32
Wisconsin State
Employees Retire
On February 1 a total of 134 Wis
consin state employees were retired
from state service under the state re
tirement act passed by the 1943 legis
lature. The Wisconsin State Employee’s
association sponsored the bill.
In addition to the employees who
were retired there are 81 employees, 70
years or more of age and subject to re
tirement, who will remain on their jobs
for another year at least on deferments
asked by their department heads and
granted by the personnel board.
Under the law an employee must re
tire at 70 years of age but his depart
ment head may ask that he be kept on
for an additional period not to exceed
four years if his services are necessary
to the functioning of the department.
3000 City Employees
Covered by Pension
Approximately 25 percent of the
eligible municipal employees in Wis
consin are participating in the state
municipal retirement plan which be
came effective on January 1.
Almost 3,000 employees in 19 parti
cipating government units are covered
by the new law which is optional for
any city or village. All but one city
has assumed the responsibility for prior
service contributions for both the
municipality and the employee, even
though they could elect to pay one-
half the employee contributions or only
their own contributions.
One-fifth of all Madison, Wisconsin,
city employees, representing a total of
103 persons, are eligible for retirement
but the city council has approved a
resolution retaining this group on the
city payroll for the next six months.
The council took this action to permit
time to study individual cases and to
aid in meeting the manpower shortage.
L. G. Hines Speaks to
College Employees
More than 200 persons who attended
the open meeting recently sponsored by
Pennsylvania state college employees
thoroughly enjoyed the address given
by Lewis G. Hines, former state secre
tary of labor and industry. He gave
the following advice "Go slowly; act
with dignity; present your cause as
true Americans in an intelligent and
enlightened manner and you cannot
help but succeed.”
He warned the members, "This can
not be the type of group which knocks
you over the head first and tells • the
joke later. Your real strength will come
when you prove to the college and to
the public in general that you are unit
ed in cool-headed, clear thinking ac
tion—ready always to combine per
sistence with understanding.”