Kentucky public school teachers rallied in the state capital on March 21, 2018 to protest proposed cuts to their pensions. (Photo: Karolina Buczek/Twitter)
Mar 21, 2018
For the second time this month--and in the wake of recent dramatic protests in West Virginia--hundreds of Kentucky public school teachers rallied at the state capital in Frankfort on Wednesday to protest a bill that would slash their retirement benefits, chanting, "a pension is a promise."
\u201cThis is just the beginning of the crowd filling in the steps of the Capitol. Many others are still circling the building. They\u2019re chanting \u201cA Pension Is A Promise\u201d @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521647444
The teachers are protesting Senate Bill 1, which would reduce retired teachers' annual pension raises until the Kentucky Teacher's Retirement System is 90 percent funded.
"According to an actuarial analysis of an earlier pension bill, it will take at least 20 years before KTRS is 90 percent funded," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. "It now has 56 percent of the funds it's expected to need for teachers' future pension checks."
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has warned (pdf) lawmakers that the bill, if passed, "would violate the inviolable contract that you, the General Assembly, made with Kentucky's public employees"--a promise "that, in exchange for their public service, they would be guaranteed certain retirement benefits." Breaching the contract, he said, would result "in numerous lawsuits against the Commonwealth--lawsuits the Commonwealth will lose."
\u201cUpdate: there is someone with a bugle sending out a rallying cry.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521647421
The demonstration on Wednesday followed incendiary comments by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who last week accused the teachers opposing the pension cuts of being "ignorant" and "remarkably selfish," and "throwing a temper tantrum."
While Bevin later walked back those remarks, on Tuesday he accused opponents of the cuts of displaying a "thug mentality." In response, the governor was prominently featured on some of the protesters' signs at the rally:
\u201cSome signs at the rally.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521649181
\u201cIf I couldn't see any of my folks, I'm glad Pikeville represented! #APensionIsAPromise #FindFundingFirst #120strong #LoveKYPublicEducation\u201d— sarah (@sarah) 1521659403
"Our people here in Pike County have been chomping at the bit to get down there and voice our displeasure," Patricia Lea Collins, who helped organize the protest, told the Herald-Leader. "The support we have from our community is unreal, and they agree with us that we need to take a stand."
Collins, who works as the Head Start and preschool director for Pike County Schools, added that the governor has "underestimated Eastern Kentucky," where several districts canceled school on Wednesday because of the demonstration at the capital.
Morgan County High School's Twitter account shared a photo of some of its teachers in Frankfort and thanked them for "fighting for all aspects of public education."
Some teachers told a local reporter that they were marching on the capital not only to protest cuts to teacher pensions, but also student programs.
\u201cThey\u2019re on their way to the Capitol. Some teachers here say they\u2019re not just fighting for their pension but also for the student programs being cut. One teacher tells me she\u2019s fighting for her students\u2019 benefit. @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521645986
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
For the second time this month--and in the wake of recent dramatic protests in West Virginia--hundreds of Kentucky public school teachers rallied at the state capital in Frankfort on Wednesday to protest a bill that would slash their retirement benefits, chanting, "a pension is a promise."
\u201cThis is just the beginning of the crowd filling in the steps of the Capitol. Many others are still circling the building. They\u2019re chanting \u201cA Pension Is A Promise\u201d @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521647444
The teachers are protesting Senate Bill 1, which would reduce retired teachers' annual pension raises until the Kentucky Teacher's Retirement System is 90 percent funded.
"According to an actuarial analysis of an earlier pension bill, it will take at least 20 years before KTRS is 90 percent funded," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. "It now has 56 percent of the funds it's expected to need for teachers' future pension checks."
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has warned (pdf) lawmakers that the bill, if passed, "would violate the inviolable contract that you, the General Assembly, made with Kentucky's public employees"--a promise "that, in exchange for their public service, they would be guaranteed certain retirement benefits." Breaching the contract, he said, would result "in numerous lawsuits against the Commonwealth--lawsuits the Commonwealth will lose."
\u201cUpdate: there is someone with a bugle sending out a rallying cry.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521647421
The demonstration on Wednesday followed incendiary comments by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who last week accused the teachers opposing the pension cuts of being "ignorant" and "remarkably selfish," and "throwing a temper tantrum."
While Bevin later walked back those remarks, on Tuesday he accused opponents of the cuts of displaying a "thug mentality." In response, the governor was prominently featured on some of the protesters' signs at the rally:
\u201cSome signs at the rally.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521649181
\u201cIf I couldn't see any of my folks, I'm glad Pikeville represented! #APensionIsAPromise #FindFundingFirst #120strong #LoveKYPublicEducation\u201d— sarah (@sarah) 1521659403
"Our people here in Pike County have been chomping at the bit to get down there and voice our displeasure," Patricia Lea Collins, who helped organize the protest, told the Herald-Leader. "The support we have from our community is unreal, and they agree with us that we need to take a stand."
Collins, who works as the Head Start and preschool director for Pike County Schools, added that the governor has "underestimated Eastern Kentucky," where several districts canceled school on Wednesday because of the demonstration at the capital.
Morgan County High School's Twitter account shared a photo of some of its teachers in Frankfort and thanked them for "fighting for all aspects of public education."
Some teachers told a local reporter that they were marching on the capital not only to protest cuts to teacher pensions, but also student programs.
\u201cThey\u2019re on their way to the Capitol. Some teachers here say they\u2019re not just fighting for their pension but also for the student programs being cut. One teacher tells me she\u2019s fighting for her students\u2019 benefit. @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521645986
For the second time this month--and in the wake of recent dramatic protests in West Virginia--hundreds of Kentucky public school teachers rallied at the state capital in Frankfort on Wednesday to protest a bill that would slash their retirement benefits, chanting, "a pension is a promise."
\u201cThis is just the beginning of the crowd filling in the steps of the Capitol. Many others are still circling the building. They\u2019re chanting \u201cA Pension Is A Promise\u201d @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521647444
The teachers are protesting Senate Bill 1, which would reduce retired teachers' annual pension raises until the Kentucky Teacher's Retirement System is 90 percent funded.
"According to an actuarial analysis of an earlier pension bill, it will take at least 20 years before KTRS is 90 percent funded," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. "It now has 56 percent of the funds it's expected to need for teachers' future pension checks."
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has warned (pdf) lawmakers that the bill, if passed, "would violate the inviolable contract that you, the General Assembly, made with Kentucky's public employees"--a promise "that, in exchange for their public service, they would be guaranteed certain retirement benefits." Breaching the contract, he said, would result "in numerous lawsuits against the Commonwealth--lawsuits the Commonwealth will lose."
\u201cUpdate: there is someone with a bugle sending out a rallying cry.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521647421
The demonstration on Wednesday followed incendiary comments by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who last week accused the teachers opposing the pension cuts of being "ignorant" and "remarkably selfish," and "throwing a temper tantrum."
While Bevin later walked back those remarks, on Tuesday he accused opponents of the cuts of displaying a "thug mentality." In response, the governor was prominently featured on some of the protesters' signs at the rally:
\u201cSome signs at the rally.\u201d— Daniel Desrochers (@Daniel Desrochers) 1521649181
\u201cIf I couldn't see any of my folks, I'm glad Pikeville represented! #APensionIsAPromise #FindFundingFirst #120strong #LoveKYPublicEducation\u201d— sarah (@sarah) 1521659403
"Our people here in Pike County have been chomping at the bit to get down there and voice our displeasure," Patricia Lea Collins, who helped organize the protest, told the Herald-Leader. "The support we have from our community is unreal, and they agree with us that we need to take a stand."
Collins, who works as the Head Start and preschool director for Pike County Schools, added that the governor has "underestimated Eastern Kentucky," where several districts canceled school on Wednesday because of the demonstration at the capital.
Morgan County High School's Twitter account shared a photo of some of its teachers in Frankfort and thanked them for "fighting for all aspects of public education."
Some teachers told a local reporter that they were marching on the capital not only to protest cuts to teacher pensions, but also student programs.
\u201cThey\u2019re on their way to the Capitol. Some teachers here say they\u2019re not just fighting for their pension but also for the student programs being cut. One teacher tells me she\u2019s fighting for her students\u2019 benefit. @LEX18News\u201d— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina Buczek) 1521645986
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.