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Dates for Some Budget Suggestions

Governor Tony Evers “Doing the Right Thing” budget preparation listening sessions currently scheduled.

Budget Listening Session in Kenosha
Tuesday, December 13, at 5:30 p.m. 
Register to attend here. 

Virtual Budget Listening Session 
Wednesday, December 14, at 6 p.m. 
Register to attend via Zoom here. 

Budget Listening Session in Green Bay 
Tuesday, December 20, at 5:30 p.m. 
Register to attend here. 

Make your voice heard and help shape the next Wisconsin biennial budget.

Voting for democracy and a better life

In the leadup to the midterm elections, pundits predicted a red wave, even a tsunami, based on polls, historical precedent, and steep gas and grocery prices. But I had my doubts. I spent the weeks before the elections talking to voters and traveling on the AFT Votes bus, rolling through a dozen states with more than 50 stops. In a year when kitchen table issues, democracy and our freedoms were on the ballot, many people told me that the elections came down to a choice between, on the one side, election deniers and extremists stoking fear, and on the other, problem-solvers working to help the country move forward. Many races were close, but Americans turned the tide from a red wave to a swell of support for progress and problem-solvers. Read the full column here.

2022 Annual Meeting Agenda

AFT- WISCONSIN RETIREE COUNCIL

VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA

Friday, October 21, 2022

6:30-8:00 pm

BUSINESS MEETING

1.  Welcome and Call to order

2.  Minutes of last annual meeting—2021

3.  AFT Speaker-Samantha Galing, Deputy Director of the AFT Political Department

4.  Committee Reports

                        A.  Membership Committee

                        B.  Legislative

                        C.  Communications

5.  Reports from Affiliations

                        A.  WIARA

                        B.  POWRS

                        C.  WCOA

6.  Treasurer's Report

                        A.  Current treasurer's report

                        B.  Approval of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 budgets

7.  Old Business

8.  New Business

9.  Call to Action and Adjournment

 

AFTW Retirees Newsletter Fall 2022

Fall 2022

 

 

 

 

Sharing more pathways to student debt relief

As the landscape of student debt shifts, and more and more opportunities allow borrowers to have their debt relieved, the AFT is using every avenue to ensure that the word is out. In affiliate meetings, telephone town halls, media coverage and social media, the union is spreading the news, and at a student debt clinic at AFT headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 31, AFT President Randi Weingarten vowed to reach as many people as possible with information that could save them tens—and sometimes hundreds—of thousands of dollars.

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Problems with Medicare Advantage

July 27, 2022.  Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging (from WI Association of Retired Americans)

"Congress should crack down on Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that sometimes deny patients vital medical care while overcharging the government billions of dollars every year, government watchdogs told a House panel Tuesday."

https://wisconsin.retiredamericans.org/2022/06/30/government-watchdogs-a...

 

Celebrating student loan relief

“It was like waking up and learning you won the lottery.” That’s just one of the comments flooding the AFT offices from members who are elated to be free of student debt at last. After relentless advocacy, including an AFT lawsuit against former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that was so broken is finally doing what it is supposed to do: delivering relief from student debt for thousands of borrowers. So far, $6.2 billion in student debt has been forgiven for 100,000 public service workers like teachers, nurses and professors.

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Our President , Kathy Monaghan, Has Passed

March 2, 2022.   We were all deeply saddened to learn of the passing of AFTW icon, Kathy Monaghan.  Kathy served on the WFT/ AFTW Executive Board for more than 5 decades, first as secretary, and more recently as a Vice President representing retirees.  She was instrumental in helping organize Local 8047R, the retiree chapter of AFTW, and served as its president for the past 17 years.  She also supported and served in numerous other capacities in her local, Local 202, the Superior Federation of Teachers, in the Central Labor Council, in the Firefighters Union, and in the Democratic Party.  H

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