May-June 2019 Advisor

UPDATING

8 CEA ADVISOR MAY–JUNE 2019

LEGISL

CEA SCORES MAJOR VICTORIES FOR TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT PLAN: PENSION STRENGTHENED, NO COST SHIFT YOUR VOICE WAS HEARD— YOUR PENSION IS STRENGTHENED

CEA was successful at achieving some of its top priorities this legislative session with the passage of a fair, responsible state budget that ensures the long-term security of teacher pensions. CEA leaders and members lobbied hard to adopt a plan promoted by State Treasurer Shawn Wooden and supported by Governor Lamont that would ensure the long- term solvency of the retirement fund without placing an additional burden on teachers or taxpayers. “This is a plan that we have long supported and that is long overdue,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “Through continued advocacy— including detailed written and oral testimony from CEA leaders and members—we strongly urged the governor and legislators to keep the state’s promise to teacher retirement. Fortunately, our governor and legislators heard our collective voice.” The state will now stabilize teacher pensions by restructuring the debt: reamortizing the unfunded liability of the Teachers’ Retirement Fund over a 30-year period to smooth out payments and lowering

the investment earning assumption to a more realistic rate. This plan avoids a looming balloon payment estimated to be more than three times the current $1.2 billion payment due by the state. “This is a win-win for teachers and the state,” says CEA Retirement Specialist Robyn Kaplan-Cho, who worked hard throughout the legislative session to push for sensible options for funding teacher pensions. “For decades, the state underfunded teacher pensions, putting educators’ retirement at great risk. By not adequately contributing to the fund, the state also missed out on long- term investment income. This happened at the same time teachers consistently paid their fair share into the fund.” “Knowing our pension was underfunded for decades struck fear in my heart,” said Westport teacher Kerstin Rao, who went door-to-door with her husband last election season for candidates who would protect teacher retirement. “I couldn’t be passive and see my retirement jeopardized, so I took action. I’ve written my state reps, worn my

#RedforEd T-shirt to raise public awareness, and served as a delegate at the NEA Representative Assembly last year. Change happens when we work together. Now is the time to energize, raise our voices, and protect the future for which we work so hard.” No cost shift Legislators had considered a cost shift proposal that would have unfairly shifted the state’s responsibility for funding teacher pensions onto cities and towns. This plan was met with strong opposition from CEA, as it would have resulted in higher property taxes and cuts to school resources. CEA launched a well-organized educational and advocacy campaign, informing teachers in every district how much their municipal taxes would increase under the cost shift and explaining how the cost shift would impact the schools where they teach. Impacts would include regressive property tax hikes, less money for local school resources and student supports, larger class sizes, and penalties for districts with more experienced and prepared teachers. At dozens of back-home meetings

with their elected officials and in tens of thousands of emails and phone calls, teachers took that information to their legislators and demanded a more sensible solution to the state’s pension debt problem. “We could not abide a plan that would transfer millions in costs from the state to our cities and towns, putting additional financial strain on taxpayers and pressure on already tight school budgets,” says CEA Executive Director Don Williams. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our teachers—who responded to CEA Action Alerts, met face-to-face with legislators, called lawmakers’ offices, sent emails and letters, and stepped up and made their voices heard— that proposal is now dead.”

TEACHERS, LABOR COMMUNITY CELEBRATE EDUCATION FUNDING, FAIR BUDGET, NEW MINIMUM WAGE Higher wages, more equitable funding help struggling families, students, schools

“Teachers see firsthand how poverty and inequality affect students, families, and communities, and that’s why we applaud Connecticut’s renewed commitment to equitably fund our public schools and its move to raise the minimum wage,” says CEA President Jeff Leake, commenting on the state’s continued funding of public schools based on the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula and its increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “We have worked hard this legislative session to ensure that our elected officials are committed to fair and equitable school funding and that they understand how their decisions here at the Capitol affect the

everyday lives of Connecticut children and families.” Following the ECS funding formula, he says, will help school districts provide more of the resources their students need. The budget increases ECS funding by $38 million in fiscal year 2020 and $78 million in FY 2021, consistent with the phase-in of a new formula passed in 2017. Teachers also came out in force this legislative session to demand a fair, just, and moral budget for everyone. They joined DUE Justice, a coalition of organizations including CEA and AFT Connecticut, in calling for a budget that not only provides equitable funding for neighborhood public schools but also

CEA President Jeff Leake (far right) joins a rally at the State Capitol calling on legislators and the governor to pass a moral budget: one that includes fair and equitable public school funding.

makes housing and healthcare affordable, protects vital public services and the environment, promotes racial and gender equity, and supports collective bargaining so that workers can negotiate a fair return on their work. Minimum wage bill signed into law “Connecticut just got a raise,” State Senator Julie Kushner, a retired union organizer, told the crowd assembled as Governor Ned Lamont signed into law a bill that incrementally raises the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by June 2023. Rep. Robyn Porter, who, along with Kushner, spearheaded this year’s effort to pass the measure, said the struggle was a personal one for her. “I have been that single mom working three jobs to take care of my

kids,” she said. Referencing her defense of the bill during a marathon 14-hour debate on the floor of the House, Porter said, “I was going to stand for as long as it took, because I understood the difference this will make in people’s lives.” Teachers have noted that an increase in the minimum wage would greatly help their students, many of whom have parents who work multiple jobs to make ends meet. “Family engagement is key to students’ success,” says Leake, “yet many parents face obstacles, including working two or three jobs. Raising the minimum wage will make a huge difference for many families and will allow more parents to fully engage with their children and their children’s education— paving the way for a brighter future.”

CEA President Jeff Leake and CEA Political Action Coordinator Chris Donovan (who as House Speaker long pushed for a minimum wage increase) celebrate the bill signing with a key backer, State Senator Julie Kushner.