The following message was sent to my cousin, a teacher in Wisconsin, warning that retired Wisconsin state employees should not imagine that they are safe from Gov. Scott Walker’s schemes and depredations. Please, spread the word, and support the Wisconsin workers by attending these Rallies to Save the American Dream.
Dear Fellow Retirees,
Obviously you know about the ruckus going on at the capitol. What you may not know is the plans that Governor Walker has for the Pension Fund. In 1968 I was a first year teacher at Lake Mills and part of a team that put together the first master contract. Jermit Kraig was one of only four resource persons the Wisconsin Education Association had at that time to come around and help all the local unions who were negotiating master contract language at that time. He must be in his upper '70's by now. Anyway, I got a call from him the other day. He said, "Jim, you need to get involved. This guy, Walker, has a plan ready to go which would dissolve the Employee Trust Fund Board and turn the Pension Fund over to a private manager." No doubt one of those geniuses from a Wall Street hedge fund who brought us the crash of 2008. It is entirely possible once the fund is turned over to a private corporation to manage the they might see fit to "lend" Wisconsin enough to cover most of the three billion deficit. They will just put an IOU in the pot and assure us our pension checks will be there when we need them. Illinois did exactly that some years ago. Now Illinois recently announced they don't know how they will be able to meet their pension obligations.
If you think you're safe and that you don't have a dog in this fight because you are retired, you could be sadly mistaken. And, if you think he can't do the above because of protective statutes, let me tell you what we were told at the Uniserve office. This question came up and some people familiar with how Scott Walker functioned as Milwaukee County Executive explained that whenever lawyers told him he could not do something because of statutes he invariably said, "Let's do it anyway. By the time it works its way through the courts, we will have achieved our objective and , who knows, we might win."
Please come to Madison, write and visit your representatives, write letters to the editor, and participate in this struggle. You need to protect your hard-earned pension. It is safe to be in the rotunda and at the rally speeches on the capitol steps. I go every day and have since Tuesday of last week. Call your Uniserve office to find out how to help. Google WEAC to participate.
Jim Niemeier
Read more about the Wisconsin workers’ struggle at Levees Not War.