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Welcome to our
New Website
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20th Anniversary of
RTAM - 2009
Welcome to the newly designed RTAM website. Here you will find all the information, memories, concerns and issues that deal with the retired teachers of Manitoba. The site is packed with information about the organization and has many pages relevant to retired teachers. The links at the top of the page, under the main title of the website, will take you to the respective pages listed.
You will notice to the side that there is a pagelet which will allow you to contact us about any concerns you have about RTAM or about this website in particular. Please feel free to use it and wherever you are in the site, you may return to the this Home Page to access it.
To find out more about RTAM, click on the RTAM logo below for details or the About Us link in menu above. You will find a bit about our history, a list of working committees and an application form to be part of a committee which you might be interested in.
New Board and Photos may be viewed here.
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Not a Member yet? Check out our registration page here.
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*****Survey*****
Concerning the Group Health and Benefits Plan Member Survey: There seems to have been some confusion about the filling out of this survey online. Here is the procedure to connect to the Johnson Inc. website where the survey is listed and available for use. (Note: the deadline is listed as March 31, 2010, but the deadline has been extended to May 31, 2010, so it should still be active if you fill it out now.)
The Process:
1. Click on the Johnson Inc. link in the column to the right of this column.
2. Click the Manitoba link on the opening page.
3. Find the survey link near the bottom of the opening page.
4. Click on the link provided on that page (in blue ...rtamsurvey)
5. Follow the instructions given and fill out the survey.
If you prefer to download, print, fill out the survey the good old fashioned way, you may download the pdf file here: Group Health and Benefits Plan Member Survey
Mail to:
RTAM Benefits Survey
c/o Johnson Inc.
11120 - 178 St. N.W.
Edmonton, AB T5S 9Z9
Please disregard the deadline date stated on the survey form as the deadline has been extended to sometime in April because of technical problems we have had and have now overcome.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
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AGM 2010 - Held May 12 in Winnipeg
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Download a pdf file of the Interim Policy Manual 2010 here.
This policy is still available to you to peruse in pdf format. It was discussed and passed at the recent AGM.
Pssst! - Wanna talk?
Get the numbers!
Do you want to talk to colleagues, current teachers, your MLA and anyone else about your COLA and other issues affecting your retired life? Get the facts and the information you need on the Talking Points page. Click HERE!
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Check below
for upcoming special events, urgent notices or reminders of meetings and important activities.
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The Edward Schreyer Tribute and the recognition of MLAs from 1969-1977 held on September 23 at the Manitoba Legislature was a highly successful event.
Click here to see the Photographs of the event.
Press Release for Immediate Distribution, September 24, 2009
“It’s wonderful to hear that you and your colleagues have done the right thing”, commented former Premier Edward Schreyer on his government’s implementation of indexing Manitoba teacher pensions in the 1970s. He was the guest of honour, accompanied by former colleagues Sam Uskiw, Saul Cherniak, Ben Hanuschak, and Sid Green. The event, “A Salute to Edward Schreyer”, was a nostalgic occasion Wed. evening, organized by the Retired Teachers Association of Manitoba .
RTAM President Richard Benoit described the impact of the creation of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) as being of “epic, fantastic, huge importance” to teachers. He underlined this statement by pointing out that the pension of a teacher retiring in 1969 would have the purchasing power of only 50% by 1978 due to inflation. Only the COLA prevented this catastrophic decline from occurring.
Nearly a hundred guests attended the function, including Minister of Education Bjornson, MLAs Drew Caldwell, David Faurschou and Erna Braun. Former MLAs Muriel Smith, Al Mackling and René Toupin also were in attendance.
Mr. Schreyer spoke eloquently on “the obligation of government to do the right thing to bring about more equality of the human condition.” He pointed out the danger of putting all of your eggs in one basket in view of the recent fall in stock market shares. In fact, he stated his belief that government commitments should not depend on the fluctuations of the stock market.
The “walk back in time” was accompanied by many pictures and newspaper articles from the 1970s. The occasion was a festive celebration, thanking all legislators for an action that has helped teachers for some forty-two years.
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Should I save or should I spend? How can I help my economy? Harry Koza examines the question of which government stimulus is better: tax cuts or spending on infrastructure. He says a dollar of tax cuts generates $3 of gross national product, while $1 of government spending generates $1 of GDN, and often less. If you save a dollar from your tax cut and put it into a bank it can be lent out ten times creating a credit flow. Saving money is the rational thing to do, but governments want us to spend more, consume more and borrow more. Koza is a former bond market columnist for the Globe and Mail. FP, Feb. 1/09
Can an income tax refund be a “bad thing”? According to David Christianson, a tax refund is, at best, a return of your own money and, at worst, an interest-free loan that you have made to the government. FP, March 20/09
(From John Sushelnitsky's Media Watch, April 2009)
Watch for more contributions from John on interesting articles from the media that give us some idea about where the economy stands, how the government is behaving or misbehaving and how all of this affects what we have the right to expect in the area of pensions for teachers --- those faithful contributors to the wellness of our economy through educating the future workers, professionals and entrepreneurs.
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