If you haven’t already, write a letter to the House Appropriations Committee explaining why state retirees desperately need a COLA in 2017!
Here’s a sample letter: (Please do not copy and paste sample letter. Writing a letter in your own words will have more of an impact with legislators).
Dear members of the House Appropriations Committee, I urge you to support a pension cost of living adjustment for retired state employees and teachers. I’m a retired state employee who worked for the Attorney General’s Child Support Division. Just about every year since my retirement in 2003, I’ve seen an increase in the amount deducted from my pension for dependents’ health insurance, while our pension remains flat. Last year, the increase deducted was $20 a month. These deduction increases add up over time to a significant pension reduction. I think many retirees share my situation, while others are facing even worse circumstances. Even though many of my fellow retirees dedicated their careers to serving the State of Texas, they worked for low pay throughout their careers. As a result, their pensions are quite low and have been unable to keep up with the higher prices we are paying for food, utilities, transportation, health care, and other basic necessities. I ask this committee to make giving state retirees a cost of living adjustment a high priority going into the next legislative session.
SEND LETTERS TO:
- House Appropriations Committee
Attn: Malika Te
P.O. Box 2910 / Austin, TX 78768
. - Also, send a copy to your own House Representative.WHO REPRESENTS ME – Look up your elected officials using your home address. You will get a link to your Texas State Representative’s contact information and mailing address
. - And finally, let TSEU know you sent the letter; and if possible, please forward the letter to us for our files! We are starting a collection of these letters to share with other legislators as needed. They are powerful tools in helping us convince our elected leaders of the need for a COLA. Contact TSEU Organizers Kevin Paris (kparis@cwa-tseu.org) in the Austin TSEU office (512.448.4225) or Anitra Patterson (apatterson@cwa-tseu.org) in the Dallas TSEU office (214.942.4305) to let them know when you sent your letter and/or to forward your letter to TSEU.