2012 FALL QUARTERLY RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON

Jean Kelly Olympia, Chapter 2

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What is an Ombudsman program? It is a network of trained volunteers that work together to offer you a hand to resolve issues related to your insurance. Sub. Senate Bill 5966 provides: “The position shall help retirees with questions and concerns, assist the Public Employees Benefits Board program with identification of retiree concerns, and maintain access to updated program information.”   More Later! There still is training to be completed and policy and procedure to be established. As that transpires, we will keep you updated.

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or needs a helping hand in obtaining information and assistance from their health insurance.

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Did you know that thanks to the 2011 Retired Public Employee Council of Washington Convention our members voted to pursue a bill to create a volunteer Ombudsman program within the Office of the Insurance Commissioner? During this 2012 session the staff from RPEC including the Interim Executive Director, George Masten and RPEC Lobbyist, Bev Hermanson dug in their heels and got the Ombudsman bill passed.   There currently are six members training for the program: Nancy Heley, Judy Parent, Betty Anderson, George Masten, Karen Bowen and Jean Kelly.   Who will they be helping? You !! Any Public Employee Benefit Board (PEBB) enrollee who is experiencing problems

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Our Strength is Your Security RE

SPECIAL VOTERS ISSUE Inside RPEC Endorsement

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October 2012

CONTENTS Help is Coming! 1 President’s Message 2 Stronger Together 2 Spokane Chapter Uses “Techie” Solutions to Reach Members 2 2012 Candidate Endorsement 3-5 2012 Convention Resolution Results 6 RPEC 2013-2014 Action & Legislative Priorities 6 Buying Union is a Choice 7 Many Reasons Why I Should Join the Retired Public Employees Council 7 Bev’s Corner 7 Changes to 2013 Health Care Plans Under PEBB 8

Betty Anderson, Judith Parent, George Masten, Nancy Heley, Karen Bowen

Judith Parent, Jean Kelly, Karen Bowen, Nancy Heley

It’s Time to Review Your Medicare Plan 8 “One” Member Challenge 8 Mark your Calendar, Save the Date 8 RPEC License Plate Frames 8

Howard Jorgenson, President Betty Anderson, Vice-President Mary Marbles, Secretary Eva Jean Shamley, Treasurer Jim McDonald, District 1 Joe Brown, District 2 Don McKay, District 3 Tom Mitts, District 4 Bob Talent, District 5 Deborah Axelson, District 6 Mark O. Brown, District 7 Sharon Price, District 8 Bill Ziegler, District 9 Brian Lindgren, District 9

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RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL 906 Columbia St. SW Ste 501 OLYMPIA WA 98501

NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID OLYMPIA WA PERMIT #165

RPEC EXECUTIVE BOARD

1-800-562-6097 www.rpecwa.org

RPEC

Council Office Staff

Jo Jacobson, Executive Director - [email protected] Derek VanSpoor, Info. Tech. App. Spec. - [email protected] Colette Jensen, Membership Coord. - [email protected] Deb Green, Accountant - [email protected]

President’s Message RPEC Hires a New Executive Director Jo Jacobson is a second generation RPEC Retiree. She has joined us in our critical work to preserve and protect economic security for retired public employees for our members as well as for future generations. She comes to our organization with an extensive background partnering with education, labor, business, and community groups. Jo is a retiree that has over 35 years of service in public education. She has taught every grade in K-12, as well as teaching public address, group dynamics, & work place readiness in higher education. She was a school counselor, established a private therapeutic counseling practice, and provided leadership for a nonprofit foundation, as their Executive Director, for 8 years. Her political involvement in lobbying, and issue driven education led her to work with the Alliance for Retired Americans in field mobilization from 2010-2012.

Stronger Together

Jo Jacobson Executive Director

Thank you for the opportunity to work with you in a leadership role for your organization. RPEC is my family through past generations and now. My father served as a public employee for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office for forty years. My husband, Allan, and I are members of Tacoma, Chapter 12. Integrity and courage are core attributes we all share. It is an honor for me to serve you.

Our tagline for RPEC is “Our Strength is Your Security”. With that in mind, I have made it one of my top priorities to meet with as many of our District Board Members and Chapter Leaders as possible within the first few months of our work together. We know that each, District as well as each Chapter, within the Districts, have their own characteristics, regional and local needs, wants and desires. If I have an opportunity to talk with our leaders they can help me be in touch with the “pulse” of our membership, so we can move forward together with our common goals and individual needs. Over the past month, I have had the pleasure to travel to Sunnyside, Prosser, Kennewick, Medical Lake, Spokane,

Jo believes that one of the most important issues that faces our country today is preserving and protecting Social Security; one of the most successful social programs in this country. Jo is strongly committed to fight for issues that effect, not just retired Americans, but all Americans such as pensions, social security, affordable healthcare, and affordable housing. She will be working with us to continue to raise our action profile in the State of Washington so our members, as well as our communities, can count on RPEC to be the “go to” resource to work for what they need and want: economic security and quality of life. Join me in welcoming Jo Jacobson to the leadership of our organization…

Sincerely, Howard N. Jorgenson President

King County, Tacoma, and Sedro Woolley, touching bases with five districts and 16 chapters. The hospitality has been overwhelming, gracious, and fabulously informative. I have learned various ways membership growth is being addressed, strategies to profile our core values in multiple areas of our state, and community connections that our members have enriched by their outpouring of contributions through philanthropy. We are multi-dimensional. Let’s make ourselves known to one another, our communities, and the state. Let’s not only be true to our core goals and values as we work to preserve our pension system for ourselves and future generations, but let’s also profile our work that shows our passion that indicates to me that “Families Matter” to all of us. I look forward to meeting many more of you over the next few months. Together we can review our “messaging”, keep the message consistent, stay on our message, and keep it simple. We can be socially connected, politically pragmatic and highlight our community connections, which helps to drive our sense of purpose in life. With hard work and courage, to do the hard work, we will be stronger together! Regards, Jo Jacobson, Executive Director

Spokane Chapter Uses

“Techie” Solutions to Reach Members

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Contacting chapter members by telephone in Spokane Area Chapter 13 has become a challenge for several reasons: recruiting and retaining volunteer callers, over 500 members in an area 20 to 40 miles in any direction from Spokane, and changing membership. Chapter Membership Chair, Chris Clark suggested we try an automated calling service. As a trial, we chose Wizard Phone and have used this service for several months. In our June newsletter, we let people know to expect a call. A pre-recorded message is sent to Wizard Phone along with a list of people to be called with their telephone numbers, via our account Web page. We select the date the calls are to start, and they call people over a two day period. We deposit money in advance with the company, which has been about $30 a month based on length of message and (our) number of calls. There are about 365 calls to be made out of our membership of 546 after deleting the out of state numbers. When Wizard completes the calls, they send an email report back with the number of calls completed to a live answer, number that went to answering device, and those that were

‘bad numbers’. We started out with a 30 second message, and now use 45 seconds. You can record the message, play it back, and make changes before sending it to Wizard. This process does require creating a text file of names and numbers to be called. Too ‘techie’ for some of us, but hopefully other chapters will find a ‘Chris’ within their membership. It proved to be important to have the recorded message checked for errors/omissions by other officers before sending it out. Average meeting attendance for Spokane Area Chapter 13 during 2011 was 17. For the first 5 meetings in 2012 we averaged 17 in attendance. In August and September of 2012 attendance was 26 and 24, respectively. While we cannot say that it is due entirely to phoning, we are encouraged. You may find out more about this service by calling Wizard Phone 1-800-580-5733, website: http://wizardphone.com. Christine Clark, Gail Spaeth, Elmer Swanson Spokane, Chapter 13

RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON

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2012 CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT Incumbent

District

Challenger

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Senate House 1 House 2

McAuliffe – D McCravey – R Stanford – D Guinn – R Moscsoso – D Unopposed

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Senate House 1 House 2

Becker – R Hartman – D Wilcox – R

3

Senate House 1 House 2

Billig – D Benn – GOP Ormsby – D

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Padden – R Crouse – R Shea – R Toft –R Rodne – R Magendanz – R Parker – R Dellwo – D

5 6

7 8 9

Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Short – R Kretz – R Klippert – R Reuther – D Schoesler – R Fagan – R Schmick – R

Notation Regarding Endorsement

Senate McAuliffe (D). We have a long working relationship with Senator McAuliffe. She has voted with us on pensions and health care. House 2 Moscoso (D). Luis worked for the Washington Public Employees Association before running for office two years ago. He was part of our Public Employees for Pension Reform coalition and is a reliable vote on pensions and health care. Lachney – D Senate Lachney (D). This is the seat currently held by Randi Becker and Alexander – R she has been a bad vote on pensions. We hope to find a supporter in Mr. Unopposed Lachney. House 1 Alexander (R). Gary was redistricted into the 2nd District from the 20th. We can always rely on him to let us know what is happening in his caucus so we can figure out how we need to lobby an issue. He votes with us whenever he can. McLaughSenate Billig (D). Billig is a former member of the House. He stepped up lin-GOP to run for Senator Lisa Brown’s vacant seat. He is one of just a handful of Riccelli – D Democrats who voted right on the bad pension reform bill in 2011. White – R House 1 Ricelli (D). Chapters 13 and 14 interviewed candidates in their district and recommended the endorsement of Mr. Ricelli. He will be a freshman so we do not have a working relationship with him yet. House 2 Ormsby (D). Ormsby is the pension specialist on House Ways and Means and is a good supporter of our issues. Unopposed Unopposed Biviano – D Mullet – D Senate Mullet (D). We have not had a good voting Senator in the 5th DisUnopposed trict for over a decade. We hope to change that if Mullet wins this race. Spring – D Unopposed House 2 Dellwo (D). Denny is a former House member from the Spokane Holy – R area and was redistricted into the 6th District. When he was a member of the House he was always supportive of public employee issues and was one of the architects of the original health care reform legislation in this state. House 1 Short (R) and House 2 Kretz (R). These are both sitting LegisUnopposed lators who we have not worked with a lot. They will both be re-elected and Wilson – R we thought it was a good time to build a relationship with them. Jay Clough – D Haler – R Unopposed Senate Schoesler (R). Sen. Schoesler has been in office for many years Unopposed and both as a House member and a Senator has been supportive of Unopposed public employee issues. He is currently Vice Chair of the Pension Policy Committee and usually alternates between Vice Chair and Chair. He works with us on our issues. House1 Fagan (R) and House 2 Schmick (R). Rep. Schmick proved that he would listen to our members in his district on issues and try to vote with us. We have not worked with Rep. Fagan but think it is a good idea to start giving the support we have received from her colleagues. Bailey – R Senate Haugen (D). Sen. Haugen is a long-sitting member of the LegisSmith – R lature and has a history of supporting public employees. She is in a very Riggs – D difficult race this year and she has earned our support.

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Senate House 1 House 2

Haugen – D Simpson – D Hayes – R

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Senate House 1 House 2

Hasegawa – D Thompson – R Hudgins – D Flynn – D Barguest – D Sanyo-Wright –R

Senate Hasegawa (D). Bob is currently a member of the House. He is stepping up to run for a vacant Senate seat. He is a good vote for us and deserves our support. House 1 Hudgins (D). He has been a staunch supporter of state employees on pensions, health care issues as well as working against contracting out state jobs.

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#12 Senate House 1 House 2

Parlette – GOP Condotta – R Armstrong – R

Unopposed Morse – R Hawkins – R

Senate Evans-Parlette (R). Sen. Parlette works well with our members in her district and tries very hard to be with us on our issues. House 2 Armstrong (R). Mike is a former state employee having worked for many years in the Department of Transportation. He also works well with our members in his district and often will go against his caucus to vote with us and has also brought his caucus along with him on occasion.

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Warnick – R Selmann – D King – R Spencer – D Tomaskin – D

Unopposed Manweller – R Unopposed Johnson – R Ross – R

Chandler – R Gonzalez – D

Unopposed Taylor – R

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House 1 Walsh (R). Rep. Walsh is a strong supporter of public employees, works well with us on our issues and has bucked her caucus on some important social issues as well. Senate Probst (D). Tim is a sitting House member who has stepped up to run for the Senate. He is a good vote and will be a good Senator. House 1 Stonier (D) and House 2 Gizzi (D). Stonier and Gizzi are both good candidates and have strong support from our chapter members in their district.

Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Hewitt – R Walsh – R Nealey – R Benton – R Olson – R Harris – R

Nettles – D Edwards – R Unopposed Probst – D Stonier – D Gizzi – D

Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Rivers – R Vick – R Shehorn – D Hatfield – D Takko – D Blake – D

Schmidt – D Cortes – R Gompertz D Winsman – R Kolditz – R Unopposed

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Senate House 1 House 2

Swecker – R DeBolt – R Orcutt – R

Braun – R Unopposed Morgan – R

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Senate House 1 House 2

Roberts – D Liias – D

Unopposed Morrison – R

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Senate House 1 House 2

Fraser – D Reykdal – D Hunt – D

Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Rolfes – D Appleton – D Hansen – D Hargrove – D VanDeWege D Tharinger – D

Treadwell – R Stephens – R Olsen – R Carter – I Unopposed Gale R

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Senate House 1 House 2

Herde – D Morrell,– D Zeiger – R

Dammeier – R Schlumpf – R Hilton – D

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Ashabraner – D Richards – R Darneille – D Jinkins – D Fey – D

Angel – R Seaquist – D Connelly – D Cook – R Walker – D

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Senate House 1 House 2

Carrell – R O’Ban – R Green – D

Wong – D Choiniere – D Wagemann – R

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

Sawyer – D Kirby – D

Harder – R Unopposed

Kochmar – R Asay – R

Flygare – D Freeman – D

Dahlquist – R Hurst – I D

House 2 Hurst (D). Chris is a former police officer. He devotes most of his time to law & order and safety issues but he understands pensions and shares our concern over not watering them down. House 1 Ryu (D). Cindy was a freshman legislator last year and we did Hayden – R not have an opportunity to work with her much. But based on her work on Reedy – R areas for which we share a concern, we want a chance to work with her in the future. House 1 Orwell (D). Tina, like Cindy is someone we have not had the opBenge – R portunity to work with much. But based on her work this last session, we Metz – R want to work with her more in the future. House 1 Cody (D) and House 2 Fitzgibbon (D). Giammarese – D Rep. Cody is a long-time legislator. She is chair of the House Health Unopposed Care committee and is someone we can always work with. She was the prime sponsor of our Health Care Ombudsman bill as well as the bill that required a study by the PEBB regarding concerns and complaints of the health care system. Joe Fitzgibbon is not someone we have worked with, but believe he will turn out to be as good a supporter as Rep. Cody, especially with her coaching and council.

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Senate House 1 House 2

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

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Ryu – D Kagi – D Orwell D Upthegrove – D Cody – D Fitzgibbon – D

Gunn – D Connors – R

Senate Hatfield (D) and House 1 Takko (D) and House 2 Blake (D). All three of these individuals have supported us in the past. Hatfield and Takko are more conservative, but if we meet with them and explain our issues to them we can usually get their support. Senate Swecker (R). Sen. Swecker has been a strong supporter of public employees and retirees. He is responsible for making sure our bill to allow blind mailings to potential members was brought to the floor. Because he is willing to work with us on many issues he had several opponents from his own party this year. We need to return the favor and support him. House 1 DeBolt (R). DeBolt is the Republican leader in the House. He does not always vote with us, but there have been a number of times when we have met with him and asked him not to block a bill and he has let the bill come to the floor. House 1 Roberts (D) and House 2 Liias (D). Both of these individuals have supported our retiree issues. Rep. Roberts went out of her way to learn more about the pension system last session and Rep. Liias, carried a petition to his caucus to not support the conservative pension reform bill and got enough signatures on it that it was assured there would not be enough votes to bring it to the floor. Senate Fraser (D) and House 1 Reykdahl (D) and House 2 Hunt (D). These three individuals represent one of the most Democratic districts in the state and they have the most public employees among their constituency. They can always be counted on to support our issues. House 1 Appleton (D). Sherry is a sitting legislator and has a great voting record on our issues. Senate Hargrove (D). Sen. Hargrove is one of the more conservative Senators in the Democratic caucus but he is a strong supporter of public employees. He will be Ways & Means Chairman next year and is someone we need to work with. House 1 VanDeWege (D) and House 2 Tharinger (D). Both of these individuals are strong supporters of public employee issues such as pensions and health care. Rep.VanDeWege is a firefighter and understands pension issues very well. House 1 Morrell (D). Dawn is a former member of the House and was defeated in the last election. She is a nurse and is strong on our health care and pension issues. She was a good vote for us when she was in the House before and will be again.

Senate Darneille (D). Jeannie is stepping up to run for the Senate in a seat being vacated by Rosa Franklin. As a member of the House, Rep. Darneille has a mixed bag of supporting our issues, but will be better in the Senate. Her position on House Ways & Means caused a problem last session. House 1 Jinkins (D). Rep. Jinkins is a good supporter of ours and deserves our support as she runs for her second term. House 2 Green (D). Tammi is a former Nurse and a member of Service Employees International Union. She supports our issues and takes the lead on many. She is in a tough re-election race. She deserves our continued support. House 2 Kirby (D). Rep. Kirby can always been relied upon to support our issues. We can always talk to him and he will take our concerns back to the members of his caucus

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Senate House 1 House 2

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Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2 Senate House 1 House 2

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State Races:

Haigh – D MacEwen – R

Griffey – R Ring-Erickson D

Carlyle – D Tarleton – D

Klein – R Frame D

House 1 Haigh (D) and House 2 Ring-Erickson (D). Rep. Haigh is chair of the House Education Committee and therefore spends the majority of her time on those issues. However, that also makes her a strong support of public employee issues and she is someone we can always ask for support. Ring-Erickson is running for her first term so she is someone we hope to get to know and find support from.

Lytton – D Morris – D Judge – D Maxwell – D Clibborn – D

House 1 Sharon Santos (D) and House 2 Eric Pettigrew (D). Unopposed Both of these individuals are members of House Leadership and are willSmilanich – NP ing to listen to us and try to support our issues. House 1 McCoy (D) and House 2 Sells (D). Wilson – R Both of these individuals are strong supporters of public employees, of Casey – GOP pension issues and health care. Sells is active in the Snohomish County Labor Council and McCoy is active in that area as well. They deserve our continued support. Pearson – R Kristiansen – R Scott – R House 2 Morris (D). Rep. Morris has been a good supporter of public Unopposed employees in the past and he is always available for us to talk to about our Pellett – Green issues. Litzow – R House 2 Clibborn (D). Rep. Clibborn is chair of the House Transportation Eaves – R committee and is always available for us to talk to about our issues. Unopposed

McClendon – D Buys – R

Overstreet – R Krogh – D

Santos – D Pettigrew – D McCoy – D Sells – D Olson – D Wright – D Walters – D

House 1 Pederson (D) and House 2 Chopp (D). Rep. Pederson is a strong supporter of public employees and our pensions and health care. Frank Chopp is Speaker of the House and is someone we need to talk to at all times so we can get our bills passed or to ask that something not pass. House 1 Dunshee (D). Hans is a long-time member of the House. He Dunshee – D Harmsworth – R has been Chair of the Capital Budget Committee and in that capacity has Hope – R McNaughton – D made sure there was money for funding schools, and other public needs. He is a strong supporter of public employees. House 1 Goodman (D). Roger is running for re-election for the first time Goodman – D Hussey – R and is in a tough race. As a member of the House Health Care CommitSpringer – D Thatcher – R tee he supported our Ombudsman and Health Care study bills along with the chair, Eileen Cody. He is someone we can work with. Frockt – D Unopposed Senate Frockt (D). David is not someone we have worked with but believe Pollet – D Cann D he will be a good vote on public employee issues based on information we Farrell – D Crocker – D have gotten from him and others of his supporters. House 1 Pollet (D). He also is new to us. But Speaker Chopp appointed him to the Governor’s pension study committee this summer and we believe he is someone we need to work with in the future. Sizemore – D Hargrove – R House 1 Bud Sizemore (D) and House 2 Pat Sullivan (D). Sullivan – D Massagli – R Bud Sizemore is a firefighter and as such understands our pension and health care issues. He is running for his first term. Rep. Sullivan is the Majority Leader in the House. He is a good person to have in our corner. He told us early on last session that he was not going to support any further erosion of pensions and he kept that promise. Hunter – D Hirt – R House 1 Hunter (D). Rep. Ross Hunter is the Chair of the House Ways & Habib – D Myers – R Means Committee. We can always meet with him and he tries to support our requests. He is someone we need to keep the lines of communication open with. Qutub – GOP Cleveland – D Senate Cleveland (D). We do not have a relationship with Ms. Cleveland Wylie – D Peterson – R as she has not served in the Legislature, but our members in her district Moeller – D Crain – R are very encouraging about how well we will be able to work with her. House 1 Wylie (D) and House 2 Moeller (D). We have supported both Rep. Wylie and Rep. Moeller in the past. Rep. Wylie is running for her first full term and Rep. Moeller is the Speaker ProTem in the House. We have worked well with both. Pedersen – D Chopp – D

Governor Lt. Governor Secretary of State State Treasurer State Auditor Attorney General Insurance Commissioner State Supreme Court Position 2 State Supreme Court Position 8 State Supreme Court Position 9

Sawant – Socialist Gadow – No Party

Jay Inslee Brad Owen Kim Wyman Jim McIntire James Watkins Bob Ferguson Mike Kreidler Susan Owens Steve Gonzales Sheryl McCloud

D D R D R D D NP NP NP

US Senator: Maria Cantwell

State Races: District 1 District 2 District 6 District 7 District 9 District 10

No Action Rick Larsen Derek Kilmer Jim McDermott Adam Smith Denny Heck

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2012 Convention Highlights Resolutions Results Resolution 1 Resolution 2 Resolution 3 Resolution 4 Resolution 5 Resolution 6 Resolution 7 Resolution 8 Resolution 9 Resolution 10 Resolution 11 Resolution 12 Resolution 13

Social Security and Medicare, Concur as Amended, Pass Affordable Care Act, Non-concur, Pass Stand Alone Dental Coverage, Concur, Pass Special Design Vehicle License Plate, Concur, Pass Unfunded Pension Liabilities, Concur as Amended, Pass RPEC Support for Public Sector Unions, Concur, Pass Stop the Requirement to Periodically Replace Good Vehicle License Plates, Concur, Pass Limiting Usury Rates by Banks & Credit Card Companies & Retail Stores, Non-concur, Pass Federal Income Tax Revision, Concur as Amended, Pass Regarding Constitutional Rights for People, Not Corporations, Concur as Amended, Pass Resolution to Tax Capital Gains, Concur, Pass “Scrap the Cap” on Social Security, Concur, Pass Ending the Afghanistan War, Non-concur, Pass

Late Resolution A Building the Caring Across Generations Campaign for Workers’ Rights & Access to Care for the Elderly & People with Disabilities, Consider to Accept – Pass, Concur, Pass

RPEC 2013-2014 Action & Legislative Priorities Submitted by the RPEC State Legislative Committee to the 2012 State Convention

**Adopted as Amended at September 12th RPEC State Convention

TOP TIER PRIORITIES

Continue to aggressively pursue legal action to restore Plan 1 COLAS Full funding of employer contribution rates to the pension plans Oppose effort to create a new state retirement plan Protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

STATE PRIORITIES Retirement

• Aggressively pursue legal action to restore Plan 1 COLAs • Join with other retiree organizations and fight for the reinstatement of PERS I COLA • State Actuary has recommended full funding of employer contribution rates and RPEC will continue to support • Oppose any new retirement plan for public employees • Continue efforts to strengthen PERS governance structure

Health Care

• Work toward PEBB coverage for PERS II members age 55 or older with 20 yrs service credit who separate from service • Support limited open enrollment period for K-12 & PERS retirees who did not take PEBB coverage • Afford public employees benefits to all retired public employees in the state

Administratively

• Support PEBB dental insurance as a stand-alone benefit

Disability and Long-term Care

• Pursue affordable long-term care insurance for retirees

Contracting Out/Privatization

• Oppose efforts to privatize or contract out public services

FEDERAL PRIORITIES

Social Security and Medicare

• Continue fight to protect Social Security from privatization • Protect Social Security funding • Protect Social Security benefit levels • Protect Medicare and Medicaid financing, eligibility criteria, benefit levels and insure access • Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act • Support, enhance and defend the Affordable Care Act – ** added at September 12th RPEC State Convention

RPEC ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION

Continue to encourage Fast Action Teams of RPEC member-volunteers to advance RPEC’s legislative agenda and support lobbying activities Chapter 18 Delegates

P A G E

Chapter 28 Delegates

6 George Masten, Interim Director, - Thank You!

Mike Kreidler, Insurance Comm. - Keynote Speaker

RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON

Buying Union is a Choice Buying union is a choice we can make every day. But often, it can be hard to know where to find union options for products and services here in Washington State. Now there is a solution. The Washington State Labor Council is compiling a new directory to address this issue. Union Choice will be a listing of union products and services throughout the state. They want it to be the most comprehensive, statewide directory available, but they need your help to complete this task. What they need from you is information. For example, if you need a union electrician, plumber, painter, etc. in Bremerton, Longview, or Spokane, who do you call? What about union printers in Bellingham? Where can you get your car serviced by a union mechanic? Where are the union restaurants in Seattle? Where can you buy union made jeans? Let the WSLC know so they can share the information. By purchasing union products, and/or utilizing union services, we are helping everyone. It keeps the union companies in business; it keeps our union members working and, hopefully, makes their contracts stronger.

Many Reasons Why I Should Join the Retired Public Employees Council (RPEC)

RPEC Strength is Your Security. RPEC protects our Pension Funding. RPEC keeps our Health Care Benefits at affordable rates. RPEC Protects Our Social Security. RPEC ensures that Senior Voices are heard by decision makers in Olympia. RPEC dues are only $5 per month. RPEC is a Watchdog in Olympia for our pensions & retiree benefits. RPEC has had a seat for 18 years at the Washington State Pension Board, George Masten (Chapter 2), is on that Pension Board & is a very strong advocate for retirees. RPEC is affiliated with AFSCME. Therefore, RPEC has a loud voice in Washington D.C. when it comes to issues related to our Social Security & Medicare. The bigger RPEC membership is, the Stronger we are. Don’t be a freeloader by getting benefits without paying to protect them. Legislators listen to voting blocs – Retirees Vote!! Right now, RPEC is 9,400 strong. Help us make that a 10,000 voting bloc. The cuts the Legislature has made to PERS 1 & TRS 1 are just the beginning. PERS 2 & 3 may be next on the Legislative Hatchet List. Martin Manahan, President Walla Walla, Chapter 11

Union Choice will be online, easily accessible, and frequently updated. The WSLC also wants to get a copy into every union household in Washington State. This will be a great way to support our labor communities, our union workers and businesses. With your help, Union Choice will help us all contribute to the union economy. If you have vendor or product information you would like to contribute to this project please contact Karen White, the WSLC Project Coordinator at 206-218-8901/1800-542-0904 or kwhite@ wslc.org by November 15, 2012. Thank you for your help with this project. Excerpts from a letter prepared by Jeff Johnson, President of the WSLC, and Lynne Dodson, Secretary/Treasurer of the WSLC Union Choice Directory Karen White 314-1st Ave W Seattle, WA 98119



Bev’s Corner As you read this article, you have probably already received your ballot. Senior citizens and retirees have a reputation for being some of the most reliable voters. Candidates pay attention to their senior voters. As you contemplate your vote this year think about the losses public sector employees have suffered in the last two years: automatic age 65 COLA abolished, reduction in the Medicare contribution toward our health care, and an effort to water down the current pension system on the guise it is unsustainable despite it being the 4th best managed pension plan in the country. Public sector retirees have been hard hit by cuts in these last two budget cycles. In this edition of the newsletter you will find a listing of the endorsements made by the RPEC Political Action Committee. The committee met on two occasions and made recommendations based on information available on voting records and how candidates felt about our issues. Many of our members ask that we publish this information for them to use. But remember, these recommendations are for your information only. Your vote is still your vote and what we care about the most is that you do vote. Our convention supported a number of issues for the upcoming 2013-2014 Legislative Session. Many of the issues; such as, full funding of the pension plans by the employer, and opposing any efforts to develop a new Plan IV pension plan, will be policy bills that are part of the budget. However, there are several issues for which we are having bills prepared. These are: PEBB coverage for PERS II members age 55 and older with 20 years service credit who separate from service; Support limited open enrollment period for K-12 & PERS retirees who did not take PEBB coverage; Afford public employees benefits to all retired public employees in the state; Support the reinstatement of the retire/rehire law. We will be providing more information on these issues in the next two or three months. Beverly Hermanson, Legislative Lobbyist

RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON

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Changes to

2013 Health Care Plans under PEBB Medicare Retirees: There are no changes in the benefit plans and the state subsidy continues at the $150/mo. level. The premium increases around $5/mo for the Uniform Medical Plan, around $10/mo. for those covered by Group Health, and about $2/mo for those covered by Kaiser. Non-Medicare Retirees: There are no benefit changes for those covered by the Uniform Medical Plan and the premium increase is around $15/mo. For those covered by Group Health, there is a $100 increase in the co-payment for an emergency room visit and the monthly premium increases by $35/mo. The Kaiser Health plan is increasing the out of pocket maximum to $2000, the deductible to $250, and increasing the monthly premium by $30/mo. Active Employees: There are premium decreases for those covered by UMP and Kaiser but employees covered by Group Health will have increased monthly premiums. As your representative on the Public Employees Benefit Board, I can be reached (by phone at 206-324-2786 or by e-mail at [email protected]) Gwen Rench President, Chapter 3 Seattle Area District 9

It’s Time to Review Your Medicare Plan

October 16th marks the first day of the Medicare Open Enrollment Period. Please take the opportunity to review your plan and make any changes by December 7, 2012. For more information on the different types of plans, visit http://blog.medicare.gov/2012/10/15/medicare-openenrollment-nows-the-time/or use the Medicare Plan Finder. If you still need help comparing plan options, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Medicare plans are not one size fits all. It is important to consider you and your family’s needs when comparing plans. Some areas to keep in mind are costs, coverage, convenience and quality of care. Consider your needs and pick the Medicare plan that best fits your priorities

Mark your Calendar

2013 Legislative 105 Day Session begins Monday 1-14-12 What: RPEC LEGISLATIVE DAY When: Monday, January 28, 2013 Where: Capitol Rotunda, Olympia, WA Why: Meet & Inform Your Legislators Critical Issues Additional details provided @ Chapter Meetings WA State Senior Citizens Lobby Day: February 24, 2013

Save the Date C al

endar

WHAT: 2013 RPEC CONVENTION WHERE: YAKIMA CONVENTION CENTER WHEN: SEPTEMBER 26-28, 2013 ROOM RESERVATIONS @ RED LION HOTEL includes “Bodacious Buffet Breakfast! Watch Website for details: www.rpecwa.org

RPEC License Plate Frames

One Member Challenge “ONE” Member challenge by President Jorgenson during convention: every delegate was challenged to return to their community and recruit at least 1 new member by the end of the year. The final delegate count was 160. That would be 320 new members by December 31st. Growing our numbers has to be a combined effort by chapters, board members and staff A membership card and return envelope was given to each delegate at convention. So far, President Jorgenson and Board Member Mark Brown have answered that challenge. President Jorgenson pledged $1 to the AFSCME PEOPLE fund for each new member recruited. Remember to write your name on the “recruited by” line on the membership card. Numbers don’t lie. From September 2011 to September 2012, RPEC is down 396 members and for the 9 months of 2012, we are down 68 members. A sad statistic is, due to our aging population, we lose between 400 and 600 members each year due to death. There is an alarming new statistic – in the 9 months of 2012, we have lost 107 members to “drop member request” and 147 members to “drop no dues.” Combined that is 254 members RPEC can ill afford. How can you get RPEC recruitment material out to your community? I know a member from chapter 12 who takes membership cards to the funerals she attends and when she sees a retiree who is not an RPEC member, she gives them a card. She has also been known to hand them out in the grocery store! Now that’s thinking outside the box…………. Here are suggestions for recruitment in your community: 1. Your spouse is eligible for membership – if he/she is not currently a member, sign them up! 2. Contact people you worked with and retired with. When they hear directly from you, it makes a difference! 3. What Local did you retire from? Ask to have 5 minutes during their next meeting to explain the benefits of RPEC. If you would like talking points – call the office and we will get you some. 4. What organizations do you belong to that retirees attend? Don’t be shy about talking about RPEC. Based on the number of calls the Council Office has received regarding the COLA lawsuit, people are very interested in what RPEC is doing. 5. Encourage people to view our web site, www.rpecwa.org and facebook page www.facebook.com/rpecwa Some chapters have received copies of the mailing lists from their area in order to follow up with personal contacts. If you have not received copies and would like to, contact me and I will make sure you get them. The RPEC membership form is available on our web site: www.rpecwa.org. Click on Join RPEC! Then click the application form in the 3rd paragraph. Now go out there and RECRUIT!!!! Colette Jensen Membership Coordinator [email protected] 800.562.6097

RPEC now has our own license plate frames!! Some of our members requested we purchase the frames and sell them for this year’s fund raiser. They are black frames with gold lettering: They look great on your car and the gold lettering really stands out. The cost is $8. During convention, we sold 55 frames. We ordered 200 frames so you can still purchase them. Each chapter can pre-purchase frames, and then sell them at a chapter meeting or give them away as gifts to members to encourage them to attend meetings! With chapter holiday meetings coming up, they would make great door prizes.

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Individuals can call Colette at the Council office (360.352.8261) and order a plate for their car. You can either send a check or use a credit card. Contact information: Retired Public Employees Council of Washington 906 Columbia St. SW Ste 501 Olympia, WA 98501

“Since 1971 Retired Public Employees Council”

360-352-8262 or 1-800-562-6097 www.rpecwa.org

RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON