Half Hollow Hills Active Retired Teachers
Webmaster: Betty Jayne Volpe, bjvolpe@optonline.net
From NYSUT:
We ask each member to be a one-minute activist to help save Social Security.(click on the link for information) You can send your letter to President Obama in the form of a petition.
You can also contact your elected officials from the NYSUT site by clicking here A couple of clicks an…
Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In his words-
"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the desti…
ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE to the previous post about health care changes in 2011 in which I stated: “Current [Medicare] Advantage enrollees who wish to join or return to traditional Medicare have 90 days from 1 January to do so.”
The time period is in error. It is 45 days, until 14 February.
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS CHECKS
Although not directly related to health care, this is important to know: Beginning on 1 May, all new Social Security beneficiaries will be required to accept paperless payments - that is, debit cards or direct deposit to bank accounts. The new requirement also affects …
New enrollments in Long-Term Care Insurance to cease sometime in 2011
MetLife has announced that it will discontinue new enrollments in all of its long-term care insurance programs, including the one endorsed by NYSUT Member Benefits Trust, sometime during 2011. Exact dates have not yet been determi…
Call Congress on November 30th to Protect Social Security!
The Social Security Works & Strengthen Social Security (SSS) Campaign wants your help in flooding Capitol Hill with thousands of phone calls to protect Social Security on Tuesday, November 30, a national call-in day. The goal of each call wi…
Midterm Elections Just Days Away – Your Vote Matters
This Tuesday is Election Day, and seniors have as much at stake as any age group this year. “For anyone you know who thinks that voting doesn’t matter, tell them that 104 lawmakers are on record as supporting the privatization of Social Security,…
Court: NY charter schools not subject to wage laws
Associated Press
ALBANY — New York's top court says charter school contracts for construction, renovation, repair and maintenance are not subject to the state labor law requiring payment of prevailing wage rates.
The Court of Appeals rejected the sta…
What to Say When the 2009-10 Congress and President Obama are attacked for their Legislative Record.
Don’t Believe the Radical Right’s Political Spin!
When they say, “The Pelosi/Reid Congress and President Obama did nothing, and achieved little, during the past two years.” You Say… Not true! This…
6 Days to Election Day. Let's do all that we can to GET OUT THE VOTE!
Elections have Consequences: Get Out the Vote!
If Republicans Take control of Congress in 2011:
Rep. John Boehner of Ohio would become the new House Speaker. He supports raising the Social Security retirement age to 70. (“Meet the …
In theaters: "Waiting for Superman"
You may be asked about this movie ...
"Waiting for Superman" is a documentary film being released this month nationwide. It's very critical of public schools and promotes charter schools. You may get asked about it. Here are talking points. The AFT also provides th…
Class Action Settlement between the American Medical Association and United Healthcare
On May 3, 2010, a class action settlement between the American Medical Association (AMA) and United Healthcare (UHC) concerning Empire Plan members who received out-of-network medical services between March 15, 19…
Your Union Delegates have worked hard to identify candidates who were supportive of our issues. The following is the current list;
US Senate – Endorse Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
House of Representatives
C.D. Party Name
1 D/I/WF Tim Bishop
2 D/I/WF Steve Israel
4 D/WF Carolyn McCarthy
5 D/…
Alliance (ARA) Leaders Demand Alan Simpson Resignation from Presidential Panel
On Wednesday, the Alliance wrote President Obama to demand the resignation of Alan Simpson as Co-Chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Alliance President Barbara J. Easterling and Executive …
At the Endorsement Conference held recently in Albany President Iannuzzi, NYSUT president and AFL-CIO vice president, addressed delegates prior to the vote to explain NYSUT's decision to abstain. He cited the four compelling reasons why NYSUT's Board of Directors voted last week not to endorse Cuomo…
NYSUT wrapped up its three-day 2010 election endorsement process saying it is taking no position at this time in the governor's race and may revisit whether to issue a gubernatorial endorsement at a later date.
Participants in the endorsement conference also withdrew the union's longstanding support…
Educators to Keep Their Jobs
Congress Enacts Emergency State Aid to Avert School Layoffs
Moving swiftly to avoid massive school layoffs at the start of the 2010–11 school year, House members returned to Washington from their summer recess for a special one-day session to pass the latest version of the…
The following was in a communication from the ARA.
Retirees with the Write Stuff: Write Letter, Win Pen
“Retirees with the Write Stuff” is a project recognizing retirees whose letters to the editor are published, If you have had a letter published recently, please email us at letters@retiredam…
If you were surprised to see that HHH 's and your own school district's test scores were lower this year, here is NYSUT's take on the subject.
NYSUT: You can't just raise the cut scores
After dramatically raising the cut scores for grades 3-8 ELA and math exams, the State Education Department last wee…
At the HHH Executive Board meeting in June, "a suggestion was made to raise VOTECOPE contributions (for active teachers) due to the increased level of attacks that teachers deal with. More money is needed at the state level to campaign, advocate, put forth information effectively, etc." As teacher …