A message from PEF Retirees President Jim Carr Let’s make America live up to our dreams
When I was growing up in upstate
New York, my grandparents often told me to get a state job, because I would then have job security and good benefits. I envisioned a career in a state and
country where I would be respected as a professional for having good work ethics and job skills that matched my profession. After all, I live in the greatest country in the world, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The America I envisioned, and the
career my grandparents recommended, are examples of a better America, an America where I can buy products made in the USA, where our elected officials govern with concern for their constituents and act with integrity. In that America, wealth is fairly
distributed among the citizens, instead of putting 75 percent in the hands of just 2 percent of the people. In that America, a vibrant, prosperous
middle class values its dedicated public servants. In that America, the taxes I willingly
pay support the services I receive at all levels of government. That America is united for the
In that America, social justice is more
important than corporate welfare and Americans don’t need to work three jobs to make half of what they used to earn at one job. I also envisioned an America where
MAKING HIS POINT—JimCarr,PEF Retirees President being interviewed at one of the statewide rallies for union contract justice in Elmira in June. —Photo courtesyWENY-TV News
common interests of all its citizenry, and those citizens have an “inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” as established in our Constitution. That America values its workers’
many contributions in both the private and public sectors, and doesn’t pit them against each other. That America supports economic
growth by requiring a living wage for everyone who works.
seniors are revered, respected and valued for their many contributions as well as the sacrifices they made for family, community, state and nation over their lifetimes. That America’s social compact with its seniors is maintained and strengthened, because seniors make a difference. We lead the way for the next generations of Americans. As one of our Founding Fathers,
Alexander Hamilton, said in 1775: “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity, itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power!” We must powerfully speak the truth to power: Let America be America again!
Please email your updated address to
jtropiano@pef.org
www.pef.org The Communicator September 2011—Page 11
RETIREES IN ACTION
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