New York State AFL-CIO

Ken Brynien, President of PEF, Danny Donohue, President CSEA and Alan Lubin, Executive Vice President of NYSUT joined me in signing the following letter that was distributed to the Legislature:

On behalf of our respective organization and with regard to the dignity of all retired individuals in New York State, we are writing in strong support of S6457A/A9393A.
This bill creates a task force to issue a report to study the provision of health insurance for retired public employees. During the study phase of this report public employers would be prohibited from reducing the health insurance of their retirees unless a similar change is negotiated for current employees.

This bill is a common sense, reasonable approach to ensure that our state’s dedicated public servants live with dignity and financial security in their retirement. The bill does not force a higher level of benefits or increase costs but simply holds public employers to their promises. The bill allows enough flexibility to make appropriate health care changes if necessary.

It is an outrage that private and public sector employers criticize the intent of this bill and then blame high property taxes on public employee benefits. Many of these very employers encourage their employees to enroll in Medicaid, family health plus or child health plus, all of which force our property taxes higher. Would these employers prefer that public sector retirees enroll in these more expensive programs?

Our public employees and retirees pay property taxes like everyone else and it is shameful for these employer groups to attack their hard earned benefits. We are proud of our efforts to protect their benefits and we will not engage in policies and politics that attack those benefits.

Year after year we hear about private employers underfunding and misreporting their pension, health insurance and other employee benefits, leaving retirees, who live on fixed incomes with no other means of financial support, high and dry. Private sector employers should take the lead of the state and local governments in providing decent benefits for their workforce and retirees.

The race to the bottom mentality of attacking employee health care, pension and other rights has got to stop and this bill is an important step in that direction.

On behalf of our respective memberships, we strongly urge your support of S6457A/A9393A Farley.

Denis M. Hughes, President

Call to Action
NO LABOR LOBBYISTS MEETING ON
MONDAY MAY 26, 2008
(Memorial Day)

Next Meeting: Monday, June 2, 2008

Assemblyman Peter Abbate has been invited.

Issue of the WeekOn behalf of our affiliate, the City Employees Union Local 237, IBT we support the following:

S. 6037-A (Libous)/A. 1369-A (Brodsky)

This bill amends the business corporation law and the retirement and social security law to provide authority to large institutional investors, including New York State’s pension fund and the five pension funds in NYC, to bring actions for damages resulting from violations of the State's Martin Act. As a result of recent corporate wrongdoings, trustees of large institutional investors such as mutual funds or the State’s pension funds, have found themselves without remedy for damages and massive losses due to corporate violations of the State’s securities laws. Under current law, the State attorney general has broad powers to prevent fraudulent securities practices, yet large institutional investors have no right of action when the State’s securities laws are violated.

This bill expands provisions of §352-c of the general business law, used to deter fraudulent practices in the sale of securities and protect investors. Investors, under current federal law, may make damage claims in federal court under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, but no such avenue exits for state securities laws. By bringing action in State court, large institutional investors have an appropriate venue to bring damage claims against New York State corporations. The amended version of this bill incorporates the recommendations by and has full support of the Comptroller of the State of New York—the sole trustee of the State’s pension fund—and the Comptroller of the City of New York.

Keep An Eye OnTuesday, May 27, 2008
Pension Task Force Meeting—Taylor Law to Follow, 1:00 p.m., State Fed Headquarters, Albany.