From the State of Iowa

Had a few thoughts I wanted to share concerning the sad state of the MEBA Medical Plan and am requesting Walter Fletcher to, go ahead and put them on the "Geezer Group"and Mrad Blog web site under my name and if anyone wants to communicate with me personally, have them post their comments along with their email address and I will gladly respond to any and all comments received.



Because of a recent family crisis I have not had a chance to write to the Department of Labor, but I am not complacent and DO NOT expect anyone else to "take care of me!" Because I live in the upper Midwest, it is difficult and also cost prohibitive for me to attend monthly union meetings or even the annual MEBA Christmas party, but if there's anything I can do to contribute to the cause - just let me know!
Like it or not, ALL active members will eventually face the day when it becomes more and more difficult to traverse steep engine room ladders, it becomes harder and harder to get out of bed and report forwatch as working odd hours both day and night starts taking its toll, or they will simply decide they are tired of going to sea and put in for retirement. Figures published in the latest annual report from headquarters indicate employer contribution rates are not keeping up with inflation, the MEBA Medical Plan is rapidly losing funding and by now anyone who hasn't spent the past several years living under a flatrock or on some remote desert island should realize that the MEBA Medical Plan is in SERIOUS trouble and given the present circumstances, simply cannot nor will not last forever; even the most uninformed members must understand that if the union is allowed to sell off all of it's assets and spend the money for medical benefits, legal fees, or whatever, and distribution rates continue to exceed annual income,eventually there will be nothing left. There were many worthy suggestions for maintaining the solvency of the MEBA Medical Plan posted on the "Geezer Group" web site in the past few weeks; however, it doesn't seem like most of our information is reaching the active membership; Internet postings are an excellent means of communication but as suggested in a recently posted Telex Times article, a serious marketing campaign to distribute what most of us consider is relevant information pertaining to retirement issues is needed.
Slick publications gracing the coffee tables in all our union halls have already convinced most of the active members that if they "just keep going to sea, don't worry about a thing, pay their dues and keep their mouth shut, they will be taken care of" - unfortunately, as many retirees have recently discovered, that's not always the case. Why not publish our own information and tell "the rest of the story?" If everyone on the "Geezer" list contributed to the cause, we could afford to publish and distribute a two to four page pamphlet outlining retiree grievances and what we believe are viable solutions to the Medical Plan dilemma - we need to win over as many of the active members as possible- after all, they are the ones who will be working under future contracts and voting in upcoming elections. If the MEBA continues to maintain the status quo and we can convince active members to visualize what may become of them after they finally decide to "pull the plug," they might actually start asking their elected officials serious questions about the future of the MEBA Medical Plan and introduce resolutions for change at upcoming union meetings. Maybe it's also time for those of us who graduated from the "holy of holies" to close ranks, join the Calhoon Alumni Association, and make plans to attend the annual crab fest/beer bash and fortieth reunion at Easton this summer; we wouldn't necessarily have to ruin the festivities by picketing the event, but we could sow a few seeds of discontent among fellow alumni who are still active members by distributing information and openly discussing what we consider to be the abysmal treatment of retirees by the MEBA. We have only a few months to get organized - do you think any of our fellow Calhoon alumni would be interested?
Stuart Mackey
Book #M 8809
Retired 4/1/96