STRB.

CEA-Retired President William Murray works as a spotter during a fundraising auction at the NEA-Retired Conference.

• organizing statewide associations • meeting retired and active members’ needs • writing new business items • ending ableism • combating voter suppression • bringing racial and social justice to state retired affiliates

administrator in Danbury, teaching history, government, and law. First elected to the STRB as an active teacher, Myers, who recently retired, has devoted many years to protecting the teacher pension and retiree healthcare system. In his 10 years with the STRB, he served on several subcommittees, including healthcare, audit, appeals, and personnel, regularly testifying on behalf of the STRB and CEA before the Appropriations Committee of the state legislature. He furthered his education on pension and healthcare issues by attending national pension trustee conferences at Harvard and Columbia and was a presenter at a conference at UC Berkeley. Myers retired from his position as a South Windsor music teacher, where he also served for 20 years as treasurer of the South Windsor Education Association. He was a member of CEA’s Retirement Commission for most of those years, including serving several terms as vice chair.

• promoting continuous membership from active members to retired “I’m proud to represent our CEA-Retired educators at the national level,” said Murray. “Together with affiliates around the country, we’re working to achieve legislative and political action goals for education, protect teachers’ retirement benefits, including state pensions, Social Security, and Medicare, as well as improve public education through mentoring, literacy, and intergenerational programs.”

Affiliated with the National Education Association

CEA-RETIRED MEMBER CARD Connecticut Education Association Joe Smith

Know a Colleague Who’s Retiring? Many local teachers’ unions give the gift of CEA-Retired membership so that their favorite teachers stay socially connected and involved in the work of their union. Membership in CEA-Retired and NEA-Retired is $60, combined. Scan here for additional information and an enrollment form.

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