AERA discusses ‘Vision for Victory’ in 2014 election

The ninth district of the Alabama Education Retirees Association (AERA) heard from AERA Executive Secretary Janice Charlesworth during a July 18 meeting at the Enterprise Service Center.

The AERA is an organized group of former teachers who work in the best interest of students and educators, both retired and currently employed.

“The election in 2014 is going to be critical,” Charlesworth said, speaking of Alabama’s upcoming legislative elections.

Charlesworth explained retired teachers don’t currently have any protection under the law when it comes to Public Health Improvement Plan (PHIP) or cost-of-living allowances.

Charlesworth said some legislators are targeting the education system for budget cuts, and added if certain cuts are made, insurance costs for teachers could see an increase of $500-$800 per month.

“This is why we’re unveiling Vision for Victory at all nine of our district meetings,” Charlesworth said. “If the person in your district is not voting with us, you can let them know. ‘I’m going to be working to put you out of office.’ That’s what makes a difference.”

Charlesworth said Vision for Victory isn’t a partisan effort for either party — it’s a planed effort for retired educators to unite in supporting public education and those who work to make it a success.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” she said “We will work with the candidate who will work with us.”

Several educators have had concerns about the state of public education since the Alabama Accountability Act was signed into law earlier this year, and Charlesworth said she was shocked by the nature of which it passed through the legislature.

“The Republican Party, and Mike Hubbard especially, have declared war on the Alabama Education Association (AEA),” Jennifer Adams, vice chair of AERA’s legislative committee, said. “Their objective is to destroy it from the ground up.”

Adams said she’d been looking into the controversial “Voter ID” law Alabama’s legislature approved during a 2012 session.

Since the U.S Supreme Court’s repeal of certain portions of the Voting Rights Act, Adams said the law could be legally implemented in the future.

This would require residents to have a valid driver’s license, passport, government ID, student, ID or military ID in order to vote, whether they are a registered voter or not.

“To get a voter ID, you can go the registrars office of your county or the place where you get your driver’s licenses in your county,” Adams said. “They aren’t 100 percent sure how they’re going to enforce this and I’m worried they’re going to try it at the last minute and not give people enough time to get those voter IDs”

Adams said those affected would likely be elderly residents who no longer have a driver’s license or people living in nursing homes who have voted on an absentee ballot in the past.

“They’re scared of having a large voter turn out,” Adams said. “We, as an organization, have to make sure the people in our community get those voter IDs. Churches may have to bus people to the county office to get an ID like they bus people to the polls. It’s in our advantage to get as many as people to vote as we can and to make sure they vote for the people who want to help public education.”

Charlesworth said she’s looking forward to the opportunity to make a difference though the Vision for Victory program.

“If we don’t work together, the outcome might be more than you can afford to live with,” Charlesworth said. “Remember, the average check for a teacher’s retirement in 1951 was $46.86. We don’t want to go back there.”