Chair Talk
August 2017
OKRIE vs STATE OF MICHIGAN
Gary Supanich the attorney handling the Okrie case attended the CC meeting on Friday, August 4th. Gary gave a status report on the case. Mr. Supanich filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in late June. Gary believes we should hear something in September or October as to the decision of the Supreme Court giving notice if they will take the case for review.
I have talked to Tom Okrie and he would like to thank everyone who participated in his “Fund A Buck” effort to raise money to cover Attorney Supanich’s costs. So far SERA and those we have contacted have raised about $6500 toward the legal costs. We have raised about half of the money needed. So if your Chapter (or you) have a few bucks to contribute you can send the money to:
Tom Okrie
Fund A Buck
3267 Sand Rd.
Port Austin, MI 48467
REDISTRICTING PETITION DRIVE
Walt Sorg, Lansing SERA member, made a presentation to the CC about the status of the Voters Not Politicians Redistricting Petition drive. If enough signatures are collected the redistricting question may be placed on the 2018 ballot. The ballot proposal would take the power of drawing legislative districts out of the hands of the Governor and Legislators. If the ballot is successful an independent commission will be responsible for drawing up legislative districts. For more information on this petition drive go to: votersnotpoliticians.com. If you would like to schedule a speaker for your Chapter you can schedule that on the website or contact Walt Sorg at: waltsorg@gmail.com.
Chery Streberger and I will be meeting with Civil Service and Employee Benefits for updates on issues with Optum Rx on Thursday, October 10th. After the meeting, we will put together a report to send to the Chapters.
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.