Members kick off MSTA Lobby Nights with a bang!
Monday, January 23
With facts and figures at their fingertips, hundreds of Association members from Anne Arundel, Calvert, Howard and St. Mary's counties flooded Senate and Delegate hearing rooms pushing legislators for the pension they deserve.
Don't miss your Local Association Lobby Night! Check the schedule and contact your Local office for details.
We also need to show younger teachers coming out of colleges that they can come to Maryland and have a successful career. They know they can go to Pennsylvania they can go to other states, some with slots and some without. There are ways to get this done and we need to find a way. |
I think it's terrible that if you retire after 30 years and, for whatever circumstances, needed to raise your grandchildren, you'd probably qualify for free or reduced lunch! I find it just appalling that as an educator, after all those years of experience and service, that's where you'd be in the economy.
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 Left Colleen Klemens Anne Arundel Lothian ES "I am here to really push legislators to place our pensions improvement as a priority. I'm from Missouri, which is a state where teachers receive about 70% as a pension benefit. This problem makes me consider whether I should stay here or move home for better benefits and to work in a state where they think my value and service to the state is more than 38%." |
 Left Robert Bess Calvert Calvert MS, Technology and Science teacher "We're here to support pensions for teachers and support employees. Too many teachers are leaving the state because it's harder to live here based on our pension and taxes. And because too many people are coming to our state to start their careers but leave when they realize they can't survive." Right "We have the worst pension system in the entire country and we need to have it taken care of now so we can retire with dignity." |
Left "I'm here to support MSTA's Push for Pensions campaign and also to become more visible. Many times ESP are not in the spotlight and we want legislators to know that we play an active and vital role in every school." Center "As much as St. Mary's County and the rest of the state have grown over the years, we should have a stronger pension to keep us here. I'm hoping we can make a difference tonight we still have grandchildren who need to go to college and who we want to see live a little better than we have. We hope our legislators will listen to our plea." Right "I'm here to ask for more money for retirees so that when we retire we can be comfortable. Thirty-eight years is a long time with no money going home." |
Michael Reilly Anne Arundel "I'm here in support of teachers getting a decent pension. I feel that the third richest state in the nation with the worst pension in the nation is terrible. I think the state of Maryland should be ashamed."
Speaking to Senate President Mike Miller and Senators "There are many professions out there for us to choose from and many directions a nurse can take. I took a massive pay cut to become a school nurse because I believe in the public education now it's time for you guys to do the same and support us." |
Jim Mullane Anne Arundel "I'm here because I think our retirement is below the minimal needs for what we need to have a decent standard of living after we retire. Thirty-eight percent is just not going to cut it when we retire. You just can't live on that if you have a family." |
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