7/12/11 SF City Workers-Retirees Press Conference To Oppose Anti-Labor Public Worker Initiatives
Press RELEASE
San Francisco City Workers, Retirees & Labor Organizations Launch Campaign Against Anti-Labor Pension Initiatives And Report On Ethics Charges Against Ed Lee's Human Resources Director Micki Callahan For Illegal Use Of City Resources In Campaign For Ballot Initiatives
Date: Tuesday July 12, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: San Francisco City Hall Steps-Polk St. Entrance
Organization: United Public Workers For Action, Coalition To Protect Pensions and Healthcare Benefits, SEIU 1021
What: Press Conference Against Both Anti-Labor Retiree Pension Initiatives
On Tuesday at 1:00 PM in front of SF City Hall there will be a press conference on why City Workers with organizations that are opposing both the Ed Lee Pension “reform” initiative as well as the Jeff Adachi initiative. The press conference is being called by Coalition To Protect Pensions and Healthcare Benefits, United Public Workers For Action (www.upwa.info) and SEIU 1021 West Bay Retiree’s Chapter.
Evidence will also be presented that shows that Mayor Ed Lee's Human Resources Director Micki Callahan has been violating San Francisco City rules and ethics guidelines by using San Francisco city resources to campaign for the Mayor's ballot initiative. She has been distributing a so called "Pension and Health Benefit Reform Fact Sheet" at community meetings pushing the anti-labor measure using San Francisco city funds and resources. This violates the charter of San Francisco, and the Coalition To Protect Pension and Healthcare Benefits is calling for an investigation, and her immediate removal from her position as Director of Human Resources. We also oppose and investigation by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who is also a candidate for mayor and supporter of the anti-labor public worker initiative.
For more information call Coalition To Protect Public Worker Pensions and Healthcare Benefits
(415) 867-0628.
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SEIU 1021 West Bay Retiree's Chapter Oppose SF Mayor/PEC & Adachi's Charter Amendments Which Attack on City Worker Pensions & Healthcare benefits
The SEIU 1021 West Bay Retiree's Chapter, a dues paying chapter, has voted to oppose both the Adachi and the Mayor's/PEC's charter amendments having to do with pension reform. This motion was passed after many meetings and much discussion.
Some of our reasons are that both amendments are demanding a funding mechanism that is geared toward saving the City a limited amount of money in terms of our supplemental COLA payouts but would negatively impact current retiree's pensions going forward, especially those retirees receiving pensions of $25,000 per year or under. For example there are currently approximately 4,500 current retirees receiving $20,000 or under who need the supplemental COLA to even survive as years go by.
The Mayor's/PEC's proposal creates a two tiered system for the newly hired that will eliminate the supplemental COLA as we know it - regressing it back to pre 2002 years where the COLA was given in a year where the investments reached a certain level and then that same amount taken off the gross the next year if the investments were below a certain level.
An important point for our chapter is that the Public Employee's Committee did not allow retirees from any group to attend sessions where our benefits were being discussed and used them as leverage in terms of the Labor/Mayoral amendment. We believe that this deliberate exclusion might even be illegal. It was certainly undemocratic and ageist.
Another important change in the Mayor's/PECs amendment is that it changes the Health Service System's Board's governance to favor the City. This is, on the surface, not a cost savings segment but is a power grab. The Health Service System Board sets the rates of our health plans in part, chooses the plans themselves and selects the Director of the Health Service System. There are also other changes in this amendment which would not play out to the benefit of the members themselves should the change in governance take place. One of these changes might result in ending City Plan I or decreasing the membership to the point that retiree's could not afford it.
As it stands now, the Health Service System Board is composed of four members who are elected by the members of the plan (us) and three who are appointed by the City. The amendment essentially changes the ratio to favor the City by removing one elected member and adding another City appointee - appointed by the Controller.
If you remember, when the Health Service System was under the governance of the City and County, it functioned badly. Members could not get through, were being sent checks meant for providers, the system lost a large amount of money which was never found and Dr.s' were quitting because they weren't being paid. This all changed when the governance was put in the hands of elected representatives and through them we could choose our own director.
KEEP THIS BOARD INDEPENDENT - CHANGING THE GOVERNANCE IS JUST A POWER GRAB BY THE CITY - THROWN INTO THE 251 PAGE OR MORE AMENDMENT IN HOPES THAT THE VOTERS WON'T UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THIS CHANGE.
In general, we believe that labor should have rejected this amendment which was supposed to be a step up from Adachi's. As it turns out many members are saying it is no better than Adachi's and parts of it are more anti-labor than Adachi's ie the two tiered COLA changes and the changes to the Health Service System Board.
Kay Walker
Per our chapter's vote
Delegate to the SEIU 1021 Retiree's Council
Former VP of the SEIU 1021 West Bay Chapter - Retirees