NYS PENSIONS UP FOR GRABS THIS ELECTION CYCLE

NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli
addresses CSEA delegates at the
100th Annual Delegates Meeting
in Albany, N.Y. on Oct. 20.
photo by Ove Overmyer

Rochester, N.Y.-- 
Below you will find a newspaper article that spells out why it is so important for working class families to keep Tom DiNapoli as NYS Comptroller.

Note: At the CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting last week, DiNapoli said, in no uncertain terms, "I support a defined benefit pension plan. A defined benefit pension is still the most efficient way to protect our pensions."

Here is the article that appeared today via Gannett News Services:

Posted: Oct 25th, 2010
Brian Sharp • Staff writer for Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle

GATES, N.Y. — Calling the state pension system "a horror show," Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino on Sunday said he supports a constitutional convention to seek reforms, including a move toward a 401(k)-type plan.

The poor performance of Wall Street is placing an increasing burden on taxpayers to support the state's $134 billion retirement system. Pension contributions are among the most daunting fiscal challenges facing local governments, along with Medicaid and health care costs, officials say.

In Gates, for example, the town's pension contribution is projected to exceed 10 percent of the $9 million tax levy by 2012.

Rochester saw its contribution increase $8.5 million this year, to just more than $28 million, and estimates the bill could top $80 million by 2014-15.

Paladino — speaking to more than 60 supporters at the Italian American Sports Club — said he would demand concessions from state union employees and, for non-union or "exempt" state workers: "Immediately their (pension) plans can be shifted from defined benefit to defined contribution, 401k, and that's what we're going to do."

His comments came in response to Gates Town Supervisor Mark Assini, who noted Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo does not have a position on any specific option for reform. A Cuomo spokesman said everything is on the table.

Cuomo has advocated for a host of regulatory reforms and said he supports adding a pension tier for new employees with different terms to reduce costs. He also has gone after pension padding. Paladino also supports a new tier.

However, Assini said changes that address only new employees — Gov. Paterson added a new tier during his administration — is a long-term solution that will not show benefits for 15 years.

"We don't have that kind of time," Assini said.

The debate is sure to stir the ire of unions.

Most state employees either pay nothing into their pension, or pay for the first 10 years of employment. That is a negotiated benefit, agreed to by the Legislature in 2000.

Any discussion of the state retirement system, however, deserves a long-term look, said Ove Overmyer, a Rochester labor leader who sits on the Civil Service Employees Association's political action committee for western New York. He noted that local governments (and, therefore, taxpayers) were paying little or nothing to support the system when Wall Street was humming in the 1990s.

The average pension for a rank-and-file state worker is $16,000 to $18,000, he said. While unions will have to make concessions, he said, it is "inconceivable to think that chipping away at the working poor is going to balance some budget."

"These are just Republican talking points," he said. "They don't make any sense."

Paladino spoke for about 10 minutes Sunday, then took audience questions for a half hour. Jennie Gugino of Irondequoit asked about term limits, but also hit on pensions, saying longtime politicians in Albany "are going to retire with a pension far greater than any of us ever dreamed of. ... They're not working for us. They are working for the system."

The Buffalo businessman advocated for 8-year term limits for state elected officials and vowed to serve only one term, if elected on Nov. 2.

He also rapped Cuomo as an insider whose "selective prosecution" as attorney general has served to protect his party's elite. Cuomo, in television ads that began airing Sunday, highlighted legal issues facing top aides in the Paladino campaign, concluding, "You can't clean up Albany with dirty hands."

Paladino dismissed polls showing him far behind. Asked about his plans for these final days, Paladino said: "We're going to be everywhere."

"Eight days," Paladino said, "until a day that we'll remember for the rest of our lives; a day when the people took back their government."

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

While it would be next to impossible to deal with a Republican governor or Republican comptroller, CSEA members need to understand that Andrew Cuomo and Tom DiNapoli will be elected officials we can negotitate and work with to find common sense solutions.  CSEA has not officially embraced the Cuomo campaign, but he has been endorsed by the NYS AFL-CIO and the Working Families Party. 

CSEA has been around for over 100 years and we are nearly 300,000 members strong-- we will always be part of the legislative process, have a place at the negotiating table and be a voice for our working class families all across New York State.  Make no mistake, protecting our pensions will always be a number one priority regardless of who gets elected on November 2.