| Dear Member, It’s almost election time — Boston Retirement Board elections, that is! The Boston Retirement Board consists of 5 members, two of whom are elected by all members of the Boston Retirement System, active and retired. The BTU has endorsed two candidates in this election: our own Secretary-Treasurer, Karen Cross, along with Sean Kelly of the Boston Firefighters, Local 718. Both candidates are strong advocates for ensuring our pension system is on strong fiscal footing, and the BTU’s long-time effort to increase the COLA base so that retirees have a reasonable pension increase each year. Ballots should be arriving this weekend or early next week in the mail, so please be on the lookout for your ballot, and be sure to vote as soon as you receive your ballot. You can vote by mail or online using the individual login on the ballot you receive. Please vote right away, so your ballot does not languish in the pile of unread mail that inevitably accumulates! Ballots are scheduled to be mailed beginning August 21, 2026, with voting concluding on September 25, 2026. Labor Day Parade: September 7 This year’s big Labor Day parade in Boston will start and end in Copley Square, at 10 AM on September 7, and the BTU will be out in force! We hope to see many of you there to send a message to our city and our nation: “Workers Over Billionaires”! We know that even as billionaires are getting wealthier, and paying less and less in taxes, the federal government is cutting taxes on the wealthiest while cutting benefits to people who are struggling to make ends meet. The labor movement will be taking to the streets of Boston with a festive parade this Labor Day, sending the message that the interests of the working people of our country should come first. Last year, we had a huge showing from the BTU, and it should be a fun time again this year, so please come join your colleagues this Labor Day. To RSVP for the parade, please sign up here! Urge R+ Conference Committee to Act Soon After years of advocacy, we are closer than ever before to seeing legislation to provide an opportunity to some of our state’s longest-serving teachers to opt into the Retirement Plus system after being unfairly left out 25 years ago. Both the Massachusetts House and Senate unanimously passed somewhat different versions of the “R+” legislation, and are now in the process of meeting to reconcile the differences between the two. We need your help to get it over the finish line. Please click HERE to write a letter to your legislators and the six-member conference committee to urge action before the end of August! | 
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