 PERA
CAPE-SEIU Members Are Working to
Protect Our Secure Retirement
With a coalition of teachers, highway patrol officers, and other public employees, CAPE-SEIU members have been working to preserve a secure retirement for public employees and retirees.
Our actions paid off when the 2006 Legislature passed a compromise bill that had no cuts in benefits and maintained our secure retirements.
CAPE-SEIU members participated actively in the campaign to protect PERA:
 Audrey Newman, a program assistant at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, testified before a Senate Committee.
Debbie Weis-Heath, an enforcement supervisor in the Department of Labor and Employment, was part of a group that met with the editors of The Denver Post.
Doris Sutherland, a retired CAPE member, spoke at a news conference held at the Capitol.
CAPE members participated in eight activist trainings held all over the state, including members in Denver, Pueblo, Florence and Fort Collins.
Other members wrote letters to the editor, helped keep their co-workers informed of our campaign and lobbied their legislators.
Governor Owens signed the bill on May 25, 2006.
Equally significant, once the bill passed the anti-public employee group seeking to take away our secure retirement withdrew the ballot initiative that would have privatized our pensions.
These steps in the right direction came after almost a year of sustained attacks on our secure retirement. Governor Owens and some legislators made proposals to cut PERA benefits for new employees. The proposed initiative would have forced all new employees to gamble their retirement in individual risk accounts, and severely undermined the integrity of the pension fund. Attempts were also made to replace the majority member-elected PERA board with a board controlled by political appointees.
While we held our ground on all the big issues, there were some minor compromises made in the legislation. The bill requires a supplemental contribution from the state equal to 0.5% of salary each year for six years, beginning in 2007. The money would come from funds available for state employee compensation – but not from state employees.
Other changes in PERA include:
Employees hired after Jan.1, 2007, who have worked less than 35 years, may retire after age 55 when their age and total years of service equal 85.
The size of the PERA board was changed from 16 to 15 members. PERA members will elect 11 representatives, including 4 from the State Division.
Current retirees will see no changes in their benefits.
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 "Public employment has come under increasing attack in recent years. Never was there a better time for us to unite and protect ourselves and our pension system.
I encourage state employees to join CAPE-SEIU."
-Maryann Motza,
Social Security Administrator for the State,
Member of the PERA Board,
CAPE-SEIU member
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Get involved in our efforts to win improvements. Become a CAPE-SEIU member today.
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