Retired Teachers Kick Gubernatorial Butt in Atlanta

This from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Retired teachers to keep automatic

cost-of-living increases

Huge outpouring of protest

greeted governor’s proposal to remove automatic raises

A move to eliminate automatic cost-of-living increases for retired educators was quickly shot down Wednesday by the Teacher Retirement System Board.

The unanimous defeat of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to end the automatic raises provided fresh evidence that taking on teachers and retired educators is usually a losing bet for Georgia politicians.

Six years ago, the state’s 100,000 teachers helped oust Gov. Roy Barnes after educators said he showed disrespect for their profession. This time they accused the man who beat Barnes, Perdue, of betraying their support by eliminating the automatic pension COLAs.

Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said teachers and retired educators from across the state banded together to defeat the COLA plan.

“Through collective action, we can move mountains, whether it’s in a gubernatorial race or whether it’s protecting the pensions we’ve paid for,” Hubbard said after the vote...