Teacher Pensions Update

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Update No. 25An amazing day at the Capitol!

On Monday, hundreds of Education Minnesota members and their families flooded the Capitol rotunda with purple passion for pensions. Our member speakers Deb Munter, Sheila Fitzgerald, Jim Reed, Julie Seiler, Steve Bliven and 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Sarah Lancaster shared their stories, led chants, shared the need for reform and even broke into song. A huge thank you to them for taking the stage and leading the way.  

President Denise Specht shared the need for action by legislators now and the unacceptable retirement penalties that Tier 2 teachers face. Some of our strongest supporters in the Legislature also continued to show their support by taking the stage as well. 

Education Minnesota members showed up in huge numbers. Some drove three-plus hours one way, many had to find subs and others arranged to get out of their buildings as soon as they could. The rotunda was packed, the chants were loud and the message was clear! Many members couldn’t make the trip but also shared solidarity from a far with group pics and signs of support. This amazing unity is our best path to success.

Check out more great pictures and video on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

We also received hundreds of photos of remote participation from teachers who wanted to be at the Capitol, but couldn’t. We’re working on compiling them into a graphic to send out soon!

If you have a picture you’d like included and haven’t sent already, please email to lindy.somick@edmn.org.LCPR and progress
On Monday morning, the LCPR met to discuss and decide what their omnibus bill would look like. They shared that they received input from pension plan staff and labor groups. It’s important to note the critical piece that was shared by LCPR Chair Rep. Kaohly Vang Her on TRA. She stated that “We are continuing to work on that plan even though our piece is settled. There are other ways we are looking to increasing teachers benefits through other budgets.”

This is good news and shows progress in our work. With the amount of funding that the LCPR was given and specifically what TRA was allocated, there wasn’t enough for substantial improvements. The only benefit improvement option shared by the LCPR would put the cost of improvements completely on the backs and out of the paychecks of teachers, which was unacceptable. This would have been a poor investment to say the least. While this information isn’t specific to a final result, it demonstrates that our work continues in our fight for more funding from the state and/or employer.  

St. Paul did share a plan they would be able to go with. It would create an unreduced benefit of 62 years of age and 30 years of service. The funding would come from raising the employee contribution by 1% and the one-time money would be able to buy down that contribution for about two years. To be clear, this is St. Paul’s position at the moment, but things may continue to evolve for them as well. Just as the TRA position will continue to evolve in the weeks to come.

Targets for advocacyContact Gov. Tim Walz, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and House Speaker Melissa Hortman and ask them to increase the funding for pensions.Speak with your two legislators directly and seek their action to advocate for a bigger investment.Pension town hall recording
If you missed the virtual pension town hall with Reps. Kaohly Vang Her and Dan Wolgamott last week, you can watch a recording of the event here.April 20 – Pension Issue Lobby Day
Join members from across the state for our Pensions Issue Lobby Day from 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, April 20 to speak with legislators about the importance of investing in pensions.

Register for this online event here.
Resources:Organizing and Action 
 General Information 
 Pension bill action alertEducation Minnesota pensions webpageLegislative contact templateEdMN Capitol Connection e-newsletter Tips for contacting your legislators TRA document on pension basics Find your legislators PERA member resourcesEdMN Lobby Days info Public pension terminologyLCPR membersTRA candidate voter guideIf you’ve missed any past updates, they’re available on our website.If you have any questions, please email Adam Janiak.

Keep organizing, sharing and talking to your colleagues about our plan. Sign up and forward this Education Minnesota Pension Updates signup today or use the QR code below!