Joel Glassman: Don’t forget retirees in state budget

Regarding the May 17 news article “House would give raises to state workers, teachers”: Last year when the budget proposal came out, there was a small raise for retirees that quickly disappeared. Calls to the State Employees Association of N.C. failed to receive an explanation. In fact, the SEANC knew nothing about it.

Now there again is a discussion about raises, and retirees are being mentioned. Teachers and state employees want more than is proposed.

All I am asking is that the legislature not leave retirees out again. I personally worked for over 30 years and endured meager, if any, raises for most of those years.

I also worked alongside teachers who received larger raises even though they were not in any “classroom” as those in the public schools. Teachers are woefully underpaid and deserve more money, and I hope they get it. However, not at the expense of retirees.

Many retirees live on fixed incomes and need the raises just as much as those who are working full-time. Please do not leave us out. We gave the state great service. Now give us something back.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Joel Glassman: Don’t forget retirees in state budget."