RETIREE (ROC)

TSEU Organizer Contact: ANY TSEU office (or 512.448.4225)

We are TSEU members of the Retiree Organizing Committee (ROC). We are TRS and ERS retirees from state agencies and universities. We are building a strong union of retirees to fight for:  a cost-of-living increase for TRS and ERS annuitants; keeping the ERS and TRS pensions secure; keeping the health care benefits affordable.  JOIN TODAY (see more at the bottom of the page)!


The ROC REPORT (Summer/Fall 2022)

  • Fighting for our Pensions, Protecting our Health Care, Defending ERS – TSEU-ROC members are making our voice heard! OUR TOP STORY 
  • Elected Officials and State Retirees: regarding pensions, we are not all in the same boat READ MORE
  • The stories above and more in Summer 2022 ROC Report DOWNLOAD PDF

Dear Fellow State Retiree

We are state retirees and members of the Texas State Employees Union Retiree Organizing Committee (roc). We are asking you to join us.
  Hitting retirement should allow us to relax, spend time with our families and friends, travel, and feel secure that the retirement benefits that we’ve earned will be there for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately and unfairly, attacks on our pension and health benefits do not stop.
  Some state leaders openly declare that our pension and health benefits are not guaranteed. Legislators have let two decades go by with our pensions frozen. Our pension checks buy less than half of what they did in 2001, the last time we got an increase. This is largely because legislators cut the state contribution to our pensions in the late 1990s, and the fund never caught up.
  Ideas frequently floated by legislators would convert our pensions to 401(k) type defined contribution. Other ideas in the Legislature call for our health plan to be converted to a health savings account system. While a lot of these proposals are careful to exempt those who are already retired, history has taught us that if budget slashers can successfully attack some of us, they’ll come back for the rest.
  Most of us were active members of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) before we retired. We’re proud to be part of the union that has stood and fought for good pay and benefits for active employees and retirees, for quality state services for the people of Texas, and for basic justice and equity in our workplaces and communities. We are proud to continue as TSEU members now that we’ve retired.
  The times keep getting harder. The attacks on state employees and state services keep getting get worse. But we’ve learned that, no matter how difficult the challenges, we can win if we stick together and work together. We’re asking you to join us in defending our hard fought gains and winning new victories.


Attend a ROC meeting!

Several area ROC ‘chapters’ have regular monthly meetings, luncheons, and other events. Currently, we are still having meetings in DFW, San Antonio and Austin. Please contact the TSEU office associated with that meeting for event verification and other details.


Legislative Goals
2023-24

As decided on by attendees to the 2022 TSEU General Assembly. These goals will carry us through our next Assembly in 2024. 

  • Enact policy and funding provisions that will provide a pension Cost of Living Adjustment of at 17.4% by raising the pension multiplier to 2.7%, and make this a permanent increase in annuity amounts and that will apply to all current and future ERS retirees.
  • Stop any attempts to degrade our health care coverage for active employees and retirees, including plans to convert the ERS plan to a defined contribution or health savings accounts system.
  • Repeal the sections of SB 321 from the 2021 Legislative session that created a cash balance pension system and restore the defined benefit pension for all future ERS retirees.
  • The ROC caucus joins with other TSEU members to make an across-the-board statewide pay raise for all state employees, including university employees, our highest priority!

 


JOIN THE ROC CAUCUS TODAY!

TSEU membership dues for ROC are collected monthly in one of two ways: as a deduction from your ERS annuity OR as a draft of a personal bank or credit card account.

1. Deduction from your ERS annuity.

Download an ERS Annuity deduction membership form – This form will allow for a monthly draft of your dues from your ERS annuity. Completed applications will be processed and forwarded to the Employees Retirement System of Texas.

mail to the Austin TSEU office for processing:
TSEU Membership Department
627 Radam Lane
Austin, TX 78745

OR

2. Bank draft (fill out form below):

  • Use the form below to draft your dues from your bank account.
    Please note: if you are unable to use a bank account draft for your dues, you can set up a monthly draft from a credit or debit card by filling out our Debit/Credit Card dues authorization.
Membership Application

TSEU MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

CONTACT INFORMATION

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

MEMBERSHIP AUTHORIZATION AND DUES DETAILS

I authorize the monthly deduction from my salary or wages for membership dues to TSEU. I understand that I may revoke this authorization at any time by written notice.



ROC BONUS LETTER CAMPAIGN

Sample Letter to Governor Abbot

Mail the Governor

The Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor
the Capitol,
PO Box 12428
Austin TX 7871

Why this is important:

  • A bonus is achievable
  • A bonus will be a step forward toward a solution to the dire circumstances many retirees face
  • There has been no increase to pension checks for 20 years

Tell the Governor who you are and how this situation has affected you

  • Having your monthly pension check stretched thinner and thinner has affected you and/or your family – what you have had to do without and what decisions you have had to make to make ends meet.
  • A dollar today does not go as far as it did when you retired. 

Let the Governor know what brought you to public service and why it mattered

  • What was the mission of your Agency? 
  • Why were you drawn to serve?
  • How long did you  work there?

Alternative to the personal letter

If you don’t care to write a personal letter to Gov. Abbot, a printable letter can be found here: Dear Gov. Abbott. Just fill in the appropriate time you were employed by the State of Texas, what agency or university you worked at, and then sign and date the letter.