The NEA Representative Assembly has voted to study the possibility of conducting a national media campaign in conjunction with police and firefighter organizations to draw attention to the need to repeal provisions of federal law that are costing teachers and other public workers millions of dollars.
Two federal laws - the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) - reduce Social Security benefits earned by teachers and other public employees or their spouses by as much as two-thirds in 15 states, including California.
The GPO reduces benefit payments to employees who qualify for Social Security through their spouse's work. The WEP reduces benefits for those who qualify through their own employment prior to public service.
Two bills pending in Congress would repeal the GPO and WEP. They are H.R. 2638 by U.S. Representative Buck McKeon (R-Palmdale) and S.1523 by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California). Over the past few months, backers of the McKeon measure have added 169 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives to the bill's co-author list. The more co-authors, the greater the chances a measure has for passage.
Delegates to the NEA RA voted to provide funding for NEA to train a cadre of member activists from each state to continue the grassroots efforts to pressure Congress to repeal the offsets.
A video showing the detrimental effects of the offsets was shown to the entire assembly. In addition, a booth in the exhibits area allowed delegates to learn more about the issues and pick up a packet of information about NEA efforts to get the GPO and the WEP repealed.
While at the booth, delegates were able to send e-mail and postcard messages to their representatives asking for an end to the offsets.
Among the merchandise offered for sale at the RA were items to help get attention for the issue. One popular T-shirt read, "Good Educators Never Retire They Can't Afford To."