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Comment by Doreen McGrath on November 11, 2010 at 23:08

The state of Washington has a multi-tier thing going; those lucky to be in PERS 1 is similar to Seattle's program I think. Now they are at PERS 3??

Gordon, hope to see you tomorrow in Seattle at that event? Finally meet in person?!!

Comment by Gordon Glick on November 11, 2010 at 22:23

From experience, I can tell you that the Federal Government successfully instituted a two-tiered system in, appropriately enough, 1984. This made all of the hires after that date angry at the "old" retirement system people, because we have a defined benefit program. The newer employees have a stock-and-bond market-based retirement system, in which they are "free" to shift money around the various funds. No surprise, most were racking up huge balances until the market collapsed in 2008. Many lost a substantial portion of their "savings," and this should have been news. Good luck with your petition, and tell your Fellow Workers about what happened in the Federal system.
In Solidarity, G.

Comment by Doreen McGrath on November 11, 2010 at 21:39

Thanks Mary!

Comment by Mary Cronk Farrell on November 11, 2010 at 21:28

Good Luck, Doreen!

Comment by Doreen McGrath on November 11, 2010 at 21:20

Hi PNW UnionBookies,

Yesterday morning, this agenda item was discussed during the Seattle City Council Budget meeting:

14. Seattle City Employees' Retirement System
* Retirement Benefits Study
Tab 108-3-A-1
Green Sheet 108-3-A-1 (http://clerk.seattle.gov/~public/budgetdocs/ 2011/2011-108-3-A-1-145-desc.pdf)

If you go to the link, it says the council will authorize our Retirement System to spend $250,000 to fund a study that will:

"evaluate the future costs of the employee retirement benefit and to
design alternative plans for new hires that may be more affordable to employees and the taxpayers."

What? A two-tier retirement system? No way. We currently have a defined benefit system that is very good and it looks like the Council is looking to save money by gutting the benefit. Turn it into a 401K type or defined contribution plan.

So while the budget committee took a lunch break, a few of us from a workplace group, the Fight for Fairness Committee, drafted a petition during our lunch hour.

You can sign it here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/NoLowBen/petition.html

We'll send the first round of signatures to City Council on Friday morning and keep the petition up until they pass the budget on November 22.

Thanks and share with your friends.

Comment by Gordon Glick on November 10, 2010 at 4:59

Will: thanks for the link. The G&M is kind of a pain, so I'll drop them. Tyee is definitely more to my liking, but is a bit (to coin a phrase) provincial, but our region is the one to be in when things begin to fall apart. The Canadian system seems to give greater autonomy to the provinces than our States have, though they would of course, tell you different. Also, there are on or two alternative parties in Canadian politics that offer more choices. We are virtually locked down in a political duopoly, as it takes massive cash and many hoops of fire to jump through to just get on the ballot as a minor party. Anyway, I think it will all be moot in another decade or so, and we will have more regional government based on economic interest and cultural tolerance. I'm glad I ain't in Dixie or the Rust Belt. Be well and see you on the site.

Comment by Will Hartman on November 10, 2010 at 4:48

I don't have much use for the Globe and Mail these days,especially after they fired Rick Salutin.This ties in to my comment and your response about Olbermann and Maddow-at least you have them.the so-called mainstream media in Canada is,well,bland,corporate,and very,very right wing.Not even an Olbermann or a Maddow to offer a counterpoint.The tyee is an excellent source of news about BC and Canadian politics.Another good one is rabble.ca.as for FOX well,we told them where to go in no uncertain terms when they applied for a license for "Fox news north" earlier this year.Thousands of Canadians wrote and emailed the CRTC,the body that regulates broadcasting in Canada,and told them what Fox could do with their license application.

Comment by Gordon Glick on November 10, 2010 at 4:29

Olbermann and Maddow are corporate chimeras. They do a good job as foils for the obvious propaganda of FOX, but if push comes to shove, they will fold up like Dixie cups. Still, any movement away from fascism is good to me. I thought NDP was sort of Social Democratic. It's hard to even keep tabs on Canada through the US media. I get a newsletter from Globe and Mail, and a better one from the Tyee, but I'm still in the dark about who's who in Canadian politics.

Comment by Will Hartman on November 10, 2010 at 4:13

Yea I know Gordon.The Leadership of the NDP is seen by many as being too close to the "centre"- a view held by many party members and union activists.Indeed there is a move to replace the leader of the provincial NDP here in BC.She's seen by some as not having a vision for BC and for not being strong enough on labour and social issues.Same as what you're dealing with with Obama and the Democrats, i guess.BTW,glad to see Olbermann's back on the air.

Comment by Gordon Glick on November 10, 2010 at 4:05

Welcome Will. This is a diverse site. I'm a Wobbly, and know some other IWWs up in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Tell me about NDP. We in the IWW vary in our interest in electoral politics, but I still work with some progressives in the interest of defeating common enemies. Thanks for your input, and Solidarity.

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