Retired

Overview

Council of Retired Members
Supporting retirees as a vital force in the union

The power of organized retirees is not to be underestimated and the Council of Retired Members knows that. With the formation of the council in 2014, retirees have a greater voice than ever in our state federation. The council advocates for retirees, monitors issues of import to retirees, and makes policy recommendations to CFT governance bodies concerning retirement issues. It also assists local unions in organizing new retiree chapters.

Every retired member is eligible to remain a member for life, for free. See our helpful FAQ for union members readying for retirement.

Article EMILY WILSON

Taking the Reins on Retirement
Patti Serafin started from scratch when creating a new retiree chapter

Dennis Kelly, President of the Council of Retired Members, thinks retirees, often with a wealth of information and usually some extra time, are the ideal people to get involved with union activities. 

That’s why Kelly would like to see locals help start retiree chapters. After decades with United Educators of San Francisco, Local 61, Kelly is now involved with Local 61- R. 

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CalSTRS and CalPERS Data Breach: Impacts and Actions
Information and action items to protect yourself

Both Dennis Cox, the Southern Vice President for the CFT Council of Retired Members, and Doug Orr, Chair of the CFT Retirement Policy Committee, want impacted members to do whatever they can to protect themselves from a recent data breach that affected both CalSTRS and CalPERS.

In June, officials from both pension funds announced that cyber attackers stole information, including names, Social Security numbers and birth dates.

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Data leak impacting hundreds of thousands of STRS and CalPERS retirees and beneficiaries

In June both the CalSTRS and CalPERS systems announced that data from a third-party vendor had leaked, impacting hundreds of thousands of retirees and beneficiaries in both systems. The leak did not impact actively employed members of either system.

In total, cyber-attackers stole personal information from 769,000 CalPERS retired members, including names, Social Security numbers, and birth dates. The hackers also may have gotten the names of former or current employers, spouses or domestic partners, and children.

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Division Officers
Council of Retired Members

Representatives from member local unions in the division elect officers of the Council of Retired Members. You can reach the elected leaders by emailing them below.

Dennis Kelly, President
ABC Federation of Teachers, Retiree Chapter, AFT Local 2317-R

Ann Killebrew, Northern Vice President
San Francisco Community College District Federation of Teachers, Retiree Chapter, AFT Local 2121-R

Marcella Norling, Southern Vice President
Coast Federation of Educators, Retiree Chapter, AFT Local 1911-R

Sandra Baringer, Secretary Treasurer
University Council-AFT, Retiree Chapter, AFT Local 9999-R

Michael Nye, At-Large Representative
California Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 8004-R

Council of Retired Members Constitution governs the division.

California Teacher CFT 100

Council of Retired Members taps a resource: Retirees are “stickin’ to the union”

Download a single-sheet illustrated history of the Council of Retired Members

What retirees have that unions need — knowledge, experience and memories — are concentrated in the Council of Retired Members, the newest division of CFT. Convention delegates in 2014 overwhelmingly voted to add the council to the union’s governance structure so retirees could contribute in the same way as working teachers and classified employees.