News
Quite Simply, an Issue of Fairness

NEA steps up drive to repeal Social Security provisions that impoverish retired educators and hinder teacher recruitment efforts.

You might think that two little-known sections of the federal Social Security Act, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), couldn't have anything to do with classroom quality or the living standards of teachers and education support professionals.

If that's your first reaction, you probably work outside one of the 15 states where the GPO and WEP are impoverishing retired educators and making it increasingly harder to entice new teachers from the private sector, especially in math, science, and vocational fields.

Or you're probably a member of Congress who hasn't been visited by an NEA member/lobbyist seeking total GPO/WEP repeal-making you a rare creature indeed.

These two provisions, adopted by Congress in the 1980s as a snap solution to problems such as pension "double dipping" abuses and budget deficits, have inflicted damage lawmakers never intended.

In 15 states where educators and other public and federal employees don't pay into Social Security, the Government Pension Offset reduces a worker's Social Security spousal or survivor benefit by an amount equal to two-thirds of his or her public pension.

Duck that one, and you're slammed by the Windfall Elimination Provision, which reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security.

Complex to explain, but easy to grasp when you gauge the emotional and monetary damage these provisions inflict. In affected states like California, Illinois, Texas, and Massachusetts, many teachers and ESPs receive rosy Social Security statements advising them they've earned sufficient credits for a full retirement benefit, but then go into shock when the first, reduced Social Security check arrives.

Word travels about this breach of trust and financial loss, which especially impacts low-income women. Veteran educators delay retirement plans and second-career educators decide to return to the private sector to save their hard-earned Social Security benefits.

In the first week of May, members of Congress heard all this and more straight from active and retired NEA members-through phone calls, postcards, more than 7,000 e-mail messages, and visits to Capitol Hill by some 150 NEA state leaders, organized into 46 lobbying teams.

NEA's goal: Win cosponsors for legislation to totally repeal the GPO and WEP, sponsored in the House by Rep-resentatives Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) and in the Senate by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Representatives Berman and McKeon, co-authors of H.R. 2638, the Social Security Fairness Act, fired up NEA lobbyists before their Hill visits.

Berman cited the Los Angeles Unified School District's "desperate need for new teachers" and stressed that the continued existence of the GPO and WEP sends a message to "people in other careers interested in teaching that 'you come at your own jeopardy and will pay down the road.' It's a big deterrent."

"We should do what we can to encourage teaching," added McKeon, who gave the lobbyists a "please cosponsor" letter to hand to House Republicans. "With as many problems as we are having getting new teachers, we should reach out to the private sector to expand your ranks. Don't be discouraged. We'll make this happen!"

During the first week of May alone, NEA's grassroots GPO/WEP repeal campaign-which has involved grassroots lobbying, media outreach, and regional training sessions for local leaders and activists-enlisted 16 new bill cosponsors in the House and two in the Senate. At press time, the total number of cosponsors had reached 163 in the House and 10 in the Senate.

"Members of Congress and their staff were very open to what we had to say to them," reported NEA-Retired President Jim Sproul after a day on Capitol Hill. "They did not realize the magnitude of this problem. It was an education for some, and all could see that this is a fairness issue."

The GPO and WEP affect all public employees in Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas, and employees of certain local governments in Georgia, Kentucky, and Rhode Island.

--Dave Winans

For more on the GPO and WEP and on legislation to repeal them, go to www.nea.org/lac/socsec. There you'll also find talking points on repeal and an e-mail link to your members of Congress.

GPO/WEP Lobbying: Some Tips

Total repeal of the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision is possible, but only if members of Congress hear from NEA members across the country.

"You don't need to travel to Washington, D.C., to call for repeal of the GPO and WEP," says NEA lobbyist Steve Nousen. "All members of Congress have offices in their home districts, and they're at home every weekend. Just call and schedule a meeting."

Don't doubt your lobbying credentials for a minute. Observes Nousen: "NEA members speak from classroom experience, they talk intelligently and to the point, and they know how to deal with people and advocate for their position."

How do you approach this task? Here are some clues from California and Louisiana educators who lobbied lawmakers on May 1:

• Stick to talking points and tell real-life stories. California elementary teachers Dana Dillon and Eugene Fernandes, both members of the NEA Board of Directors, told House members and staff that the GPO and WEP discriminate against teachers, force retired educators into poverty, and hurt teacher recruitment efforts.

  "At my school, Parkdale Lane in Encinitas, two second-career student teachers-one out of the Marine Corps, the other out of the business world-are fully vested in Social Security," notes Fernandes, a fourth- grade teacher. "They have said they will no longer teach in a public school if the GPO and WEP are not repealed. We are going to lose excellent teachers who are creative with children."

• Make it personal. "I've worked 26 years in education and I'm ready to retire," points out NEA Executive Committee member Iona Holloway, a paraeducator at East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana. "But I'm not going to get any money because of the pension offset. I'll stay at work as long as I can."

• Make it a national issue. In this highly mobile society, the GPO and WEP affect school employees everywhere, especially those who cross state lines to work in populous states like California and Texas.

  "It's important that members of Congress understand that this is a national issue," stresses Dana Dillon, a sixth-grade language arts teacher and K-12 librarian at California's Weed Elementary School.

Federal Law Update

NEA Testifies On Testing Rules... Last spring, NEA members testified at five regional Department of Education hearings on proposed Title I testing and accountability draft regulations under the newly reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). NEA's message:

• There must be adequate federal resources to implement this new law and help all kids succeed. Moreover, the Department of Education must find ways to ensure that school districts provide opportunities for teacher and paraeducator professional development to meet high ESEA standards.

• The input of NEA members is necessary to create a successful assessment and accountability system. They must be involved throughout the process.

• Tests need to be more than high-profile and high-stakes. A single test score does not tell the whole story of student success.

Teacher "Protection" In Question... One new section of ESEA is the Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Protection Act of 2001 (TPA), designed to protect school employees from lawsuits filed by students and parents arising out of efforts to discipline students or maintain school order.

The law comes with two problems: Its scope of protection has been overstated, and Association opponents may try to use the TPA to pursuade school employees to abandon NEA and its effective Educators Employment Liability Program.

For answers to questions you'll hear about the Teacher Protection Act, go to www.nea.org/esea/.

Kudos To...

...the Maryland State Teachers Association, for winning big changes in the state's bargaining law. ESP on Maryland's Eastern Shore now have the right to bargain a contract and teachers now can negotiate items beyond wages and working conditions-including school quality issues-once a local Association and school board agree on the topic to be brought to the table.

...the Colorado Education Association, which defeated three private school tax credit bills and stopped a last-minute attempt to resurrect a tuition scholarship bill with enormous income tax credits for contributors.

...the Utah Education Association, which has defeated a bill that would have allowed school districts to enter into separate contracts with individual employees-despite negotiated collective agreements. The bill also would have taken away the discretion and autonomy of districts to develop termination procedures in concert with employees.

...the Alabama Education Association, which, in the face of a budget deficit, has won a 3 percent cost of living adjustment-effective October 1-for all public K-12 teachers, support professionals, and retirees.

...the West Virginia Education Association, for winning passage of legislation requiring heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in new schools to be tested by independent engineers prior to opening day. The new law also requires that school HVAC maintenance employees be properly trained and that all indoor air quality problems be reported to both the state Department of Education and the School Building Authority.