Volume 8, Issue 4
September 28, 2017  
Dear PARA Member,

Please do everything you can to get the word out to vote NO to a New York State (NYS) Constitutional Convention (ConCon) on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7, 2017. This message is especially important to get to all the NYS voters you know.

If you are still asking "What is the NYS ConCon?" we urge you to read our previous eBulletin of August 29 and to go to PARA's website to get the background.

A majority of PARA's members live outside of NYS and therefore are not registered to vote in New York. Whether or not you are registered to vote in NYS, here is what you can do to get the word out, and get the vote out:
  1. share PARA's eBulletins with your friends and family,
  2. send links to PARA's website to your friends and family,
  3. post links to PARA's Q & A page on your social media pages, and
  4. talk to other NYS voters you know who in turn know NYS teachers, fire fighters, health care workers, police, engineers, librarians and many others and say why you do not agree to holding a NYS ConCon, and why they should vote NO on Nov.7.

At a recent forum sponsored by the Citizens Union PRO ConCon panelists said that federal law would protect state pensions because they were contractual obligations. Our collective review says otherwise. NYS pensions would not undoubtedly be protected by federal law as a "contractual obligation by the state."

Few, if any of us, have an actual written signed contract covering pension rights.
This could very well be the test that courts would require to safeguard our present pensions, which are now guaranteed by the New York State Constitution. If the constitutional provision regarding pensions was to be modified, the effect of that change would at the very least be to change certainty to uncertainty , as the new provisions would likely be subject to judicial scrutiny and interpretation. A NO vote by voters on Election Day ensures certainty, no economic loss and no anguish over the meaning of new provisions which are not likely to be favorable to retirees .

Please work as hard as you can to help us get the word out to people who WILL show up for the NYS election on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 to vote NO to holding a NYS ConCon.
 
Stay tuned for updates. and please read through our posts on PARA's website.

Your PARA Board
GET THE WORD OUT!
PORT AUTHORITY 

What is PARA?
The Port Authority Retirees Association (PARA), a not-for-profit corporation, was formed in 1989 to promote the welfare of retirees of the Port Authority (and PATH). That is accomplished by PARA acting as spokesperson for Port Authority retirees. We foster and encourage legislation that maintains or improves our circumstances primarily as it affects the pensions of the New York State Retirement System. PARA now has some 4,100 members residing in 39 states and 12 countries. PARA maintains an active affiliation with the Alliance of Public Retiree Organizations (APRO) representing more than 350,000 members throughout New York State.
panoramic NYC 7-2017
  Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc. | P.O. Box 2002 | East Millstone, New Jersey 08875
DISCLAIMER: 
The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc. does not provide, and this notice does not constitute, legal or other professional advice. We recommend you contact your own professional advisor for such matters as neither The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc., nor anyone associated with this notice, assumes responsibility for your relying on the information provided, even though we have attempted to ensure that it reflects our understanding of what is presented.