The 71st anniversary of D-Day is Saturday. The Allies sacrificed their sons to save a race and free many from the grips of tyranny and fascism. The Allies and Americans fought relentlessly, under the leadership of Eisenhower. He gave the command of the day, “Full victory — Nothing else!”
The next week holds a D-Day of it’s own: Discovery day. After months of stalling and stonewalling, SRHS is due in court again on June 12. On May 12, Judge Hilburn ordered that Singing River turn over documents to the retirees’ attorneys, including all information that was given to Billy Guice. He was clear about his desire for the retirees to have a full accounting of the pension plan. SRHS has not abided the Judge’s order. SRHS needs to produce the documents in the coming days, or have a valid explanation ready for Judge Hilburn.
After all the delay, SRHS is now ready to submit a proposal to the retirees. Whether by coincidence or by design, Singing River is preparing to release their proposal just as the discovery process is getting underway. SRHS may try to release the plan before the next Chancery Court hearing, scheduled June 12. This is with the hope that “[…] the plaintiffs and lawyers in those will take a step back while we take a shot at putting it [the pension restoration plan] in place and funding it.”
Imagine catching a thief red-handed, stealing $100 from your wallet. Knowing he’s been caught, he pulls the money from his pocket and tells you take it back, but hands you only $50. He does this in hopes that you won’t call the cops and won’t try to find the missing $50.
Singing River doesn’t want you calling the cops and doesn’t want to tell you where the money went.
Until ALL of the facts are disclosed, any proposal is premature. Retirees need to satisfy themselves that SRHS has the financial and moral strength to honor future commitments. This means reform of the governance, culture, and operations of SRHS and an enforcement mechanism to ensure follow through.
Many will feel a sense of confusion as all the information unfolds over the next weeks. That’s natural; the process is designed to confuse and fatigue. If you feel lost, recall the words of Eisenhower and let your goal remain “Full victory — Nothing else!”
Update
The Sun Herald reports that Singing River has produced over 15,000 documents to Denham.