POWRS: Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement Security

Who We Are

  POWRS is a group of concerned citizen volunteers. Meet our steering committee members:

      William A. "Bill" Franks, Jr.

Bill retired from the Department of Workforce Development, Division of Employment and Training in 2013, as an Equal Opportunity Specialist, Senior. The Division of Employment and Training administers the Statewide Employment and Training program ($50,000,000-approx). Franks was the Statewide Equal Opportunity Officer and Complaint Officer.

Additionally, Franks served as a Union Steward for the AFT-W Local 4848 from inception (1993-1994) until and beyond retirement. The Local was at one time the largest public employee union, with approximately 4,800 in the bargaining unit. From 2005-2010 Franks was the Chief Steward (an elected position), served on the Local's Executive Committee and was Bargaining Support Committee Chair for 2 of 3 Bargaining Sessions.

Currently, he Chairs the Labor & Industry Committee of the NAACP of Dane County and has been a POWRS Member since retirement.

     Kathleen Marsh

Kathleen taught English in the Kaukauna Public Schools from 1968-2002. She retired in Townsend, became an author, and established Otter Run Books LLC. In December 2011 she posted an online petition: Save the Wisconsin Retirement System. To date, it has garnered 55,000+ signatures. Her POWRS Facebook posts are read and shared by thousands each week. In July 2015 Kathleen was instrumental  in preventing alarming changes to the WRS Oversight Committee when half a million people received her informational post. Tens of thousands contacted their legislators to object and the legislation was deleted from the bill.

      Roger Springman

Roger retired from the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection in summer 2010 ending a 35-year year career in Wisconsin public service. In the Dept. of Agriculture, Roger managed Wisconsin's very successful Clean Sweep Program for hazardous chemical collection and disposal. He also worked at UW-Madison, Departments of Agricultural Engineering and Soil Science and taught high school in Denmark, Wisconsin in the late 1960s.

Roger served as a Wisconsin Science Professional union steward and is now a member of the American Federation of Teachers-Retiree Chapter. He has always maintained a high state of alert on all matters affecting public policy and is very active in numerous grassroots political organizations throughout the state. He enjoys public speaking, harassing public officials, and believes retirement security cannot be a privilege for the few, but the right of the many.

     Phil Anderson

Phil is a retired Wisconsin public servant with 26 years. He started as a grain sampler with the Department of Agriculture in Superior.    Most of his service was with the Department of Workforce Development working to help people find jobs in welfare-to-work programs and assisting the general public in the Superior Job Center. He retired from the Madison central office as a Program Planning Analyst where   he developed policy, employee training, and web site content.

Phil is also a retired military reservist with 20 years of service in the Army, Wisconsin Army National Guard, and Naval Reserve. He is an activist for many progressive causes including labor rights, peace, and environmental issues. He is a member of the American Federation of Teachers retiree chapter, Wisconsin Professional Employees Council retiree chapter, Veterans for Peace, US Labor Against War, Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, Sierra Club, and the North Country Trail Association

    Joyce Luedke

Joyce Luedke has had a variety of work experiences: at her parents’ restaurant while growing up, cleaning houses, and as an audit processor at Wausau Insurance. She taught fifth graders in Barron and Mosinee. The experience that changed Joyce and her outlook on life happened while teaching Hmong women and men who attended the Even Start Family Literacy Program--a partnership between the Wausau School District and Northcentral Technical College. Joyce is a contributor to Middle Wisconsin and is a member of the Women for Women Caucus of Marathon County.

   Kay Johnson

Kay (Weis) Johnson taught Art in Tomah, Colby, and Marshfield from 1973-1994. She taught Spanish in Gillett, Oconto Falls and Oconto from 1994-2006. She has years of training and experience in organizing, negotiating, and advocating for education employees. She then retired in Pulaski to care for her mother-in-law and grandchildren. To continue working with WEAC and teachers, she teaches Professional Development Writing to help teachers with license renewal. She continues to advocate for educators and public education issues especially in the areas of educator effectiveness and licensing.

   Doug Leuck

Douglas Stewart Lueck is a founding member of POWRS (2011). Doug worked at UW Milwaukee as a recruiter. admissions examiner, adviser, and  counselor from 1970 to 1986. He was an Organizational Development Specialist with WEAC from 1986 to 2004. Doug is a veteran and served in the U.S Air Forcefrom 1962 to 1966.

Jim Blank 

Jim Blank taught 6th grade in Manitowoc, WI for 22 years. In 1974, he was elected as a NEA Director for WI and served on the National Education Association’s (NEA) Board of Director for five (5) years. During that time, he served as Chairperson of the NEA Educational Finance Committee and was elected by the NEA Board to the NEA Budget Committee for four (4) years. Jim also served on the NEA Legislative Committee for six (6) years.

In 1984, Jim was elected President of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) a position he held for five (5) years. He served a President of the National Council of State Education Associations (NCSEA) for one (1) term. He also served as Chairperson and a Trustee on the WEA Trust Board of Directors for 14 years.

From 1989 to 1990, he worked as a staff assistant to Senate Majority Leader Joe Strohl.

In October of 1990, he was hired to be Executive Director of United Northeast Educators and served in that capacity until his retirement on January 1, 2007.

Jim served as a WEAC Region 3 Retired representative on the WEAC Retired Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Bay Lakes United Educators - Retired (BLUE-R), WEAC Retired and NEA Retired organizations.

Currently he serves on WiCOA (Wisconsin Coalition of Annuitants) Board and the POWRS (Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement Security) Board.

Jim Newton 

Jim taught math in Detroit for ten years before returning to Wisconsin to teach elementary school for another four years. After Ronald Reagan declared himself the “education president,” Jim returned to school to get a masters degree in computer science. That was followed by 25 years in IT at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, from which he retired in 2011.

He was in the group that founded AFT-W local 4848 (WPEC), where he was in the original group of stewards. When he is not involved in advocating for truth, justice, and the American Way, he enjoys volunteer tutoring, juggling, and math problems.

Nancy Stencil 

Nancy is a longtime activist in the Marathon County area, working mostly on political issues and various women’s issues. Currently Nancy is working on issues of sulfide mining in Marathon County, and Taylor County. She serves as Chair on the Board of Directors for the Back 40 Mine in Marinette-Menominee. 

Nancy is a former chair of the Marathon County Democratic Party. She is currently the Chairperson for the 7th Congressional District. The 7th is the largest district east of the Mississippi. Nancy has a heavy presence with union labor. She serves as secretary of the Marathon County Central Labor Council and the AFSCME 32 Retirees (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees). She is a current member of DALU (Directly Affiliated Labor Unions).

Nancy is one of the founding members of Women for Women Wisconsin. They meet monthly on the first Thursday with a new zoom topic each month. The group has pushed out over 1500 postcards this last election season for Protasiewicz for the AFL CIO. She also helps with legislative action days for the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition. 

Recently Nancy retired from working front line in mental health as a Crisis Professional with North Central Health Care in Wausau. She is also has education in drug and alcohol treatment. Nancy is an active member of the Friends of Rib Mountain and can be found hiking on the trails of Rib Mountain and helping to set up snowshoe hikes in winter. Learning is a lifelong adventure and Nancy often takes courses to continue to grow.