LETTER TO EDITOR: Retirement bills unconstitutional, costly for workers, says reader

Dear Editor,

Here I am once again writing about my state employment. Since Jindal’s retirement proposals affect a limited number of Louisiana citizens, those unaffected seemingly don’t care what happens.

I’m going to tell you why you should:

The proposals have been deemed unconstitutional by Strasburger Attorneys at Law, the firm hired by the legislature to evaluate the bills.
If government is allowed to blatantly ignore the La. constitution now, eventually they will pass a bill that adversely affects someone else.
In the immediate local area, changes could force large numbers of workers at (the Leonard J.) Chabert Medical Center to take early retirement in order to secure benefits already in the system; myself one of them.

Since Chabert has already endured layoffs of at least 100 people and closure of its Labor and Delivery, Neonatal ICU and Nursery in recent weeks, further loss of experienced staff could adversely affect care, wait times and available services for the thousands who seek medical treatment there, (in my opinion).


Passage of unconstitutional bills will lead to litigation, causing further depletion of state funds that would be better spent paying down the state’s UAL, the monies the state has failed to pay into the retirement systems as mandated by the contracts between the state and its employees.


The state has four different retirement systems; these bills affect only one system, the proposed increase in employee contributions would be limited to those in LASERS and have not been designated to repay the UAL, but to be put in the general fund. That means the monies can be spent however government decides.


For those of you unaware, you should know that state employees make a substantial amount less than those who choose to work in the private sector, we haven’t had raises in three years and aren’t expecting one this year either.

We choose to work there for many reasons. I chose to work (at Chabert) because I enjoy the teaching environment, the sense of family amongst coworkers, being able to contribute my service to the people who live in my own community &andmany other reasons, but the retirement plan was also a sticking point. The benefit I worked toward for the last 26 years. 


Please contact our legislators and tell them you don’t support the bills SB 749, SB 52, SB 47, SB 740 & SB 25. As a state employee who has willingly served my community for 26 years, I ask that you get involved. Our voices are the voices of the future. Let the government know that you care, even if they don’t.

Monique Soudelier,


Houma, La.