Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Retiree Representative on Police and Fire Pension Board
August 18, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

The Michigan House of Representatives Labor Committee Adopts HB 4917 Substitute H-3.

On Wednesday August 18th the Labor Committee voted to adopt the Substitute H-3 to HB 4917, and then voted to report out HB 4917 Substitute H-3 to the full House of State Representatives, with the recommendation that it pass. The motion prevailed with vote being; Yeas -7 Nays -1 Pass -3.

We will be meeting with our lobbyist and supporters in the near future to plan our next move, as we prepare for the vote in the full House and the Senate. We ask that you continue to contact your Representatives and State Senators and ask for their support for passage of HB 4917 Substitute H-3. Additional information regarding HB 4917 will be forthcoming.

If you would like to read the Minutes of the Labor Committee, go to Michigan House of Representatives, then committee home page, then Labor, and click minutes for August 18, 2010 or this link to go directly to the minutes (PDF file).

Language as approved, HB 4917 Substitute H-3, (Page 5, lines 9-13)

"(7) IF THE CHARTER OF A CITY, VILLAGE, OR TOWNSHIP WITH A POPULATION OF 500,000 OR MORE SPECIFIES THE SELECTION OF A RETIRANT MEMBER OF THE MUNICIPALITY'S FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, OR FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENT PENSION OR RETIREMENT BOARD, THE METHOD OF SELECTION OF THAT MEMBER IS A PROHIBITED SUBJECT OF BARGAINING. "

The Bill would require the City of Detroit to enforce its City Charter as it relates to the position of a Retiree on the Police & Fire Board of Trustees.

2ND PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT RECEIVED BY ATTORNEY
August 9, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Our Attorney Chris Legghio's office, notified the RDPFFA that they have received the second payment from the City of Detroit in our Settlement of the Hospitalization Lawsuit.

The checks to the membership will be mailed out from the attorneys office on August 12th , the amount of the checks will be $269.84.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Updated August 9, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

August
Annual Picnic, Saturday, August 14th at Kolping Park, 47440 Sugarbush Rd, Chesterfield Township. Admission is by valid RDPFFA Membership Card. Take I-94 to 21 Mile Rd go east to Sugarbush, then North 1/2 mile the park is on the right side.

Annual Golf Outing, Friday, August 20th, at Salt River Golf Course, 38633 23 Mile Rd, Chesterfield. To register contact our association office 586-795-1734.

September
General Membership meeting will be held Thursday, September 2nd, 7 PM, at The American Polish Century Club, 33204 Maple Lane, Sterling Heights.

ERROR ON FIREMAN'S FUND FIELD DAY LETTER
August 4, 2010
Detroit Fireman's Fund Association

There was a clerical error on the recent letter sent to you regarding the Detroit Firemen's Fund Field Day. The CORRECT date of the event is AUGUST 15, 2010. The 50/50 raffle drawing will be held on August 15, at the Field Day. We are sorry for the inconvenience. If you have any questions, please call the Firemen's Fund at 313 961-2988.

Detroit Firemen's Fund Association
250 W. Larned St., Ste. 202
Detroit, MI 48226

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE FROM MI-ARPE
June 1, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

As a member organization we are requesting the assistance of the MI-ARPE in are pursuit of equal voting rights on the Detroit Police & Fire Pension System. The Police & Fire Pension System in Detroit is one of the few large pension system across the State and country that does not have any Retiree representation on the Board of Trustees. The Elected Trustees are elected based on department and rank. The Retired Detroit Police & Fire Fighters Association has had HB 4917 introduced, which would afford Retired Detroit Police & Fire Fighters an equal vote with the active members.

You can go to www.legislature.mi.gov and enter 4917 to read the House Bill. You may also want to review the committee testimony, under Labor Committee, Hearing Dates of Feb 28, March 3 & 10 ,2010. We are asking that MI-ARPE members call, send letters or E-Mails to the following State Representatives, Speaker of the House and the Members of the Labor Committee.

Speaker Andy Dillon 517-373-0857 andydillon@house.mi.gov

Labor Committee Members

Chairman Steven Lindberg 517-373-0498 stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov

Co-Chair Deb Kennedy 517-373-0855 DebKennedy@houswe.mi.gov

Coleman Young ll 517-373-1008 colemanayoungii@house.mi.gov

Bettie Cook Scott 517-373-1776 bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov

Andrew Kandrevas 517-373-0845 AndrewKandrevas@house.mi.gov

Lesia Liss 517-373-2275 lesialiss@house.mi.gov

Tom McMillin 517-373-1773 TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov

Justin Amash 517-373-0840 JustinAmash@house.mi.gov

Kevin Daley 517-373-1800 KevinDaley@house.mi.gov

Joseph Haveman 517-373-0830 JosephHaveman@house.mi.gov

Jim Slezak 517-373-3906 JimSlezak@house.mi.gov

Sample E-Mail:

State Representative Steven Lindberg,

Support for House Bill 4917

I am a Retired Captain from Shelby Twp.Police Department and a member of the Executive Board of the Michigan Association of Retired Public Employees. The public sector retirees from Shelby Township have a voice on our Retirement System, and we believe that Retired Detroit Police & Fire Fighters deserve no less. The Detroit Police & Fire elected Trustees should be held accountable to all members of the pension system. Please do not deny those Retirees that dedicated their lives to the City of Detroit the right to have a voice. Vote out HB4917.

John Smith

Executive Board Member (Shelby Twp)

Michigan Association of Retired Public Employees

(Just an idea of e-mail to the legislators, they should not all be identical, but I believe it it important to include your department and that you are a representative of MI-ARPE. Because we know the members of the Labor Committee, this will serve as a good test. I will be meeting with the Speaker of the House, and the committee members this week and next week, prior to the scheduled vote on HB4917 June 9th. I will inform you of the response and feedback from the Representatives to the calls/letters and e-mails that were sent.

Thank You for your assistance and consideration in this request. )

Don Taylor

President, Retired Detroit Police & Fire Fighters Assoc

Treasurer. Michigan Assoc Retired Public Employees

(We have updated our web-site www.mi-arpe.com includes list of Board Members, check out the site and let us know if you want changes, or have your own updates to display. )

UPDATE TO CANCELED SCHEDULED HEARING IN LABOR COMMITTEE HB4917
May 19, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

As you know today HB 4917 was scheduled for a vote in the House Labor Committee. The House Leadership decided to put the vote off for 3 weeks to give the unions time to negotiate an agreement, outside of the legislation, for retirees to have a voice in how our pension system is run.

Large labor groups, other than the DPOA, LSA, COA and Fire Fighters, are concerned HB 4917 could affect bargaining rights. We know this isn't the case but these concerns are affecting other people's judgement.

However, these unions have offered their assistance to try and get the DPOA, LSA, COA and DFFA to resolve our issue without having to move HB 4917. We don't know if the negotiations within the labor world will result in an agreement where retirees get a voice, but bill sponsor Rep Fred Durhal said if the negotiations do not work, HB 4917 will be voted out of the Labor committee 21 days form now.

We need all RDPFFA members to stay active in communicating with the legislators on the House Labor committee asking them to vote YES on HB 4917.

Please stay tuned for additional updates.

HB4917 Police & Fire Pension Board Labor Committee to Vote May 19
Your Pension Board, Your Rights, It's Time for a Vote
May 14, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Urgent, Your Response is Requested.

The time has arrived; the Chairman of the Labor Committee has informed us that he has scheduled a vote on HB4917 for May 19, 12PM. It is imperative that our membership participate . We have been informed by Committee Members that they are being pressured to vote NO, or allow the Bill to Die in committee. We must not allow this to happen. Remember the last Back Room deal that was cut cost every Retiree nearly $6000.00 dollars each. The Trustees must be held accountable, do not allow your Rights to continue to be denied. Show up in Lansing on May 19.

The RDPFFA will provide transportation to Lansing for our members, their family and friends. Eastsiders attending should be prepared to depart from the RDPFFA Office 2525 E 14 Mile Rd Sterling Hgts, promptly at 9AM. Westsiders will meet and depart at 930AM from the Monaghan Knights of Columbus 19801 Farmington Rd Livonia.

Please contact our office and notify us of your intentions, so we can provide adequate transportation.

Office 586-795-1734 after hours and weekends Don Taylor 810-627-9349

We are also requesting that you contact your State Representatives and ask for their support on HB4917, Retirees deserve an Equal Vote on their Pension Board.

Most importantly we are asking our members, their family and friends that are constituents of the members of the Labor Committee, to contact these members thank them for their support and request that they vote the Bill out of Committee on May 19th. (Note; If you identify yourself as a constituent, the staff will verify that you are in fact a constituent).

Labor Committee Members;
Steven Lindberg (Chairman) District 109 (Marquette) 517-373-0498 stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov

Deb Kennedy (Majority Vice-Chair) District 23 (Brownstown) 517-373-0855 DebKennedy@house.mi.gov

Andrew Kandrevas District 13 (Southgate) 517-373-0845 AndrewKandrevas@house.mi.gov

Lesia Liss District 28 (Warren) 517-373-2275 Lesialiss@house.mi.gov

Bettie Cook Scott District 3 (Detroit) 517-373-1776 bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov

Jim Slezak Districk 50 (Davison) 517-373-3906 JimSlezak@house.mi.gov

Coleman A Young ll District 4 (Detroit) 517-373-1008 colemanayoung@house.mi.gov

Justin Amash (Minority Vice-Chair) District 72 (Grand Rapids) 517-373-0840 Justinmash@house.mi.gov

Kevin Daley District 82 (Attica) 517-373-1800 KevinDaley@house.mi.gov

Joseph Haveman District 90 (Holland) 517-373-0830 JosephHaveman@house.mi.gov

Tom McMillin District 45 (Rochester Hills) 517-373-1773 TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov

All Members, do not let this opportunity slip away, do your part, call your Representatives, attend the Hearing and witness the Vote that may affect your future!!!!!

Update on Detroit Pension Systems
April 21, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

We have been advised that the City of Detroit has established a committee to look into their options as it relates to the pensions systems. As for the current legislation (HB 5976 & 5982 and Senate Bills 1239 & 11240) "Distressed Municipal Pension System Act" which if enacted would require that the City's pension systems be turned over to M.E.R.S. We were informed that this legislation has been placed on hold. The City expects to have more information on this subject in the next few months. We will continue to monitor this issue and keep you updated.

Michigan Association of Retired Public Employees

New Statewide Organization
April 14, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

RDPFFA Members,

We are requesting your assistance in getting out this message, please forward to everyone on your e-mail list. I also request that you consider joining the new association as an individual. A request will be made to the RDPFFA Board of Directors requesting the Association join. (Check out the new web-site www.mi-arpe.com) More...

RDPFFA Las Vegas Convention
April 9, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

September 20-24, 2010 at RIO Suites Las Vegas - Anyone planning to attend this years' Las Vegas Convention is asked to notify the office and make your request as soon as possible. The airlines and other vendors have increased the penalties for returned unused seats and rooms, so we need to make decisions regarding the numbers of rooms and airline tickets we need.

Those traveling with the group using air and room package, the cost is $575.00 per-person based on double occupancy. This price includes air, hotel, transfers, baggage handling, private dinner, hospitality room, meeting with refreshments and much more. Those that are arriving on their own from other areas, we have rooms held at $85.00 per night(price includes all taxes).

If you are attending you must be registered with the association for the convention in order to participate in any of the associations' sponsored events.

Call the office now at (586) 795-1734, ask for Jack Devoy or after hours you can call Don Taylor.

Changes to Bylaws
April 9, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Click here to view and print the changes to the Association bylaws.

Moving Forward on Attempt to Form a Statewide Organization
Updated March 8, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

On February 25, 2010 a number of interested retirees representing various departments met to discuss organizing a Statewide organization. Those in attendance agreed that there was a mutual interest and a need to organize and insure that retirees concerns and interest are conveyed to those that may attempt to diminish their benefits.

A committee was formed to discuss and attempt to put into place the official formation of such an organization. We are seeking input from retirees from other agencies in regards to such basic questions as; membership, Association name, Bylaws, Dues and voting procedure. Please submit your suggestions via email rdpffa@hotmail.com, prior to our next scheduled meeting on March 17.

If you were not available to attend the first meeting which took place, and would like to attend the March 17 meeting please notify the RDPFFA office 2525 E 14 Mile Rd Sterling Heights 586-795-1734.

RDPFFA members we are asking for your assistance in getting this message out. Please forward this information to as many retirees or retiree organizations as possible.

Protect Your Future

Updated March 5, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Hearings for Voting Rights on the Police & Fire Pension Board Continue in Lansing

We will be traveling to Lansing on Wednesday March 10th, to continue our hearing in the Labor Committee. We believe this hearing will conclude the testimony before the Labor Committee. It is important that you take an active role, participate and witness the process.

The hearing will begin at 12 noon in room 519 of the House Office Building. We will assemble in the cafeteria of the House Office Bldg at 11:00AM.

The RDPFFA will provide transportation to Lansing for our members, their family and friends. Eastsiders interested should be prepared to depart from the RDPFFA Office located at 2525 E 14 Mile Road Sterling Hgts, promptly at 8:30AM, Westsiders will meet and depart at 9:30AM from the Monaghan Knights of Columbus 19801 Farmington Road Livonia.

Please contact our office, and notify us of your intentions, so we can provide adequate transportation.

Office 586-795-1734

Pension Board Seat
Updated February 9, 2010
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

HB4917 Button

Do to weather conditions, the Hearing regarding HB4917 in Lansing has been cancelled and has been rescheduled for February 24, 2010 at 12PM. Any question contact the Association office.

It doesn't appear that the Active Associations are willing to allow us to get an elected seat on our Pension Board and they have left us no alternative but to pursue the passage of House Bill 4917. To that end we are asking our members to attend the Wednesday, February 10, 2010 hearing on this bill, in Lansing.

We will be providing buses to transport our members, family and friends to the Capital. The buses will be departing from our Westside General Meeting location at The Monaghan Hall, 19801 Farmington Rd, Livonia, MI at 9:00AM, 2/10/2010. If you plan to car pool on your own, please contact our office at 586 795 1734.

We will assemble in the cafeteria located in the lobby of the House Office Building at 11AM where we will disseminate information and campaign buttons.

Retired Detroit Police Photo Identification Card

January 12, 2010

Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Clarification regarding the procedure to obtain your new I.D. Card.

Items needed

1) (Copy) of your Identification with photo.

2) Electronic photo of member.

*This photo is produced by taking a digital picture of the member requesting I.D.,

forwarding the snapshot by computer to the following email address:

*Note - Central Photo can only accept your electronic photo in (computer terminology) bits / bytes.

3) Member requesting new Photo Identification Card must return their I.D. received at retirement.

4) Send to Detroit Police Central Photo with a self addressed stamped envelope.

Detroit Police Central Photo
4th Floor
1300 Beaubien
Detroit, MI 48226
313.596.1956
7:00 am -11:00 pm most days

Phone Number Correction
January 6, 2010

Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Starting today you should be able to verify your Blue Cross coverage.

Corrected Phone Numbers:

The BCBS Group number is 54731

BCBS phone number *** 800 951 2583

BCBS Medicare advantage phone number 866 684 8216

RX Pharmacists prior approval phone numbers (Mich.) 800 437 3803 and (Non Mich.)800 239 1023
To locate participating providers outside of Michigan 800 810 2583

Blue Cross Computer Problem
January 5, 2010

Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

The computer problem for Blue Cross Blue Shield was larger than first thougth, 4000 names were kicked out of their system. We've been informed by a BCBS representative that "They are all back in the system as of 5:30 PM EST, 1/5/10". And the insurance cards will be mailed out on Tuesday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th.

Healthcare Rates for Dependent Children

December 29, 2009

Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Our attorney and the City are trying to clear up the dispute about Health Care Rates for Dependent Children. This may take a long time to resolve. This is an option you may want to consider. Here is a link for an individual health plan option for members who are looking for coverage of their child/children. The rates for the plan are also noted. http://www.bcbsm.com/myblue/plan_individualcareblue_benefits.shtml. The phone numbers are 313 225-8000 or 313 225-9000.

Healthcare Insurance Cards
December 17, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

2007 Healthcare Booklet
November 3, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Healthcare Open Enrollment
October 22, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

Retired Fire Fighter Mugs & Travel Mugs
October 14, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

House Bill 4917
August 25, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association

House Bill 4917
Updated: June 2, 2009
Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association