Chair Talk
May 2016
I have been invited to speak at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) at their Michigan Convention May 25 – 27, 2016. Their Convention is being held in Marquette, MI. I have been asked to update their group on the Okrie vs. State of Michigan lawsuit. NARFE has been a partner with SERA in our efforts against the Pension Tax lawsuit since the beginning. An update to the lawsuit will be distributed at the May 6th Executive Board meeting and distributed to all Presidents/delegates as well as posted on the SERA website.
I have appointed a SERA member database committee (Carol Haynie, Lansing; Jim Beckwith, Lansing; Dave Cook, Ionia and myself) to meet and discuss establishing a state-wide member database. This database could be utilized by the Chapters to contact members quickly if we need to spread the word on issues that may need action quicker than the way we currently contact members. The first meeting of this committee will be Tuesday May 3rd. A report from the committee will be made to the Executive board and reflected in the Ex. Bd. Minutes.
The Civil Service Commission is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. I imagine that they will have the Memorandum of Understanding on Retiree Healthcare on the Agenda. I will not be able to attend and speak to the MOU but I will write a letter about the process and SERA’s involvement in it.
The State of Michigan Retirement Board will be meeting on Thursday, May 19, 2016. This will be the second meeting of this new board. If you are in the Lansing area on that day you may find that attending this meeting will be interesting. I will be out of the state on this day as well and will not be attending this meeting.
Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380.