IFT Continues Fight Member Efforts
PublicVictories Employee Secure Privacy in Springfield for
THANKS LARGELY TO OVERWHELMING EFFORTS BY IFT MEMBERS, the 96th session of the Illinois General Assembly ended on
Dan Montgomery in a letter to IFT members last month. Make no mistake about it - YOU MADE THE DIFFERENCE.”
LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS What Passed • Abolishment of the death penalty • State income tax increase • Pension bonding
Nearly 15,000 IFT members statewide participated in the union’s first-ever virtual town hall phone meeting, then sent over 50,000 e-mails to legislators telling them to protect collective bargaining rights and educators’ voices
What Didn’t • Cigarette tax increase • Worker’s compensation reforms
“ In the face of the vicious attacks on teaching, unions and our most basic right to collectively bargain, you stayed informed, spoke out and made your voices heard.”
What Wasn’t Voted On • Education reforms • College Insurance Program • Gaming expansion • Constitutional amendments on state and local revenues and pension benefits
Dan Montgomery, IFT president
January 12 with the union winning key victories and beating back attacks on members’ rights. “In the face of the vicious attacks on teaching, unions and our most basic right to collectively bargain, you stayed informed, spoke out and made your voices heard,” said IFT President
to advocate for students. Those efforts were invaluable and kept the harmful proposals from being considered by the General Assembly.
thankyou
The 97th General Assembly was sworn in on January 12. Old fights will be revisited and new ones undoubtedly lie ahead.
No Answer Yet
to
Your hard work - from letter writing to e-mails to one-on-one conversations - really pays off. Visit the IFT Action Center for a current listing of IFT legislative action campaigns. ift-aft.org/iftactioncenter
Insurance Plan Woes
IFT Will Continue Efforts in Spring Legislative Session
The 96th General Assembly came to a close last month without finding a solution to the dire financial situation facing the College Insurance Program (CIP), the health care plan for downstate Illinois community college retirees.
Throughout the legislative session, the IFT participated in numerous meetings with the Department of Health Care and Family Services (which manages CIP) and other stakeholders to discuss possible changes and ensure CIP remains a viable health care plan for retired IFT community college members.
line with the rate for the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP), the health care plan covering downstate retired teachers. Currently, CIP contribution rates are .5 percent of pay for active employees, employers and the state. TRIP rates are .88 percent and are scheduled to increase to .92 percent in July 2011. Changes being discussed include phasing in rate increases over the next two and a half years and establishing a medical inflation rate escalator that would cap future rate increases at 5 percent.
Among the changes originally considered is bringing the CIP contribution rate in
Also being considered are ways to allow members of the City Colleges of Chicago
CIP is currently more than 200 days late in paying health care providers. Payment delays of 365 days are projected in the upcoming fiscal year under the current plan. If that occurs, providers may drop out and CIP could face collapse.
to buy in to CIP. Currently, those retirees participate in a plan sponsored by the City Colleges of Chicago. The IFT will continue to work to seek an agreement on legislation to address the crisis that is in the best interests of our active and retired community college members.
Visit www.ift-aft.org and watch your e-mail for the most update information on CIP.
U N I O N L I N K | FEBR UARY 2011
5