The petition
Dear UTLA Member:
There are two bills currently in Washington, HR 82 by Congressmen Berman and McKeon and S 206 by Senators Feinstein and Collins that would eradicate the unfair Social Security offset and windfall penalties levied on our teachers and professional staff.
We need your immediate help to move these bills through Congress! HR 82 now has 308 co-sponsors, which is enough to pass it in the House of Representatives if it gets to the floor for a vote. Our legislators need to know that these bills have the public's support.
UTLA has 48,000 members. If every member gets 10 or more registered voters to sign this petition, I believe that the resulting half-million or more signatures will be the catalyst to move these bills and end these unfair offsets. Our members who have earned Social Security or who are married to a Social Security-covered spouse deserve the benefits they have earned.
If you need more petitions, call our Governmental Relations department at (213) 637-5149 or download them from www.utla.net. Please return signed petitions to: UTLA, Government Relations, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90010, by January 11, 2008. Petitions can also be faxed to (213) 251-9891. Don't let the money you paid in slip away! Thank you for your cooperation.
Very truly yours,
A.J. Duffy
UTLA President
Social Security Fairness Act Petition
We, the undersigned registered voters of California, want Congress to know that we are outraged that teachers and professional support staff in California and 14 other states have their Social Security benefits reduced or eliminated upon retirement. Federal law currently has two provisions that negatively impact our educators:
1. The Windfall: Reduces an educator's EARNED Social Security from previous employment.
2. The Offset: Basically eliminates an educator's Social Security benefits from a deceased spouse.
We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned that these provisions negatively affect California's ability to recruit second-career professionals into education and attract experienced teachers from the 36 non-offset states. With California needing to replace 20,000 to 25,000 teachers each year, we urge Congress to pass HR 82 by Congressmen Berman and McKeon and S 206 by Senators Feinstein and Collins.
Sign the petition
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