Message from your officers

Dear colleagues,

As we wind down another semester and scramble to tie up all the loose ends it brings, we wanted to take a moment to wish you all a peaceful and rejuvenating holiday season! May this winter break be spent making memories with family and loved ones.  Whatever your traditions may be, we hope they are filled with joy and peace.  We have much important work ahead of us, and we need to fortify ourselves now so that we are prepared to face the anticipated challenges that are heading our way. 

In solidarity,

Bravewoman, Robin, Fanny, Holly

Collective action pays off – historic victory will eliminate WEP and GPO!

Since the tenure of Ronald Regan, retirees who collect a public pension and who also spent some of their working years paying into Social Security have been blocked from collecting the full Social Security benefits that they earned due to the enactment of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). Thanks to years of lobbying and collective action from AFT and other public-sector unions, last Friday the Senate approved the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing the WEP and GPO. 

This win for public employees is due to years of organizing and thousands of union members who visited representatives, and sent emails and made phone calls by the thousands. This win is a triumph for collective action – it took the work of countless individual union members, union locals and national affiliates working together nationally and in their own back yards to finally get the bill through. California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas lauded the historic vote, saying “it’s only fair that if you pay into Social Security, you have a right to the benefits that you earned.”

More information will be forthcoming, but for now here are some key implementation highlights: 

• The United States Senate approved H.R. 82 just after midnight on Saturday, December 21, 2024.
• The bill is on its way to President Biden for his action.
• H.R. 82 eliminates the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) from the Social Security Act.  If the bill is signed:
  • Your CalSTRS benefits are not affected by this legislation.
  • The changes in H.R. 82 are effective for benefits payable after December 2023.
  • The next step is for the Social Security Administration to issue further information.
• The CalSTRS Board supports the bill and has provided their analysis of the legislation.

When we fight together, we win!