NYS PENSION FIGHT LOOMS: ANOTHER TIER? NO FREAKIN WAY

Albany, N.Y.-- Recently hired New York State public employees who will eventually pay into the NYS Retirement System should be steaming mad. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has once again put pension reform at the forefront of New York state politics. In his State of the State address last Wednesday, Cuomo insisted that the current benefits system is not sustainable, and he'll seek to establish a new tier this year.

Cuomo originally announced his vision for a new pension for state workers, a Tier VI, in June of last year.

The new pension would make a number of adjustments to the system currently in place, Tier V, which was signed into law by former Gov. David Paterson just over two years ago, in December of 2009. At the time, unions agreed to take a number of concessions in our effort to help balence the budget.

Just recently, Civil Service Employee Association President Danny Donohue said a new pension tier with fewer benefits for public employees will hurt the middle class.

Here is a tip for Gov. Cuomo: You can not have a strong New York economy with a weak middle-class. When you remove the spending power of working families, the economic climate is not conducive to grow our economy. Having a strong middle-class is what built America. Products and services mean nothing if there are no consumers to purchase those goods. What Gov. Cuomo is proposing fits nicely into the narrative that income inequality is growing because of executive decision-making by ultra-conservative lawmakers. Income inequality is not only Un-American, it is responsible for deteriorating the quality of life for millions of people.

If Tier VI is passed, the retirement age for new public employees would increase from 62 to 65 years old, with early retirement no longer available. Employees would also have to contribute 6 percent of their salary for their entire career. Vesting requirements would be increased from 10 to 12 years under the new plan.

The method for determining the final average salary of an employee, which affects the benefits he or she receives, would also be adjusted in a number of ways. Excluded in the calculation would be lump sum payouts from unused vacation time and overtime pay. Employees would also be restricted from using unused sick time to their credit at retirement.

The governor's office believes the proposed system would save the taxpayers of New York over $90 billion over the next 30 years, lessening the burden on local governments and reigning in property taxes.

Public Employees Federation President Ken Brynien, in a press release last Wednesday, insisted that reform to state worker's pension is not the solution to the state's economic woes and is only a short-term solution.

"The ability to attract good workers will be important if the governor seeks to pursue his ambitious agenda," Brynien said.

A better approach is to study use of consultants

There are other ways to cut state expenditures that don't hurt employee benefits, PEF leaders believe. The union says that using private contractors for state projects, which Cuomo once again advocated for in last Wednesday's State of the State speech, is often just as expensive as using public employees.

"What we propose is a cost-benefit analysis bill, which would compare prices just like when you buy a car or shop for groceries," said Darcy Wells, a spokeswoman for PEF.

A bill introduced in 2011, S-3093, would define under what conditions a state agency can hire outside consultants, and force it to perform a cost-benefit analysis before spending any more than $500,000. The analysis would then become a public document.

The cost-benefit analysis bill was sponsored by our local Assemblyman Harry Bronson, D-Rochester, and our local Sen. Joe Robach, R-Rochester. By a procedural rule, it was pushed back to committee the same day Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State speech.

PEF says the bill is necessary because New York state's spending on consultant services has increased 25 percent over the last seven years, to $2.8 billion in the fiscal year 2010-2011. They also say the cost of an average private consultant is 70 percent more than a state employee of the same position.

The governor's pension reform vision does have supporters, however. Nortorious anti-labor State GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement last Wednesday that pension reform is one of the most important issues New York is facing today. He went on to challenge the governor to make his rhetoric a reality.

We can not overstate this: The Civil Service Employees Association, New York's largest public employee union, refutes the governor's claim that the new tier will aid the economy, saying the proposal will only serve to hurt the middle class.