Is criticizing the IEA leadership engaging in a circular firing squad?

The IEA membership speaks to our president through a magic decoder ring.

I’m on a bunch of email lists of retired and active teachers who are engaged in defending teacher pensions.

Lately there has been some discussion, heated at times, about what to do about the next round of pension assaults.

It is only natural that at times like this, frustrations will boil over into angry words. We should avoid that.

But one accusation should be addressed. Is criticizing the IEA leadership engaging in a circular firing squad?

I don’t think that criticizing IEA President Cinda Klickna for conceding our pension benefits and contributions and claiming that this is what the membership has told her to do is the same as a firing squad.

Her position, and that of the leadership if they agree with her, is a betrayal of the membership.

This is from Klickna’s latest email:

Our members have told us repeatedly that they would be open to paying more to ensure they receive the pensions they have been promised. But they also have made clear that they want safeguards put in that will, to the extent possible, stabilize the retirement systems and stop the state from diverting money from the systems in the future, thereby causing another crisis.

Unless we adjust pensions as part of a larger strategy for addressing the state’s underfunding problem, the unsustainable pressure on the state budget will continue to increase. The state’s untenable financial situation will just get worse – with more cuts to education and other vital state services. Legislators will be certain to take action on pensions with or without our support.   Eventually, the voters may be asked to decide whether the constitutional protection of state employee pensions should be continued or eliminated entirely.

 Is that fair to us? Of course not.

 Is it fair to anyone, including those who believe quality education is important, who think government has an obligation to fund education properly and care for those who, through no fault of their own, can’t make it alone? No, it isn’t.

 But it’s the truth about the situation we face today.

 We need to aggressively work to figure out the best, most fair way to help fix the problem. As challenging a goal as that may be, it is a goal that is most worthy of our very best efforts – for our retirees, for our future retirees, for education and social services, and for the entire state of Illinois.

 The IEA and the We Are One coalition have not and will not shy away from the responsibility we share in addressing the pension issues and stabilizing the retirement systems on which our members depend.

Did you read the word, “revenue” in any of that?

All I read is what the members should give away.

Klickna says the state must keep their promise on the one hand, and gives them permission to break it’s word on the other.

And Klickna does says all this in the name of our members, who by using some secret code, have passed their desires on to her.