Click here to return to the main UFT web site

March 2008

UFT Endorses Romain for TRS Trustee

The UFT Delegate Assembly has overwhelmingly endorsed Mona Romain for re-election as a teacher-member of the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Board. Her record surely merits our continued support.

Mona has served on the TRS board since February 1998 and she has been an officer of the UFT — first as assistant secretary and since July 1997 as assistant treasurer. Those positions cap her years of union activity. She is delegate to the Delegate Assembly and has represented the UFT at NYSUT and AFT conventions. In 1992, the union gave her the Smallheiser Award for long-term service to members.

In 2004, Mona was awarded the prestigious David Wittes Award. Dave was a pioneer in developing the wonderful retirement benefits we enjoy. This award honored Mona for her union leadership and her great skills in pension and retirement matters.

As a UFT pension consultant for more than 20 years, Mona has counseled numerous TRS members, spoken at faculty meetings and conducted many clinics and workshops. She is the co-author of the “Secure Your Future” column in the New York Teacher and the co-editor of this newsletter. Her pension-related activities also include training UFT pension consultants.

Mona was an important part of the team that helped achieve 55/25 this year.

Members of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, a nationwide pension advocacy group have recognized her outstanding abilities by electing her to its Executive Board.

The law requires candidates for the Retirement Board to be nominated by petition, and those petitions will be circulated in the school through March 31. All regularly appointed members of the school staff and those paraprofessionals who have joined the TRS are eligible to sign. I urge all members to do so. It is crucial that we re-elect Mona particularly during these challenging times when both Social Security as well as public employee pension funds are under attack.
Mona Romain has done an excellent job. Let’s keep her in office so she can continue to put all of her good experience to work for our members.

In Solidarity,

Randi Weingarten

President