We Need Fair Teacher Evaluations by Alan Lubin, Co–chair of BALCONY

Blaming teachers for everything that’s wrong with education has become a blood sport in Albany and even many city halls across New York State.

It’s wrong – it’s cruel and it’s pulling the wool over the eyes of students, parents and everyone else who depends on state services for basic services like police and fire protection, quality health care, efficient mass transit systems, secure prisons and top-flight colleges and universities.

While there are many fine ideas in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new budget proposal, as far as teacher evaluations, he is stirring needless division and undermining his administration’s admirable first year record of building political and policy consensus.

A centerpiece of Cuomo’s budget address dealt with teacher evaluations. No one in education or the business community would argue that teachers should be evaluated fairly, denied tenure if they don’t perform well in their first three years on the job and terminated if they prove unsatisfactory year after year.

But the governor’s tactical plan in achieving these objectives is not the right way to go.

He essentially told the state and local teachers’ unions and the State Education Department they must agree to an evaluation plan within 30 days or he will impose one on them. The local districts then have a year to implement it or lose annual increases in state aid every year until they do so – as much as $800 million in state aid and possibly another $700 million in federal money.

The reality is that his decree will be challenged in the courts, just as the New York State United Teachers successfully halted the State Education Department’s plan to double the weight of student performance on teacher evaluations. Another court fight will delay any reform and create uncertainty in every local school budget. This is no way to plan for education needs. This Cuomo Administration already knows that the best way to achieve good policy goals is by building consensus. On the question of teacher evaluations, the Governor should revert to that smart and effective strategy.

All New Yorkers and all business leaders value good teachers, but we cannot blame poor performances or inappropriate behavior by the few to tarnish the hundreds of thousands of good teachers across the state.

Yes, evaluations are necessary and appropriate management tools to drive better performances in our schools. But it is a mistake to impose by fiat the type of evaluation each school district must use. Instead, they must be worked out in a fair and honest way at the bargaining table. Negotiations were underway in New York City between the city’s Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers, but then the city abruptly walked away from the talks. Throwing fuel on the fire, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told one city newspaper the UFT doesn’t “give a s-t” about losing state money.

Come on, Mr. Bloomberg.

The Governor should put the saber-rattling aside and develop a plan that does not drive good teachers out of their chosen profession and rob children of the learning they would get from such well-performing instructors.

Alan Lubin is Co – Chair of the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (www.Balconynewyork.com) and formerly Executive Vice President of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)

DiNapoli: Replacing Defined Benefit Pension With 401(K)-Style Plan ‘Unacceptable’

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has issued an aggressive defense of the current pension system and – without getting into specifics – slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to offer a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan as part of his Tier 6 proposal, calling the change “unacceptable” and “extreme.”

DiNapoli’s comments came at a forum sponsored by the National Public Pension Coalition at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 2012.

According to a copy of the comptroller’s prepared remarks sent out by his press office, DiNapoli decried the “coordinated, sustained attacks by anti-pension advocates” that he says have “falsely cast public pensions as costly, unsustainable giveaways that are bankrupting states and localities.”

The following is the National Public Pension Coalition Press Briefing:

Happy to be here to set the record straight.

Coordinated, sustained attacks by anti‐pension advocates have falsely cast public pensions as costly, unsustainable giveaways that are bankrupting states and localities.

While some state and local plans have become significantly underfunded in recent years, this has been caused by the shortsighted past practices of their sponsoring governments.

Most state pension plans are sustainable for the long term.

The New York Common Retirement Fund is among the best‐funded and best run in America.

Annual return of 14.6% for our fiscal year 2010‐11 that ended March 31st. Fund now has fiscal year audited assets totaling $146.5 billion, the highest since the global meltdown of 2008‐09.

Even with extraordinary market volatility and the tepid recovery from the Great Recession, we remain more than ready to meet our current and future obligations.

A number of key institutional factors have buoyed our retirement system since its establishment.

Decade after decade, we have required state and local governments to make their payments to the Fund. Unlike some states that have skipped their annual payments ‐ sometimes for years – New York State has never missed a payment.

Our conservative actuarial method continues to ensure that we will always be well‐funded. Importantly, we follow this method scrupulously rather than take short cuts in difficult times.

A recurring theme in the attacks on public pension systems is that they’re “unaffordable” and that rising pension bills are eating up state and local budgets.
While contribution rates are rising, we need to put this into perspective.

According to The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, pension contributions from state employers amount to 3.8% of state and local spending, on average. New York, the number is 2.4% of state operating funds.

The vast majority of benefits are paid by investments. Over the past 20 years, 83 cents of every dollar in benefits paid to New York retirees have come from investment returns, not employee or employer contributions (national average: 68%)

One of the myths promoted in recent attacks on public pension funds is that they are bloated with retirees making six figure pensions. Here are the facts for New York State:

Less than one‐half of 1% of our 385,000 retirees receive pensions exceeding $100,000.
The average annual New York State pension, excluding police and fire, is $19,151.
76% of our retirees receive less than $30,000 a year.

Efforts to reform or restructure state pension funds continue across the country. 39 states have made significant revisions to their pension plans in the past 18 months, including New York.

Items like the level of pension contributions and how to control overtime abuse are acceptable areas for discussion and debate. What I think is unacceptable is promoting the more extreme change of replacing DB plans with 401k’s.

401k’s were never intended to take the place of pensions. They were designed to be savings vehicles to supplement pensions and social security income. And overall, in their relatively short history, they have proven to be woefully inadequate for those who rely on them for their primary retirement income.
According to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, 401k plans lost a collective $1 trillion during the Great Recession.

We’ve all heard the desperate stories over the past three years of retirees whose 401k nosedived and were forced to find minimum wage jobs just to survive ‐ and who now will have to continue to work indefinitely.

If the human cost isn’t enough of a reason to be wary of moving to 401k’s here’s some more:

DB plans cost 46% less than individual 401k style savings accounts, for several reasons:

Individuals investing their own 401k pay significantly higher fees, and earn significantly lower rates of return.

Individuals must base their asset allocation on their age and whether they are nearing or in retirement, while a defined benefit plan bases its allocation on market conditions.

Individuals must save at a rate that ensures that their funds will last well into their nineties. In contrast, large institutional plans like ours have assets based on the average mortality of its members.

Moving from DB’s to 401K savings accounts would be bad for our economy as well.

The money spent by retirees collecting pensions has a stabilizing impact on the economy.

For instance, 77% of New York retirees continue to live in New York State – and the retirement benefits we pay out to them continue to be recycled into our state’s economy, constituting an estimated $6.5 billion in spending, $9.5 billion in economic activity, and $1.3 billion in property taxes paid. We can extrapolate the New York experience across the nation.

As Executive Director of the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) Diane Oakley said in her July testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee:

“Pensions are a ‘high five’ for the U.S economy: investing $5.35 trillion in assets for the future, keeping some 5 million retired Americans out of poverty, supporting 5.3 million American jobs, and delivering retirement income at nearly 50% lower cost than individual defined contribution retirement accounts.”
Moving from DB’s to 401K’s would undermine retirement security for even more Americans and add even more uncertainty to our economy.
For all the focus on the current cost of public pensions, the erosion of basic retirement security for working Americans has the potential to be a far more significant long term problem for our nation.

Retirement security is becoming a thing of the past for too many in America.

The number of private sector employees in large and medium sized businesses who have a defined pension benefit has declined from 84% in 1980 to 30% in 2010.

As a result of this erosion in pensions, a growing number of Americans risk retiring with a substantially lower standard of living – or not retiring at all.
This year, the first of 79 million baby boomers turned 65, and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reports that up to 45% of them ‐ about 34 million men and women – are at risk of not being able to maintain their living standards in retirement.
The problem will only grow in the future. A recent study found that the number of Americans living past 90 will grow from 1.9 million today to more than 9 million by 2050.

We can’t afford to walk away from this problem or leave it for someone else to deal with.

In his speech in Kansas last month, President Obama gave voice to the urgency of advancing national policy to preserve the middle class – the backbone of American society.

He was right in his emphasis. We must include “retirement security” as an earned right for middle class Americans.

That’s why I am calling on President Obama to convene a National Commission to address the decline of retirement security.

First, we must do no harm. The Commission must develop strategies to assure the continued viability of solid, well‐funded defined benefit plans and identify strategies to restore the finances of plans that have fallen into disrepair.

Second, the Commission must focus on the longer‐term problem of the erosion of retirement security. And it must start its work from the simple premise that we need to ensure that people are able to support themselves when they’re no longer able to work.

The Commission’s membership should draw from representatives from labor, business, government employers, the fiduciary community, accountants and actuaries, and academia.

We must change the perception of pensions being viewed primarily as a liability and a cost to taxpayers – to what they really are: a pre‐funding of a legitimate, looming government liability and societal obligation.

If people can’t support themselves in retirement and in old age, taxpayers will foot 100% of these future costs. From a fiscal standpoint, the responsible thing to do is to prefund these costs now.

And as we tackle this issue, we need to remember that much of what we’re confronting today is the continued fallout from the market losses of 08‐09. While there was a policy decision made to pump trillions of dollars into the financial system to shore it up, there was not a policy decision made to shore up and rescue pension plans in the same way.

If that had happened, we might not be having this discussion today.

With the gridlock in Washington and the lack of resources, this type of federal intervention for pensions today is unlikely. However, at the very least, instead of joining the race to the bottom to dismantle pension systems, this is the time to preserve pension plans that are proven to work, help those that need fixing, and tackle the larger question of what can be done for those not covered by pensions.

This must become a national discussion and a national priority.

Americans’ retirement security is eroding by the day. Solutions will need years to take hold. Failure to act now will make the problem worse for future retirees, and will leave the full financial burden to future taxpayers.

Some will argue that we can’t afford to deal with this challenge. I would argue that we can’t afford not to.

Without a long term public policy strategy on pensions, we risk condemning an increasing percentage of future generations of hardworking Americans to poverty in their senior years.

We can’t allow that to happen.

Catherine Abate and Robert Hayes selected as new BALCONY Co– Chairs-Join Alan Lubin to lead the Business and Labor Coalition of New York.

      

For Immediate Release: January 25, 2012

The Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY) announced today (Wednesday) that Catherine Abate, President/CEO of Community Healthcare Network, and Robert Hayes, Senior VP of Universal American, have been named new BALCONY co-chairs. They join Alan Lubin, former Senior Executive Vice President of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), to lead the coalition in 2012.

“Catherine Abate and Robert Hayes have strong commitments to improving the economy and social well being of New York State,” Mr. Lubin, founder and labor co-chair of BALCONY, said. “We look forward to their leadership as BALCONY continues to find common ground between business and labor on the public policy debate in our state.”

Ms. Abate is a former New York State Senator from Manhattan (1994-1998) and was Commissioner of the New York City Departments of Correction and Probation in the Dinkins administration. Since 1999, she has been President/ CEO of the Community Healthcare Network, a group of 12 Federally Qualified Health Centers in underserved communities across New York City. She will serve as the non-profit co-chair of BALCONY.

“I am impressed with BALCONY’s commitment to providing health care for all New Yorkers,” Ms. Abate said. “I will seek to add my voice to those who believe everyone in New York has the right to quality and affordable health care.”

Robert Hayes, an attorney, has been Universal American’s senior vice president for health quality since 2009. He led the Coalition for the Homeless from 1979 to 1989 and was president and general counsel of the Medicare Rights Center. Hayes also served as Associate attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell and was Special Counsel at O’Melveny & Meyers. Mr. Hayes is a MacArthur Foundation fellow. He will be BALCONY’s business co-chair.

“BALCONY advocates for the diverse needs of our state and that we must work together to create jobs and a sound economy. I am pleased with the opportunity to serve with Catherine Abate and Alan Lubin to help BALCONY grow and have a positive impact,” Mr. Hayes said.

Mr. Hayes and Ms. Abate replace BALCONY co–founder and business co-chair Bruce Ventimiglia, who had been the business co-chair since BALCONY was formed in 2006. Mr. Ventimiglia is relocating to Arizona, where he will continue to serve as the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC.

“Bruce was instrumental in the launch and success of BALCONY as he brought the business common sense and common ground approach to our coalition, he will be sorely missed” Mr. Lubin said.

“I am delighted that I had the opportunity to serve BALCONY. BALCONY has worked, and will continue to work, diligently to develop solutions for the major issues that New Yorkers and our fellow Americans are confronted with. It has been a pleasure to serve with my fellow Co-Chair, Alan Lubin, BALCONY’s Director, Lou Gordon, and the BALCONY staff. Alan and I were able to find common ground between business and labor and proposed solutions for many key issues; and, while Alan and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye on issues, Alan approached all of the issues we worked on together with passion, sincerity and integrity. Lou, I am certain, will continue to work tirelessly to build bridges between business and labor to help move the great state of New York forward. I wish Catherine and Robert much success in their new BALCONY roles; they are eminently qualified for their new positions. Finally, I will leave New York with many wonderful memories that have been accumulated over my 21 years here. I look forward to supporting BALCONY from beautiful Arizona, and I wish my fellow New Yorkers peace, prosperity and good health,” Mr. Ventimiglia stated.

BALCONY represents more than 1,000 businesses, non-profits and labor unions seeking common ground in the public policy debate in New York State. BALCONY makes no campaign contributions nor endorses any candidates.

UFT Ad Slams Bloomberg’s Record on Education

UFT Blasts Bloomberg On Teacher Evaluations

BY Celeste Katz

The city teachers union is blasting Mayor Bloomberg’s education record in a television attack ad that’s airing amid the tense standoff over teacher evaluations.

(Click HERE for the Ad)

Our Ben Chapman reports:

More than eight million viewers are expected to see the union’s 30-second spot, which pulls no punches in its critique of the mayor’s education reforms.

“Ten years as Mayor, and Mike Bloomberg still doesn’t get it,” begins the narrator’s criticism of Bloomberg’s record on schools, starting with his appointment of Cathie Black as schools chancellor.

“Fudged education test scores, closing schools, parents shut out of the process,” the somber voice continues, over a montage of photos of city students.

The ad — which doesn’t specifically mention the evaluation controversy — finishes with a harsh message to the mayor, who hasn’t been on speaking terms with the teachers union since Dec. 30, when city officials walked away from talks on instructor evaluations.

“If you really want to do right by our kids, you’ll work with teachers and parents and stop playing politics with our schools,” the voice says.

City officials hit back at the union’s $1 million ad, calling it a “political stunt” that distracts the public from the real issue of teacher evaluations.

“The Mayor, Governor, and State Education Department are working collaboratively to implement a rigorous teacher evaluation system,” said Bloomberg spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua, adding: “It’s a shame that the UFT continues to block accountability measures that will help students.”

The city stands to lose nearly $60 million in federal aid for 33 failing schools because city officials and the union were unable to reach a deal on instructor evaluations.

At the state level, the lack of a comprehensive evaluation system for teachers and principals threatens nearly $1 billion in federal education money.

Despite signs of a thaw at Monday’s legislative hearing on Gov. Cuomo’s education budget, on Tuesday city union and education officials said they still had not met to discuss the issue.

Public Pensions Are Not the Enemy by NYAFL-CIO President Mario Cilento

Public pensions are not the enemy
So why does Gov. Cuomo’s plan vilify middle class retirement security?

By Mario Cilento / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, January 25 2012, 4:24 AM

We hear all the time about exorbitant public-sector pensions, which leads many to believe mistakenly that retired nurses, firefighters, teachers and others are wealthy. We don’t hear that the average benefit for a member in the largest plan in New York — the New York State and Local Retirement System — is $19,000 a year, or that 76% of these pensions are less than $30,000 a year.

There is no doubt that state and local governments face difficult budgetary decisions, which has fairly brought all spending under greater scrutiny. But some corporations and their messengers have tried to capitalize on the pressure created by the short-term economic crisis to advocate for the permanent decimation of benefits in the public sector. They seek to complete the rollback of pensions and the shift to insufficient 401(k)s that has already taken place in the private sector — driving a stake in the heart of the defined benefit pension as we know it.

This is audacious, considering that corporate greed and misconduct caused the collapse of the economy, the budget crisis and billions in pension losses in the first place.

Now, even though it will not produce any savings to help address the current budget deficit, Gov. Cuomo’s executive budget includes a new pension tier with an “optional” 401(k).

In reality, there is no option in this plan, as the new tier would obliterate the defined benefit plan, slashing payouts and making employee contributions unaffordable. The new defined benefit “option” would require employees to work longer, pay up to double in base employee contributions and pay even more if the stock market declines — all to get less in their pension. What sense does that make?

The 90 years that the state has been providing pension benefits demonstrate that the system works. Pensions are long-term vehicles that should not be overhauled with every change in the political wind.

It’s not as though public employee unions are resisting any and all change. They did their part and agreed to a new pension tier just two years ago that is projected to save $35 billion over 30 years. This is on top of wage freezes, furloughs, increased health contributions and layoffs.

But where they draw the line — as well they should — is in eviscerating retirement security entirely.

Far too many workers have learned the hard way that a 401(k) is not the answer to long-term economic security. Such retirement plans place all the risk on the shoulders of workers. If Wall Street collapses when they retire, they’re simply out of luck.

There’s another problem: cost. I don’t doubt the ability of working men and women to decide how to successfully invest their retirement savings — provided they can afford professional assistance. They’ll have to add that burden to the cost of rent, utilities and prescriptions.

A financially secure retirement is slipping away from the American worker. According to the National Retirement Risk Index, a project of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, more than half of American workers are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. This retirement insecurity comes at a time when the number of people with pensions has declined, particularly in the private sector, with 401(k)s becoming many workers’ sole retirement savings vehicle.

Yet, although data from multiple sources indicate that 401(k)s are inadequate, their stranglehold continues in the private sector — and that dominance is used as the rationale for reducing public-sector pensions. It’s a race to the bottom that’s inappropriate and unconscionable.

Cilento is president of the New York State AFL-CIO, the largest state labor movement in the country, representing 2.5 million workers in 3,000 union affiliates throughout the state.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/public-pensions-enemy-article-1.1011290#ixzz1kV7jn7pL

BALCONY Members Comment on Gov. Cuomo’s 2012-2013 NYS Budget

CSEA President Danny Donohue:

“Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget lays out some complex challenges in many areas. CSEA remains concerned that the governor seems out of touch with the day-to-day challenges that public workers in both state and local government face as a result of his budget priorities. Too many necessary services in every part of the state are deteriorating because people are working short staffed and at risk without adequate equipment, training and backup.”

“CSEA has no hesitation in saying that the proposal for a new public employee pension tier is an assault on the middle class and a cheap shot at public employees. It will provide no short-term savings and will mean people will have to work longer, pay more and gain less benefit. Simply put, the Tier VI provisions would be onerous on working people and undermine middle class security and the governor ought to be more concerned about that.”

“The governor’s proposal of a 401K style option as part of Tier VI would certainly be attractive to highly paid political appointees who could max out their contribution, have it matched by the public employer and take it with them as they come and go. It’s a lot different for front-line career employees who have to worry about whether being at the mercy of Wall Street ups and downs will provide them with adequate retirement security 30 years from now.”

NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi and Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta:

New York State United Teachers today welcomed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo honored his commitment to boost education funding, but said this would still leave students with less state support than they need.

NYSUT also said the governor’s plan to tie proposed school aid increases to agreements on a teacher and principal evaluation system, as well as competitive grants, is problematic and would create an uncertainty that districts cannot afford.

NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said that while the union “shares the governor’s frustration over delays in implementing the evaluation law and many of his points about the education bureaucracy at SED, we think there are better ways to achieve implementation rather than tying it to funding increases that benefit students.”

Iannuzzi pointed to frustration also shown by districts and local teachers unions that have been hampered by the State Education Department’s failure to develop a model to measure student growth; a working data system; and the Department’s appeal of a state Supreme Court’s ruling validating the existing law.

Iannuzzi added, “After the court decision, NYSUT gave the State Education Department a proposed settlement that meets the department’s needs, and would immediately jumpstart the process in many school districts. There has been no response. We welcome the governor’s leadership in helping to implement what he characterized as a ‘real teacher evaluation’ law by moving to settle the lawsuit, break the logjam and move implementation of the teacher evaluation law forward.”

NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta said the budget’s proposed Tier VI “would endanger the current workforce, as well as the pensions of retired public employees, by diverting or reducing contributions to state retirement funds.” He noted that, just two years ago, unions worked collaboratively to deliver $35 billion in savings to taxpayers by agreeing to a new Tier V. “Enough is enough,” Pallotta said. “Current and future public employees – just like all workers in the private sector – should have a measure of retirement security. This plan does the opposite.”

Pallotta said the proposed budget also falls far short of what SUNY, CUNY and community colleges need. He said funding increases for public hospitals, colleges and universities — the economic lifeblood of communities likes Syracuse, Oswego, Cortland, Oneonta and Plattsburgh – must be a budget priority. “We agree with the governor that the answer is jobs, jobs, jobs. Our question is: Why don’t we start with a greater investment in our public hospitals and higher education systems?” Pallotta said.

Pallotta pledged to work collaboratively with the governor and lawmakers to build on the positive elements in the proposed budget and to correct those that would shortchange students from pre-kindergarten all the way to the post-graduate level. “A new year brings a new opportunity for NYSUT and the Assembly, Senate and Governor’s Office to work together in a positive way to improve education and enhance learning opportunities for all our students,” he said.

PEF President Ken Brynien:

It is time for our state’s elected leaders to recognize that nothing gets done without workers: trained,
competent, professional workers. The governor’s proposed budget ignores the fact that state workers have done their
share to address the state’s fiscal problems.

Since 2008, the state’s workforce has been reduced by 16,000 jobs. The state pension plan was changed in 2010 to create
a new Tier 5 that will save state and local governments $35 billion over the next 30 years. In 2011, PEF agreed to a
labor contract that freezes pay, requires workers to pay more for health insurance and cuts salaries through furloughs.
This contract will save the state more than $230 million over the next four years.

The governor’s proposal calls for another new pension tier that will do little, if anything, to affect the 2012-13 state
budget. The Tier 6 proposal is nothing more than a false choice of accepting severely reduced pension benefits or joining
an inefficient 401k style pension system. It would force public employees into a pension gamble that virtually guarantees
a lower level of benefits. This proposal is similar to the misguided proposals for reforming Social Security proposed by
former President George W. Bush.

Our members earned their pensions, which are reasonable. The average state pension is $19,000 per year. The current
increases in pension costs don’t result from increased pension benefits. They were caused by the collapse of the stock
market.

Initiatives proposed in this budget will increase the privatization of key state services in agencies that serve youths and
people with disabilities. The governor has also proposed “reforms” to the Civil Service system that will make it easier to
appoint politically connected individuals by making who you know a more important factor in hiring than what you
know.

While the overall size of the state workforce remains relatively unchanged in the budget, many state agencies remain
severely short-staffed. This hinders the ability of agencies to perform their statutorily mandated mission which can only
lead to wasteful and costly contracting out of state services as agencies struggle to meet their statutory mandates. For
example the Department of Transportation has already lost 1,900 employees since 2000 including more than 900
engineers. They will lose another 91 employees this year including 62 engineers. During this time period DOT has
increased its spending on consultant engineers even though they cost between 50 percent to 75 percent more than state
employees. In the last year alone, DOT has increased its spending on consultant engineers by 22 percent.
We support a different approach to budgeting. Respect the professionalism of the state workforce and we can work
together to get the job done.

BALCONY Members Comment on Gov. Cuomo’s 2012 State of the State

PEF President Ken Brynien:

“We agree with many items in the governor’s State of the State speech, but there are other points with which we do not agree.”

“We take exception to the governor targeting public-sector pensions and his proposal for a new retirement tier. The ability to attract good workers will be important if the governor seeks to pursue his ambitious agenda. The governor’s proposal for a new pension tier is like eating your seed corn. It may help you get by now, but you will starve later.”

“The governor stated that now is not the time to be squandering resources, we couldn’t agree more. The best ways to achieve efficiencies would be to reduce the number of unaccountable public authorities by merging them into state agencies. In addition, we need to eliminate the multiple layers of political patronage appointments that currently exist in virtually all state agencies and authorities. Finally, we need to reduce the use of high cost consultants and contractors that do work public employees can do better and for less.”

“If this is what the governor means by re-imagining state government, this is a framework we can work within.”

UFT President Michael Mulgrew:

“A bipartisan state commission on education is a very promising idea. Rather than do what New York City now does, which is to set its educational policy by a political agenda, the commission could look at the research about what really works in schools. The commission could also shine on management inefficiencies, like the fact that the New York City Department of Education promised to use three-quarters of a billion dollars in state money to reduce class size — and then let class sizes go up every year.”

CSEA President Danny Donohue:

“Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented a challenging vision of New York’s future and CSEA fully expects to be actively engaged in discussion and debate with the administration over the details.

I am frankly surprised that the Governor gave such high priority to a new pension tier with emphasis on immediate impact. A Tier V was only recently enacted and will not provide the state and localities with any significant savings for many years. A Tier VI would be no different and would only mean that working people would have to work longer, pay more and benefit less – hardly in keeping with the Governor’s goal of strengthening the middle class.

Finally, it was disappointing that the Governor’s appropriate recognition of first responders to the recent series of natural disasters seemed to focus on the uniformed services without real appreciation for the wide range of front line state and local government employees who were essential in New York’s addressing the emergency. Many of these workers put duty first to respond while their families faced risk and devastation. So many of these workers are at risk from state and local cutbacks and property tax capping.”

NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi:

“As long-time advocates for our students, we would welcome the governor to work shoulder to shoulder with us in ensuring all children receive a quality public education. Teachers, in partnership with parents, have always been lobbyists for what children need. That historic advocacy has resulted in smaller class sizes, better technology, high standards for teacher effectiveness, anti-bullying legislation and hot lunches for children in poverty. Gov. Cuomo’s advocacy would be invaluable in jump-starting the current state bureaucracy, which certainly has been frustrating to teachers as we work to achieve meaningful change.

We applaud the governor for emphasizing the need to make sure no child goes hungry. As teachers we know that ending the achievement gap is a shared responsibility, and combating hunger is an important piece in making sure children are ready to learn.

Regarding the governor’s proposed commission, we don’t know enough about its mission or composition, so we don’t know whether to be anxious or excited, but we look forward to working with the commission to effect positive change.

We have a sound law for teacher evaluations in place, but we share the governor’s frustration when it comes to implementation. Teachers and administrators in local school districts are working hard to implement the evaluation law, but SED Commissioner King used intimidation tactics to derail what has been significant progress by dictatorially yanking much needed federal support from some of our struggling schools. We look to the governor to jump-start that progress once again in an inclusive approach.”

Montefiore Nurses Win New Contract, January Strike Averted

2,300 Bronx nurses make gains on staffing, wages, affordable health care

BRONX, Dec. 30, 2011 – The New York State Nurses Association has successfully negotiated a new, four-year contract with Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

The 2,300 professional registered nurses who work in the hospital made important advances in safer patient staffing, affordable health care, and fair wages, comparable to their colleagues at other New York City unionized hospitals. The nurses had given the hospital a strike notice for Jan. 10, 2012, because of their staffing concerns.

“Our members at Montefiore stood together to get a contract that’s good for our patients, our nurses and our families,” said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, president of the Montefiore’s Moses Division bargaining unit. “The nurses give their very best every day to patients, and deserve a contract that treats them and their work with dignity and respect.”

The contract will provide about 125 new RN positions, salary increases of 7.5 percent over four years, a $750 lump sum payment on ratification and affordable prescription benefits.

The strike notice for Tuesday, Jan. 10, has been withdrawn.

The nurses will vote on the proposed contract in January.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

New York State Unions File Federal Lawsuit Over Retiree Health Increase

Cuomo Administration unilateral action hits retired state employees hard

ALBANY — A coalition of CSEA, PEF, UUP, NYSCOPBA, NYSTPBA, NYSPIA, and
AFSCME Council 82, unions representing virtually all of New York State employees have filed
lawsuits in federal court challenging the Cuomo Administration’s unilateral increase in the
percentage of health insurance contributions required of state retirees.

The legal challenge applies to changes made by the administration this fall and covers state
employees who have retired and seen their share of health insurance premium increase beyond
the level at which they retired.

Retirees have long contributed 10 percent of individual coverage and 25 percent of family
coverage for their health insurance coverage in retirement based on the percentages included in
the state contracts when they retired.

The changes imposed by the Cuomo Administration increase the percentage of contribution 2
percent for both individual and family coverage. The changes have severe and unexpected
consequences on retired employees. The coalition of unions asserts that it is illegal for the state
to increase those rates for already retired members. The unions did not negotiate such increases.
Contrary to popular perception, most public employee retirees have contributed to their health
insurance and retirement costs over decades of service and receive only meager to modest
benefits. For example, individuals who retired prior to 1983 receive an average pension benefit
of $8,760. Those who retired between 1983 and 1990 have a retirement benefit of $13,786
annually.

Out of their fixed income, retirees must pay rising food, fuel, and gas prices along with all other
living costs. A retiree on fixed income covered under the Empire Plan would pay about $150
more annually for individual coverage and about $460 more for family coverage. Costs for other
health insurance options would vary according to the plan. Making matters worse, the Cuomo
Administration has indicated that it will unilaterally impose a 6 percent increase for retirees who
retire on or after Jan. 1, 2012, these changes will result in a 60 percent increase in contribution
costs for individual coverage and a 24 percent increase for dependent coverage.

All of the employee groups appealed to the Cuomo Administration not to impose this change on
retirees before its imposition. The state must now respond to the legal filing in the next month.
“CSEA is disturbed and disappointed that the Cuomo Administration can be so heartless about
imposing higher costs on people who have devoted their lives to the service of New Yorkers,”
said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “Nobody bargained for this and these increases will hit
retirees hard – it’s not right and they don’t deserve this treatment.”

“What the Cuomo Administration is trying to do is pull the rug out from under state retirees
many of whom planned their retirements based on when they felt they could afford to retire.
These decisions were based on a promise and expectation of what their health insurance costs
would be. Changing the rules after the fact is outright wrong,” said PEF President Ken Brynien.
“Our members selflessly work to protect New Yorkers in some of the most dangerous
environments in the state. They have earned these benefits, and they are entitled to the coverage
that the state agreed to when they retired,” said NYSCOPBA President Donn Rowe. “Not only is
this change unconstitutional, it’s just unfair. The Cuomo Administration should recognize its
legal obligations to its retirees and not shift its financial burdens on those least able to absorb the
hit.”

“The New York State Troopers PBA will continue to fight for the well-being of our retired
members. It is imperative that the active members of the PBA protect those members who came
before us and proudly wore the gray uniform while sacrificing so much in the name of public
safety,” said PBA President Thomas H. Mungeer.

Joseph Barrett, president of the New York State Police Investigators Association (NYSPIA),
stated: “It is unfortunate that, after risking their lives for the citizens of the State of New York
during their careers, that same State of New York now chooses to impose unprecedented health
care cost increases on its retired State Police members and the widows and widowers of its
deceased members. The State’s decision to force this cost increase on our retirees in these years
when they live on a fixed income is particularly disturbing”

“The hardworking public safety professionals of New York State are particularly outraged by the
Cuomo administration’s targeting of retirees,” said Council 82 Executive Director James Lyman.
“Council 82’s retirees are men and women who dedicated their lives to providing a safer New
York and deserve to be respected and honored for their service, rather than have the state turn its
back and break its promise to its retirees.”

Final Report on Mandate Relief

Originally posted on December 26, 2011 by Jimmy Vielkind

Jim Odato devoted his column this morning to the final report of the Mandate Relief Redesign Team, which issued its 70-page document, it seems, without all of the team members even knowing it was coming out.

Business and local government groups, in part bubbling through the regional economic development councils, will be making a major push on the subject this year. Lawmakers enacted a property tax cap last year without a corresponding mandate relief package, and it’s thought to be at the top of the list come January.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT