R-UTN Board members Nancy Wine, Larry Ryan, Jane Flood, and Vickie Newell attended a business meeting of RC 23 Tuesday, October 3. It was held at Captain Bill’s Restaurant in Bay Shore, a beautiful setting, along with a delicious lunch and discussions of several topics important to all members.

Speakers Joan Perrini, president Ellen Burke, VOTE/COPE chairperson June Smith, and Jim Kinnier brought us up to date on a variety of topics such as the establishment of another charter school in Sachem and the campaign to Fix Tier 6. This tier in our pension system was added a decade ago, and since then over 100,000 NYSUT members earned SIGNIFICANTLY reduced pensions as compared to earlier tiers. See FixTier6.org  on the NYSUT website for more information.

It was announced that the NYSUT endorsements for Suffolk County offices in this year’s elections will be out next week. We were also reminded of the importance of supporting VOTE/COPE. New York State retired teachers have the “gold standard of insurance plans” with Medicare and NYSHIP and NYSUT works to keep it that way! VOTE/COPE contributions are used for mailing, phone banks, and supporting candidates who support education – everyone should consider an increase in contributions if possible.

The luncheon was very informative, and a pleasant way to spend a few hours with colleagues and friends!