Of course, the most familiar retirement strategy is to simply stop working. All at once. Cold turkey. That’s what Carolyn York did two weeks ago, ending a 15-year career at NEA (National Education Association) and a 38-year personal mission to support the labor movement. Working for the UAW, SEIU, AFSCME and NEA, she has devoted all these years to such issues as pay equity, national health insurance, public pensions and many others. Thank you, Carolyn!
As Carolyn points out, many of the principles she defended all those years – like gender equity and the obligation of a civilized society to provide basic health care for all its citizens – are still under attack. But as she says, “There’s still hope!” This is true, especially with the help of devoted advocates like Carolyn.
Turns out, thanks to the incredibly cold weather in Washington right now, Carolyn’s had a very soft landing in retirement. “It’s been like hibernation – which has been nice – blankets and fires and Christmas decorations until a few days ago, books and generally total relaxation.”
Otherwise, 2017 has been a big year for Carolyn and her family. Her daughter Kate got engaged and moved to the Promised Land – Colorado. She’s on her way to an MSW, while her fiancé is serving in the US Army and just earned a master’s degree in public administration. Her daughter Alex graduated in May from the Fletcher School at Tufts with a master’s in law and diplomacy. She moved back to D.C. and started a job at the Government Accountability Office – where Carolyn’s husband Charlie, a 32-year veteran, divides his time between working on social security and pension issues, collaborating with GAO offices around the country, and hustling over to The Hill (the one in Washington) to enlighten our lawmakers. (Enlightening our lawmakers? I admire your stamina and patience, Charlie!)