State employee pensions have become a topic of interest to the Hartford Courant in recent weeks. Three weeks ago the Hartford Courant printed a negative Editorial about our pension funding and followed that with a negative and misinformed Op-Ed piece by David Stemmerman (i think that is his name, not really sure, don't really care). Since then, the Courant has printed 2 pieces which counter the HC's position and defend the pensions and showcase a true understanding of state employee pensions.
Last week, Gov. Malloy's Op-Ed defending the pension system was printed by the Courant and then this week another piece from Mike O'Brien (former President of CSEA) had a piece published...below is Mike O'Brien's Op-Ed as printed in the Hartford Courant on 9/30/2018
Time To End Open Season On State Employees
It’s election season and the unfair, deceptive attacks on the rights of unionized public service workers are coming with more frequency, more intensity and ever-less-informed ideas. The notion, floated by some that the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition unions should re-open the 2017 pension agreement and allow the state to buy out our pension plans to get them off the state’s books overlooks a key fact: While pensions are negotiated between the state and SEBAC, once a person retires, that pension becomes the property of the individual, not the state, and not the unions. No one has the authority to take the pension that I and my fellow state retirees earned through decades of hard work serving the people of Connecticut. That pensions belong to individual retirees is a fundamental fact that has been reaffirmed by the state Supreme Court and one that critics ignore or don’t understand. Attacking the pensions of current retirees is not only unconstitutional, let’s call it for what it is: an immoral idea to steal property from retirees.
I spent 35 years doing environmental engineering work, helping to clean up the waters of our state while employed at the Department of Environmental Protection. I earned every cent of my pension through years of hard work and paid in every cent as required. Had the state paid its share every year, and not balanced budgets in years past by taking pension payment holidays, we would not be facing the problems we have today. My pension helps support me and my family. I spend my money in my community, and I’m far from alone. The pensions of retirees support millions of dollars in local economic activity. The idea that the state can cut off the legs of our economy (middle class families) and somehow achieve prosperity is utter nonsense from those who buy into the false argument that it’s more important to protect CEOs and billionaires than to respect the people who worked hard keeping our state running. A quick look at the economies of Kansas and Wisconsin is enough to know that these ideas don’t work. So rather than doing things that won’t help our state, how about considering revenue-generating and cost-saving proposals that don’t make working families and their communities poorer?
— What about the fact that our sales tax doesn’t tax online sales, putting our brick and mortar retail outlets at a disadvantage?
— What about the fact that as the state froze hiring of state employees, it started paying consultants to do the same work for more money?
— What about the state’s $2 billion in private sector contracts, the vast majority of which never underwent any form of competitive bidding process and get renewed year after year?
— What about closing our carried interest tax loophole that enables hedge fund managers earning millions to pay less in taxes than the rest of us?
State employees and retirees are your neighbors. We dedicated our careers to things like ensuring the safety of our water, bridges, and ensuring our most vulnerable citizens are cared for. Do state employees have pensions? Yes. Do we have health care we can rely upon for our families? Yes. Should we be attacking those things? No. Why do we have those things? Because through our unions we can speak with one voice for justice and fairness, and for the interests of our communities.
One thing that always impressed me about the union leaders I’ve worked with: They don’t look at good health care and a pension as an exclusive right of union members. We think all workers should have access to quality and affordable health care and retirement security at the end of their careers. In the private sector, pensions are disappearing. What does that mean for our future senior citizens? It means poverty and homelessness. Further undermining retirement security will harm the state’s economy in devastating ways. We should be figuring out how all citizens can have these fundamental protections so that after our careers are over we can afford to live, and that there will be consumers fueling our economy.
Mike O’Brien of Haddam retired from the Department of Environmental Protection and is a former president of the Connecticut State Employees Association. He is vice president of Council 400, CSEA’s union for retired state employees.
Last week's Op-Ed piece from Malloy