John Whitecross

Being a retired state worker for 25 years now, I am extremely disappointed in the decision to include retirees in vacating the 3% cola back in 2011. This was an erroneous decision by Gov. Raimondo. She disregarded not only state law as well as the contract I have with the state. This is the reason I took a job with the state to begin with. It surely was notfor the salary I was receiving when I entered state service. Having worked in the court system, I became quite familiar with the General laws of RI and the retirement system. It is apparent to anyone with knowledge of the laws, that the judge who would have ruled on this issue did not wish to do so. I firmly believe she would have ruled in favor of past retirees based on the laws. In 1989 I began with the state with a salary of 20K. I passed on a position in security in the private sector that would have paid 34K. That was a big difference in salary, especially back then. I had spoken with some retired state personnel and urged them to reiterate this, but to no avail apparently. This decision to change the law on retirees is a blatant move by the politicians now in power to correct the mistakes of politicians of the past, especially those that failed the system in its inception. Thanking you for this opportunity to address this issue If necessary my phone number is attached.

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