CWA 1180 - News

Bloomberg seeks to slash retirement benefits

June 2006

The Chief Leader reported on June 16 that officials in the Bloomberg administration have given AFSCME District Council 37 a contract proposal that would sacrifice the "unborn," forcing civil servants hired in the future to work longer, contribute more to the pension system, and receive a smaller pension in retirement.

The plan would increase the retirement age for future hires to 62 from 57. It would require union members to work a minimum of 10 years (the current minimum is 5) before their pensions would vest. And it would require workers to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to the pension fund throughout their careers. Currently civil servants only make contributions during their first 10 years of employment.

Pension givebacks for future hires was one of the issues that triggered the Transport Workers strike last December. But DC 37 negotiators seemed prepared to consider the proposal. James Tucciarelli, president of Sewage Treatment Workers Local 1320 and head of the DC 37 negotiating committee on pensions told the Chief Leader, "The issues we would take a look at wouldn't be characterized as 'selling out the unborn.' We agreed to take a look in the subcommittee to see if something could be worked out that wasn't as draconian."

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