Public employees want unity in the defense of our pensions. And transparency.

A few days ago the Illinois Retired Teachers Association filed suit in a Cook County Court. This was the first of what will be other legal actions against Senate Bill 1. SB1 was passed on December 3rd. It is a dagger to the heart of public employee pensions in Illinois.

“A model for the nation,” said Squeezy, the Governor.

I am a member and unit leader of an IRTA chapter. I am also a leader of an Illinois Education Association Retired chapter.

I posted about the IRTA suit. I also reposted Glen Brown’s questions about IEA President Cinda Klickna’s presence on the TRS board of trustees. He asked if Klickna wasn’t in a conflict of interest. I think this is a reasonable question for which there has been no response.

The TRS board is a defendant in the IRTA suit.

I posted relevant comments from former TRS Excutive Director Jon Bauman and current TRS board member Bob Lyons.

Some readers – supporters of current IEA leadership – wrote to me suggesting all kinds of evil intent on the part of the IRTA.

I posted some of it. I won’t post any more of it. I read it and delete it.

I don’t suggest that I am any kind of expert on legal strategy. That’s what the lawyers get paid big bucks to figure out.

But as a member of both organizations, a former public employee, a member of TRS and a retiree who is very concerned about his financial future, I expect the leaders of organizations who claim to represent us to stop the bullshit.

Your high-priced law firms have differences over strategy? Work it out.

One group represents union members? One represents retirees? Work it out.

From where I sit, the IEA leadership and their most vocal defenders have been the most willing to break this unity. For what purpose? Who does this help?

Remember that it was the IRTA that has stood firm on the issue of retirees retaining all their promised COLA. They refused to concede what was promised when others were willing to give it away.

It was the IRTA that established a defense fund specifically to be used to defend our pensions against anything the legislature passed which violated the constitutional pension protection clause.

Aside from raising actual dollars, this was a brilliant way of drawing pension members into the fight to defend their own rights.

In addition to unity among the groups representing Illinois public employees we want information and transparency.

The IEA website hasn’t been updated in two weeks.

The last time they said anything about responding to SB1 was on December 5th.

I think that members of all organizations representing us in this fight for our pensions should look with suspicion upon anyone who calls themselves a leader who drives a wedge between organizations.

Whether it is a leader of the IRTA, the IEA or any other group.

I think that all members of all organizations representing us in this fight for our pensions should expect transparency and a steady flow of information.

I have participated in bargaining many contracts. Our bargaining teams always took the position that a steady flow of information to members was as important as anything that went on at the bargaining table.

We diligently sought out member input into our bargaining issues. We planned building meetings. We used surveys. We constantly reported back on the progress of bargaining.

No. Not everything could be discussed.

But we never made what we couldn’t share an obstacle to sharing as much as we could. Regularly. Intentionally.

That’s not the way IEA leadership has chosen to play this game.

But it’s our pension we’re fighting for after all.