Email Newsletter At this time we are not able to print our newsletters. When the Stay-At-Home orders are lifted we will be able to send our newsletter by USPS. If you would like to continue to receive an email edition, let us know at: Email: [email protected]

Anti-Stress Suggestions May 2020 Newsletter It can be hard to combat stress, depression and loneliness during these Stay-At-Home times. Here April meeting are two suggestions that brought smiles to our faces. Cancelled due to corona virus. (1) “Some Good News” is a weekly YouTube series by the actor, John Krasinski who starred in the TV The Retiree Executive Committee met several times show The Office. It’s about 20 minutes long and each through Zoom meetings to decide how to best go episode has uplifting stories from around the world forward during the quarantine. It was decided that and special guests via Zoom. And (2) Wicked Tulips the AFT Retiree newsletter would be sent out via Flower Farm posts beautiful photos on Facebook. email. Currently the quarantine restrictions make it For a $10 donation (that will help keep this family impossible for us to print and mail this newsletter. farm in business) they will send you daily videos to your FaceBook page. Or just go to their FaceBook May Meeting page and enjoy some loveliness for free. If you have a favorite way to spread some happiness, please share Our next meeting will be a virtual one. We will have a with us. Email: [email protected] Zoom meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at 1 o’clock. Join us. It will be fun to see friends and catch-up. Thought for the Day

The primary and general election are just around the “Flowers always make people better, happier and corner. Learn how the AFT candidate endorsement more hopeful; they are sunshine, food and medicine process is done and what the next steps will be. John to the soul.” Dyrcz, AFT NM staff member, will be the speaker. He - Luther Burbank will be happy to answer any questions. (The last page of this newsletter includes the list of national and state candidates that have been endorsed by AFT.)

Learn to ZOOM

Member Marcia Demento will be guiding us through our very first Retirees’ virtual meeting. She will be our tech guru. Marcia will be holding a practice session. You can make sure your computer or phone is able to sign on to our Zoom meeting. She will be available to answer questions and provide assistance. The practice session will be this coming Thursday, May 7 at 2:00pm. To set up a practice session, call Anne Pierce-Jones at 505-453-8812. NM Retiree Health Care Authority

Quarantine On March 11, Governor According to Wikipedia, “A quarantine is a vetoed House Bill 45 which would have increased restriction on the movement of people and goods employee and employer contributions rates to the which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or Retiree Health Care Fund. It was one of only two bills pests.” This idea has been around for a long time. In that she vetoed. HB 45 passed the House and Senate the Bible, the book of Leviticus mentions using with bipartisan support. At the time of the veto the isolation for certain illnesses. The Islamic prophet Governor vowed future support for Retiree Health Muhammad advised, “Those with contagious diseases Care. Given the state’s current economic outlook due should be kept away from those who are healthy.” to the COVID 19 pandemic future financial support to And a Persian physician around the year 1000 the RHCA seems dim. But the agency is solvent and recommended quarantine for patients with infectious will continue. NMRHCA has been building a trust fund to cover its solvency for many years, however, it may diseases, especially tuberculosis. soon have to dip into that trust fund. (This means

deficient spending and possible, future higher costs The word quarantine come from the Italian word th th (premiums or co-pays) to retirees. for forty- quaranta. During the 14 and 15 centuries Venice required all ships to isolate for 40 Like everyone else, the NMRHCA is looking into ways days before passengers and crew could go ashore to negotiate the quarantine. Stay tuned to see how during the Black Plague. Between 1348 and 1359, they will handle the fall switch enrollment. Large the Black Death epidemic killed an estimated 30% groups of older retirees may not be the best way to of Europe’s population and a significant percentage get new information out! of Asia’s population.

2020 Census Next Meeting – a Virtual Meeting

Have you completed the 2020 Census? Good for you. Our next meeting will be May 13, 2020 at 1 pm. We If not, DO IT NOW. It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s very will NOT meet at the AFT Union office at 530 Jefferson important. Funding for ’s classrooms St. NE. depend on an accurate count.

AFT National is looking for retired members to volunteer to participate in Census 2020 phone- banking. They will provide training. The Census Outreach Volunteer sign up is at: https://forms.gle/SEYyBGuDr61aHLg7A

Political Endorsements by AFT

Your union does not tell you how to vote. However, you can be sure that we have Contact information: carefully vetted each candidate to ensure that Email: [email protected] our recommendations reflect individuals Facebook: AFT New Mexico Retirees – Chapter 8029 who most closely align with our goals of Web: http://aftnmretirees.nm.aft.org/contact-us preserving and promoting public education 530 Jefferson NE Albuquerque NM 87108 and labor rights.

The endorsed incumbent candidates were recommended by the ATF Unified COPE committee based on their previous voting record. All new candidates have completed the ATF Unified COPE AFT New Mexico Retirees Chapter Questionnaire and have submitted to an interview Local 8029-R/AFT/AFT NM with the ATF Unified COPE Interview Team. The endorsements were ratified by the ATF Fed Rep MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Council on April 20, 2020. All statewide endorsements and endorsements for candidates ______outside of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County were NAME vetted by the AFT-NM COPE Committee. National ______endorsements are made by the American ADDRESS Federation of Teachers. ______CITY The AFT NM Retirees had a member at both the ______state level and at the Albuquerque/Bernalillo STATE AND ZIP County level. Candidates were asked about their ______PHONE support for educational retirees’ pension and ______health care. Our thanks go out to Ellen Mills and EMAIL Therese Saunders. If you have questions or would like to learn more, join the Retirees Zoom ANNUAL DUES meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at 1:00. Retirees $25 Per Person - Certified are welcomed and needed at all COPE meetings. $20 Per Person - Classified

Important Dates Please make checks payable to AFT NM Retirees Chapter and mail to: 530 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque NM 87108 May 5th: Last Day to Register or Change Registration for the Primary/ County Clerks Begin VOLUNTARY AFT RETIREES CHAPTER Mailing Out Absentee Ballot Applications COPE DONATION May 16th- May 30th: Early Voting (write a separate check for this) May 28th: Last Day to Request An Absentee Ballot ______June 2nd: Primary Election Day NAME OF CONTRIBUTOR ______

AMOUNT DATE Stay tuned for early voting information. ______Meanwhile… Sign Up for an Absentee Ballot CHECK# OR CHECK HERE FOR CASH here. ------The New Mexico Supreme Court has denied a KEEP THIS AS A RECEIPT FOR COPE DONATiON request for an all-mail election for our state primary on June 2. There is no way to know what ______our quarantine status will be in early June. NAME OF CONTRIBUTOR Protect yourself and your vote, sign up for an ______absentee ballot today. AMOUNT CONTRIBUTED DATE ______

The following national candidates are New Mexico State House of Representatives endorsed by the American Federation of (HD= House District): Teachers: HD4 Anthony Allison U.S. President HD6 Eliseo “Lee” Alcon Joe Biden HD7 Santos Griego U.S. Senate: HD9 Ben Ray Lujan, U.S. Senate HD10 Andres Romero * U.S. Congress: HD13 Patricia Roybal Caballero Debra Haaland, U.S. House of Representatives, HD14 Miguel Garcia* District 1 HD15 Dayan “Day” Hochman Xochitl Torres Small, U.S. House of HD17 Deborah Armstrong Representatives, District 2 HD18 No Endorsement Until After the Primary, U.S. HD19 Sheryl Williams Stapleton* House of Representatives, District 3 HD20 The following candidates are endorsed by the HD21 Debbie Sariñana* AFT-NewMexico HD22 Jessica Velasquez NM Judicial Races: HD23 Supreme Court, Position 1: Shannon Bacon HD24 Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson * Supreme Court, Position 2: David Thomson HD25 * Court of Appeals, Position 1: Zach Ives HD26 Court of Appeals, Position 2: Shammara HD27 Marian Matthews Henderson HD28 Melanie Stansbury New Mexico State Senate (SD= Senate HD29 * District): HD30 Natalie Figueroa* SD3 Shannon Pinto HD31 Julie Ford Brenning SD4 George Muñoz HD34 SD5 Pete Campos HD35 SD9 Benjamin Rodefer HD36 ^ SD10 Katy Duhigg HD37 Joanne Ferrrary SD14 Michael Padilla HD38 Karen Whitlock SD15 Daniel Ivey-Soto* HD39 Rudy Martinez SD16 Antoinette Sedillo Lopez HD40 SD17 Mimi Stewart* HD42 SD18 William “Bill” Tallman HD43 SD19 Claudia Risner HD44 Gary Tripp SD20 Martin Hickey / Rebecca Stair dual endorse HD45 SD23 Harold Pope HD46 SD24 Nancy Rodriguez HD47 SD25 Peter Wirth HD48 Linda Trujillo SD28 Gabriel Ramos HD50 Matthew McQueen SD29 Paul Baca HD51 Jeff Swanson SD30 Clemente Sanchez HD52 SD31 Joseph Cervantes HD53 Willie Madrid^ SD33 Denise Lang-Browne HD56 Laura Childress SD36 Jeff Steinborn HD57 Billie Helean^ SD38 Mary Kay Papen HD59 Kimble Kearns SD39 Elizabeth “Liz” Stefanics HD68 Karen Bash HD 69: HD 70: Anita Gonzales^ * Denotes a current, retired or former member of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation ^ Denotes a current, retired or former member of the AFT-NM