GCIU retirees who don't want to lose touch with their union can take a tip from Toronto 500M retirees and start their own club.

As retired Local 500M Executive Vice Pres. Ken Magnus put it, "a few hard-nosed unionists" who wanted to stay active in their local got together in 1985 and founded the Local 500M Retiree's Club.

Fifteen years later, the club's membership has grown to 186 members. Magnus is proud that the club's average attendance at meetings is more than 70 members.

Magnus, a former Bookbinders president who has served as president of the club since January 1994, said the founding core group counted such International officers as the late International Vice Pres. Richard Clarke, retired Bookbinders Vice Pres. Betty Whittaker, and the late Bookbinders Pres. Charles Buhler. Retired GCIU Education Director Walter Lypka now serves as vice president.

Magnus said the retirees "get a lot of cooperation from the local union." including office space and mention of their meetings in the local's newsletter. In April, Local 500M Pres. Mike R. Zajac presented charter members of the club with certificates at the club's 15th anniversary celebration.

The Local 500M Retirees Club holds regular meetings every month except August and December. Instead of the August meeting, Magnus said, they have a picnic. In December, they celebrate with a dinner. He said regular meetings usually include a guest speaker on topics of special interest to senior citizens and alternate meetings include lunch and bingo.

Between meetings, members participate in a variety of activities, including theater trips, boat cruises, and bus trips. Magnus said. This past November, the group took an 11-day cruise to the Caribbean. This year, Magnus said, they are researching a trip to Spain.

Members keep in touch through club bulletins, and the club also operates a lending library for its members.

But entertainment is not all the Local 500M retirees are about. The club is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress' Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, the Ontario Federation of Retirees, the Council of Canadians, and the Metropolitan Council of Union Retirees for Toronto and surrounding areas, of which Magnus also is the president.

In conjunction with those groups, the Local 500M retirees spend a good deal of time working on issues important to them and working families.

"We write letters to the provincial and federal government on issues, particularly on health care," Magnus said. "The way they're operating, the health system is going to eventually be torn apart. We write to them and make our voice known," he said.

The Local 500M retirees also serve their union by helping out on locals' picket lines and organizing drives.

As Magnus noted: "There are an awful lot of people who retire who have the expertise and wherewithal to do things today.... It keeps them in touch and keeps them unionized."