Committee of 100 Activists Rally to Fix Tier 6!
Against the majestic backdrop of the Million Dollar Staircase, more than 500 Committee of 100 activists made their voices heard at a spirited noontime Fix Tier Six rally at the New York state Capitol. “Since our Tier 6 members must contribute more into a system that is going to give them less in retirement, it strikes this inherent chord of unfairness,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person who stood surrounded by a sea of supporters, many bearing signs and placards from sister unions, such as the Public Employees Federation and CSEA. “It brings our members together to fight and that’s what you see here today!”
As the stairwell reverberated with chants of “we won’t quit ‘til we Fix Tier 6!” and other pro-change slogans, several lawmakers supported rally activists in calling for change. “We are in a moment of time, we have the ability to fix the mistake of 12 years ago,” said Assemblymember Harry Bronson who was joined by State Senators Robert Jackson, John Mannion, Lea Webb, Jessica Ramos and others. “In the public and private sector everyone is hurting to get more workers and we can’t attract them into the public sector because we don’t have a fair retirement system.”