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April 21, 2016

Retirees Are Meeting

In Texas, retirees are meeting everywhere. In almost any church, there is a group of predominantly retirees meeting. Drop by the Dairy Queen or McDonald’s in small Texas towns during mornings, and you’ll find retirees meeting over coffee. The Texas Alliance for Retired Americans wants to find every meeting and bring them together to strengthen our cause!

My old workplace buddy, Leland Ford, asked me to an informal social group of retirees on April 21. It seems they have been meeting once every quarter at the Golden Coral Restaurant on I-20 at the Collins exit for some time. When I got there, I found 25 of the best women and men that I had worked with in the old LTV plant, now called Triumph Aerostructures.

We had a fine meeting. Most of the discussion was about Triumph management’s threats to cut into the monthly checks of their retirees. Triumph says that people don’t deserve the health-care stipends that were negotiated into union contracts unless they can prove to management’s satisfaction that they are spending it as they (management) intended. The union says it’s a negotiated benefit and that Triumph can’t just pocket the retirees’ money on their own say-so.

A fight is brewing, and about 1,000 retirees stand to be hurt if they don’t take sides and fight!

Even though Leland Ford’s group has always been a social grouping, they recognize that they need to organize together. Leland is filling out the form so they can become a regular affiliate of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. The whole group took up a collection to pay the $25 annual fee for the organization.

Retirees are meeting everywhere. Let’s find them and bring our movement together!

–Gene Lantz, President

Texas Alliance for Retired Americans

labordallas@sbcglobal.net

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