Meeting Notifications

     We have been using a text messaging system to notify members about our upcoming meetings. This service has been used to notify members for whom we have a working cell phone number.

     The message begins with “Hi, it’s Pat” or “Hi, it’s Ruth from the Cleveland Teachers Union retirees…”

     We used this messaging to notify members of our change to ZOOM for January’s meeting. If you responded YES to the question, “Are you planning on attending?” a ZOOM link was then forwarded to your cell phone.

     This was a great tool to have available on such short notice. We learned AFTER the January newsletter was mailed that the Pipefitters Hall would not be available for us to use in January. We also posted on the CTU website under the retirees’ link that the in-person meeting was cancelled, and we would be meeting on ZOOM instead.

     Thanks to all who joined us on ZOOM. And special thanks to our January speaker, former Rockette and Zumba instructor Melissa Edington. She adapted her presentation of Senior Zumba to the on-line format and we all got some exercise.

Thanks AGAIN for Your Generosity!

     The total raised by 279-R members for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank was $3,156---THANK YOU! This includes donations from our in-person November and December meetings and mail-in donations.

     These people donated in the month of December:

Mary Lou Bennett, Harriett Bonner, Janice Capezzuto, Deborah Chapman, Julia Douglas, Thomas M. Doycich, April Dugan, Flora Grant, Patricia Jones, Lauren Kawentel, Thomas Luvison, Daniel MacDonald, D. Diane Marsh, Cheryl Maruniak, Shirley McKinney, Tony Miceli, Jerri Moore, Theresa Ormandy, Vivian Pace, Rosa Primous, Sylvia Revels, Donita Rollins, JoAnn Roux, Anne Stovall-Leonard, Ronald Telischank, Mary Tinsley, Jacqueline Underwood, Ann Vidal, and Linda Woods.

     Thanks again to everyone who helped support our 279-R Community Engagement project and donated to this worthwhile cause. You have helped to feed many less-fortunate neighbors in the Greater Cleveland community.

Donations to Scholarship Fund

     Thank you to those who continue to donate to the scholarship fund. Recent donations include:  Betty M. Crouther in memory of all; and Suzanne Wantuch-Warren in memory of Susanna Hughey.

     Remember, all scholarship donation checks must be made out to:  279-R NEO AFT. On the memo line of the check, write Scholarship Fund. 

     If we missed listing your scholarship donation, please contact us at 216-482-2281. We appreciate your generous support. All scholarship donations go into the 279-R Scholarship Fund at Cleveland State University.

How to Contact Us

       Our direct numbers are: Membership Information 216-482-2281; Pension Line (STRS or SERS) 216-482-2282; other calls 216-482-2280. If no one answers, please leave a message spelling your last name, and phone number. You will receive a call as soon as possible. We encourage 279-R members to access our retiree link from the CTU website.  The website address is listed under the letterhead of this newsletter. Check it periodically for other news and updates.

     Stay safe and stay warm!  I hope to see you at our February 20 meeting. In the meantime, enjoy the February holidays: Valentine’s Day (14^th) and Presidents’ Day (19^th).

     And as educators, activists, and lifelong learners, let’s learn something new about Black History this month, too!

Hazel Hicks

279-R President

Legislative Update

     I hope everyone had a great start to the new year. By the time you read this, we should be halfway through the winter season and closer to spring.

     On the federal level, the current 118th Congress has only passed 34 bills since last January 2023 and is on track to be the least productive Congress since the Great Depression.

     The House and the Senate did come to an agreement on short term funding, but as I write this, they still had a January 19 deadline and a February 2 deadline to reach agreements to keep certain government entities from shutting down.  With 2024 being an election year, we can expect House Republicans to continue their focus on political infighting instead of governing and tackling the issues that impact all of us and our communities.

     Ohio’s March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary election is rapidly approaching. Please make sure your voting information is up to date! Go the website www.ohiosos.gov to check or update your voter registration and make sure you were not “purged” from the voter lists. You can already request a Vote-by-Mail application from your county’s Board of Elections.

     On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden has already been endorsed by the AFT, but he does have a primary opponent, Congressman Dean Phillips out of Minnesota. 

     On the Republican side, it seems Donald Trump is strongly on track to get the Republican nomination, leading to a Biden v. Trump rematch in November.

     Additionally, Ohio has a huge U.S. Senate election in November. Our good friend, Democrat Sherrod Brown, does not have a primary opponent. However, three Republicans are on the March primary ballot: State Senator Matt Dolan, Secretary of State Frank LaRose; and car salesman Bernie Moreno. Donald Trump has thrown his support behind Moreno, whose daughter is married to former Trump aide and Congressman Max Miller (District 7).

     March will also include a number of local contested primary elections. We hope to have a finalized list of AFT/OFT/AFL candidates in time for our next newsletter.

     Additionally, signatures are being collected to place a redistricting constitutional amendment on the November ballot.  As we’ve reported over the years, the Republican gerrymandering in Ohio continues to get worse. It came to a head last year with Republicans ignoring Ohio Supreme Court rulings. Former Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is leading the charge to get the amendment on the ballot. We had petitions at our December in-person meetings and plan on continuing that effort at future meetings.

     Once again, we will be asking retirees to volunteer for our November campaign: phone calls, labor walks, post card campaigns. If you have volunteered in the past, we need your help again. If you have not, please consider volunteering this year when we reach out to you.

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     On the state level, the Ohio General Assembly also had one of their least productive years. Unfortunately, much of what they did pass negatively affected our schools, our communities, and our members.  A State takeover of the State Board of Education, an increase in private school vouchers, attacks on curriculum, attacks on higher education, attacks on the LGBTQ+ communities, and continued culture wars were at the forefront of their attacks. 

     Those attacks culminated at the end of December when Governor DeWine vetoed a Republican anti-transgendered youth bill, after talking with families and hospitals across the state, only to see House

Republicans override his veto earlier this month.  Senate Republicans are scheduled to override his veto in late January.

David Quolke

Legislative Chair

Membership Report

     Greetings from the 279-R Membership Committee!

     The month of February is known for many things, and two of the more widely known are Black History Month and Valentine’s Day.

     Thinking about Black History Month made me reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose memory we honored in January, and how he talked about the beloved community: “…in which kindness, compassion, and love for all life motivates our actions… a community that includes diversity and allows for tension undergirded by love and leading to transformation… And we must commit to tangible action.”

     The message of both Dr. King and Valentine’s Day is LOVE. As we enter into this critical election year, with so much anger and division and lack of cooperation, I hope we all keep love in our hearts as we venture out into our communities to spread the message of LOVE and TOLERANCE and DEMOCRACY, and the necessity of ACTION on the part of all Americans by voting!   

     For those of you who are motivated by drama, watch the film The Best of Enemies, starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell. And then do some reading on the real-life folks who created a beloved community:  Ann Atwater, C.P. Ellis, and Bill Riddick.

     As of this printing, we now have 903 people on our membership roll, and 62 people attended our January 16 meeting via ZOOM. The meeting was switched from in-person to online due to work being done at the Pipefitters Hall. Thanks to all who made the effort to attend.

     Peace, friends.

Alanna Meyers-Kiousis

Membership Chair

Health Care Reminders for 2024

     If you have STRS Ohio health care coverage, it is a new calendar year as of January 1, 2024, and therefore, your deductibles in both prescription and medical coverage have reset.

Deductibles and Copays 

     In prescription coverage, here is your reminder that there is a $275 annual deductible that is paid with any prescriptions other than generic drugs. In addition to the $275 deductible is the co-pay. Therefore, your first order of a brand-name drug with a three-month supply will cost $350.

ZERO Copays for PCP Visits   

     With your medical coverage, if you are seeing your Primary Care Physician (PCP), your co-pay is now $0.00.  Yes, zero.  If you are seeing a specialty doctor or health care provider (anyone that is not your PCP), the co-pay is still $25.

Don’t Forget New Health Care & Rx Cards!  

     Again, if you have STRS health insurance, you have a new Aetna health care card and a new Caremark or SilverScript card for prescriptions. Make sure you carry these cards and share them with your medical providers. You have new coverages and the providers need to know.

Problems with New Rx Coverage?

     The numbers to call if you have problems or questions regarding new prescription plans are:

NON-Medicare (Caremark): 1-800-756-6841

Medicare (SilverScript): 1-800-756-6859

Hospital Visit: Admitted versus Observed?  

     One last thing, an important  reminder:  if you find yourself in the hospital, or you are in the hospital’s emergency room, you want to be ADMITTED, NOT OBSERVED.  

     Even if you are moved into a room, make sure to ask if you are being ADMITTED. Observation is a way for insurance companies (not limited to Aetna) to NOT to have to pay for follow-up services.  

     You can be sent to a room in a hospital and have everyone helping you and still be under observation status.  You do not want this.   Pursue being ADMITTED.   Ask for your status.  ADMITTED is the key.  

Dan MacDonald

279-R Executive Director

No STRS Ohio Meeting in January

     The STRS Ohio Retirement Board does not meet in the month of January. The Board’s next meeting is in February. Dan MacDonald and Rob Walters’ report of the February meeting will be in next month’s newsletter.

     All 279-R STRS members are encouraged to attend the February 15 meeting virtually (if not in person in Columbus). Register online at www.strsoh.org beginning a week before the meeting, and STRS will email you a link to join the meeting.

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Travel Report

     We will have more information in next month’s newsletter. Most places are still setting prices and times for the year 2024.

Linda Opaluch, 440-842-9524

Travel Chairperson

Marian McClendon passed in December. Send condolences to her sister, Edwina McClendon, at 9919 South Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44108.

Julius “George” Kanyok passed on December 14, 2023.  Send condolences to his family at  www.buschcares.com .

Elizabeth “Betty” Damm passed on December 22, 2023. Send condolences to the Damm family at 21452 Royalton Road #117, Strongsville, OH 44149, or online at www.mallchokfh.com .

Donald E. Howard, Esq., husband of Betty Howard, passed on January 4, 2024. Send online condolences to Betty at www.efboyd.com .

Vincent E. Wilson passed on December 29, 2024. Send condolences to his family at www.davisbabcock.com .   

Theresa Ormandy 216-741-6764

279R Feb2024 backpage.pdf