NYSUT retirees should be well equipped to weather the national fiscal crisis, thanks to the solid footing offered by New York's public-sector pension plans, the state's deputy comptroller for retirement services recently told a group of those retirees.

"The health of the financial services industry in New York is the worst that it's been in decades," said Kevin Murray. "But we're not day traders; we're in the market for the long haul. We manage for this year and the next 25 years and beyond."

Retirees can't sit back quite yet, cautioned Murray, who spoke during the plenary session at last month's NYSUT Retiree Contiguous Election District meeting. The meeting gathered nearly 200 NYSUT retiree leaders from around the state to develop draft resolutions for the NYSUT Representative Assembly in April.

Retirees must once again marshal their strength and solidarity -- just as they did in their successful fight against the privatization of Social Security three years ago, Murray said.

Keynote speaker Jim Wood, NYSUT's retired executive director of field and legal services, and now president of the New York State Alliance of Retired Americans, offered reassurance to the retirees about their pensions.

"We have reaped such rich rewards with the unity that has been built in this organization, pre-K to post-graduate," Wood said. "The more I look at our pension system, the more marvelous a creation I believe it is."

With a tough financial forecast nationwide for the next several years, the next battle will involve the very public-sector pensions of the type NYSUT members and other unionists fought to hard to attain, Wood said.

Already, those pensions are being targeted by private-sector management, which does not want its workers to realize the benefits of defined-benefit plans, Wood said.

Private-sector companies will almost certainly be leading the call to question why public-sector employees should enjoy such "generous" benefits, when private-sector workers instead should be asking, "Why doesn't everyone have such good retirement plans?"

"That's sad and it's wrong," Murray said of the criticisms of defined-benefit plans. "Instead of trying to hurt public-sector employees, we as a society should be trying to help private-sector employees achieve the same benefits that so many public-sector employees enjoy."

The annual Contiguous ED meeting is an important chance for retirees to connect and share ideas, as well as begin the work on resolutions, said NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue, who oversees program services.

"The word 'retired' really doesn't fit these very active, informed and valued members of the NYSUT family," Donahue said during a break in the workshops. "NYSUT retirees are a driving force behind the public face of NYSUT, as was evident in the very valuable assistance they've given to the AFT get-out-the-vote efforts."

Ruth Dworkin, NYSUT's director of the At-large Election Districts 51, 52 and 53, agreed that the retiree representatives gathered for the meeting are ready for anything that comes their way.

"Most of the people here are activists," Dworkin said. "They are experienced people, and it's a pleasure to work with them. They know the ropes."

— Darryl McGrath