UE Convention Resolutions
UE Retiree Committees:
A Wealth of Experience
And Activism
We, as working people, must use every avenue of defence in the fight against corporate America. Our retirees are a valuable asset who have had years of experience in the workplace and in the union.
RAGE, the Retirees’ Association of General Electric composed of employees from Locals 506 and 618, is very active in the Erie, Pennsylvania community. The 250 active members have led protests against the privatization of Social Security. Their fight this year for improvements in GE pensions helped to mobilize GE workers across the country in a successful contract battle.
UE Local 1111 retirees in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, meet monthly. They provided important support for their working brothers and sisters in previous contract struggles. Former UE Local 924 members in Decatur, Indiana, educate themselves on health issues and meet with their lawmakers on important issues.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 70th UE CONVENTION:
- Calls on UE locals and regions to encourage the formation of functioning UE retiree committees and to participate in local, state, and regional retiree associations, including the Alliance for Retired Citizens (ARA);
- Calls on UE to continue to fight for the right to bargain for retirees in contract negotiations;
- Calls on all retired UE members to actively defend and improve Social Security and Medicare, to work to promote passage of a national healthcare program, and to wage a vigorous defence of company-paid health benefits for retirees;
- Calls on all UE retirees to lend support to the contract struggles and other work of UE locals.