By Carl Cochran
UTU Alumni Association Coordinator
So you’ve invested 40 years of your life working on the railroad or with a bus or transit agency.
You paid your dues – figuratively and literally – to your employer and to your union.
Maybe you were an officer in your local, or just involved. Maybe you even helped with the UTU PAC. Now it’s time for those young ones you probably helped to train to carry on in your stead. It’s time to go fishing, clean out the garage, paint the house, or just take a long break. You have it all figured out.
I’m with you. I’ve been retired from the railroad since 2005. And what we have in common is we are all drawing Railroad Retirement or Social Security benefits and we’re covered by Medicare.
Do you know there are about twice as many retired railroaders as there are active ones? This is important, because you may also remember how, every few years, while you were working, politicians wanted to get their hands on your Railroad Retirement? Well, they are at it again.
Do you also know that attacks on Social Security and Medicare are on Washington’s menu again? Those who want to balance the budget and control the deficits on the backs of folks who paid their dues all their lives have their sights and claws all over our present and future retirements. The business of protecting and improving benefits for you, your family and all those following in your footsteps never sleeps.
Given the threats surrounding us, we need you to stay involved more than ever.
The UTU Alumni Association gives you that opportunity to continue belonging – to stay in touch, to learn about the hot-button issues of the day affecting us, and to participate in helping stem the political tide washing over our livelihoods and threatening our retirement security.
UTU Alumni Association meetings and news keep you informed of threats, and provide an opportunity to take collective action. Retirees can’t match the political contributions of our former employers, but we are known to participate in politics and to vote more than any other demographic group in America. Politicians listen to retirees.
Please consider staying involved by joining the UTU Alumni Association.
In addition to keeping you up to date regarding your union and retirement benefits, the UTU Alumni Association provides additional benefits such as an annual calendar, an embroidered baseball cap, listing in the Final Call, membership in the nearest Alumni Association chapter, discounts on car rentals, cruises, airline travel and lodging, discounts on cellphone service, and much more.
Membership in the UTU Alumni Association also ensures you continue to receive the UTU News in your mailbox.
For more information and to download a membership application form, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/td/alumni/
Or you can call the UTU Alumni Association administrator at (216) 228-9400, extension 3012, and join by paying with a credit card.
For $9 annually, membership in the UTU Alumni Association is an investment you can’t afford not to make.