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!