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The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and AFT Pennsylvania
conducted a phone-bank blitz in January to urge retired and active
members to call their state legislators to demand they authorize
annual cost-of-living-adjustments to the pensions of retired school
employees.

Five pension COLA bills are languishing in Pennsylvania House and
Senate committees.

The phone bank blitz ran from Jan. 7-31, staffed by retirees.

"Retired school employees in Pennsylvania have gone for
five-and-a-half years without a cost of living increase to their
pensions," said Jerry Pollack, president of the PFT Retirement
Chapter. "Some of our older retirees are living below the poverty
line."

Pollack said that legislators received a 3.5 percent increase in
their pensions in December. "If they get annual cost-of-living
increases, school and state employees should get them, too," he said.
The last COLA for school employees was in 2002. Thirty-one states
have laws authorizing annual cost-of-living increases for pensions.
Pollack said members across the state should call their senator and
representative at the local constituent office or through the Capitol
Switchboard (1-717-787-2121) in Harrisburg to demand action on a
legislation authorizing annual COLAs.

Members also can e-mail their state representatives at
http://www.house.state.pa.us/index.cfm and their senators at
http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm.

The PFT and AFT Pennsylvania are not endorsing a specific bill but
are urging members to lobby for legislation authorizing an ANNUAL
pension cost-of-living adjustment.

AFT Pennsylvania's director of government relations Pat Halpin-Murphy
said, "We are calling on all retired members across the state to
contact their legislators to move COLA legislation to the floor. We
are working with a coalition of public employees statewide to get a
cost-of-living adjustment for retired school and public employees
this year."

There are 4,000 retired AFT Pennsylvania members currently drawing
pensions, and 38,000 active AFTPA members.

"If every member made phone calls to their representatives and
senators demanding the legislature approve an annual cost-of-living
increase for retired school employees, perhaps we would finally get
this legislation on the floor and approved," Pollack said.

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