Running for the PERA Board!

I submitted the paperwork to be on the Ballot of the PERA Board (Public Employees Retirement Association) earlier this month. 

I am running for the Retired, Disabled and Survivor representative seat.

If elected I would be the first (to my knowledge) retired corrections officer to serve on the PERA Board.

Experience:

Detention Deputy, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office,  Hennepin County Jail 1990 to 2016.

Union Steward Teamsters Local 320 mid 1990's - 2011.

Elected as a National Delegate to the 2011 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention.

Union Steward Minnesota Public Employees Association (MNPEA) 2011-2015.

Served as an advisor to the Minnesota Senate's Telecommunicators Pension Benefits Working Group  2021.

President Minnesota Correctional Officer Retirement Association MNCORA  

Over the years I have negotiated numerous Labor Contracts with Hennepin County.

I have represented members in grievances both contractual and disciplinary.

I attend the PERA meetings and stay on top of our issues.

If elected I will represent the Retirees, Disabled and Survivor beneficiaries of the PERA pension with all of the passion I have to the members in my previous stewardship's.

I will support strong investment returns to keep the plans well funded and achieve maximum COLA's.

Thank you to all of you who signed the nomination form. Here's the timeline of  event's leading to the election. The next step is to vote! 

Vote Wade Laszlo, PERA Board!

Election Timeline:

National Correctional Officer Week, the struggle continues

It's National Correctional Officers Week. 

CO's bore the brunt of the Covid pandemic with the highest rate of getting the disease than all other Public Employees. They are running at lower staffing levels than Police Departments with extremely high forced overtime.

At the time of this post the Minnesota Legislature is considering the Delete Eveything Amendment to the Omnibus Bill. There's something for Police and Fire, Teachers and State Corrections, but not PERA Local Corrections or the General Plan.

The Minnesota Correctional Officer Retirement Association has gone to bat for us-see post. 

What about the Unions claiming to represent CO's? 

A check of MNPEA's website shows support for Bills benefiting CO's along with Police and Fire.

What about the rest?

There's a coalition of Unions called PEPC, Public Employees Pension Coalition which includes AFSCME, Teamsters 320 and the AFLCIO which all have corrections groups. AFSCME acting on PEPC's behalf tried to get an employee contribution reduction for the General Plan, but ignored the CO's in their plan! The MPPOA and LELS actually tried to help Dispatch raid our pension and again are silent on trying to get any the same benefits for the CO's as Police and Fire. 

Unfortunately this National Correctional Officer Week like those of the past, finds CO's out of sight and out of mind.

For those of us who know the job, Thank You!