If you thought state workers were hit
hard last session, think again:

Potentially the next Senate Majority Leader - Michael Roberson (State Senator - Las Vegas) said, "You will see a reform agenda, education, collective bargaining, and PERS, (the Public Employee Retirement System) reform. There is something wrong when public employees are making 30% more than the market can bear." - REVIEW JOURNAL

Can you stand to take any more cuts than you already have?
2012 may be the most important election year ever. We need to stand up and fight back! To get involved, attend our important kick-off event:

2012 STATE WORKER TOWN HALL

We will discuss issues affecting all state workers and our political goals for 2012. Bring your concerns, issues and ideas.

Snacks and refreshments provided.

The continued horrible economy, claims by some that public service workers’ “rich” pensions are draining budget coffers and other challenges have led many politicians to try radically changing public employee pension systems. Lawmakers’ proposals would gut the retirement security of tens of thousands of workers, most of whom will put that money right back into the economy by spending in our state after they retire. The gap between what Americans have saved and what they will need in retirement, rather than the modest cost of public service workers pensions, is the real crisis. It’s time the nation gets serious about ensuring America’s retirement security.

Public employee pensions are a modest, but irreplaceable source of security for public employees to which they generally contribute substantially.

• Employee contributions and investment returns fund the overwhelming majority of the cost of pensions. Taxpayers shouldered only 14.3 percent of all pension funding in the 11-year period ending in 2007.
   
• The average AFSCME member earns less than $45,000 per year and receives a pension of approximately $19,000 per year after a career of public service.
   
• Public service workers often are not covered by Social Security, so their employer (state or local government) does not pay into Social Security as other employers do. Since the worker does not qualify for Social Security benefits, his/her pension is the only source of retirement security.
   
• While politicians who run state and local governments have often failed to faithfully contribute to their employees’ plans, public workers have contributed year in and year out.

Pension benefits are not the cause of unfunded pension liabilities which are making the headlines.

• The deep financial downturn of 2008 and 2009, spurred by recklessness on Wall Street, caused significant problems in many pension funds. Until the recent market crash, public pensions were well funded and not a problem – they had on average 86 percent of the assets they needed to pay for accrued benefits (anything over 80 percent is considered healthy).
   
• Pension funds are not at imminent risk of default, and they have years to recover investment loses. The history of public pension fund management demonstrates that pensions have not been a long-term burden to governments.
   
• Where the problems with pension funds are substantial, the cause is the failure of employers to consistently fund pension plans and recent investment losses. In the past, too many politicians ignored pension contributions in favor of wasteful programs or special-interest tax breaks.
   
• In any case, unfunded liabilities do not disappear if pension benefits are cut or the pension fund is closed. The pension liability debt remains.

State and local government pensions are, for the most part, well-managed and are not the source of budget problems for most states and local governments.

• In 2008, state and local government pension expenses amounted to just 3.8 percent of all (non-capital) spending.
   
• There has been considerable distortion of the size of the unfunded liabilities of public pension funds. The aggregate number is not very relevant because all pension funding is local or state-based, not national. Nevertheless, the aggregate number, which most impartial observers set at $500 billion to $1 trillion, while seeming large, is not particularly onerous when the following facts are considered:
   
• The unfunded pension liabilities may be paid during a period of 30 years under generally accepted accounting.
   
• During this 30-year period, state and local government revenues will be approximately $40 to $50 trillion, so the unfunded liabilities are approximately 2 percent of governmental revenues during the payback period.
   
• Because of the recession, a substantial majority of state and local governments have lost between 10 percent and 20 percent of their revenues during the past two to three years. As revenues recover, governments will be able to set aside appropriate money to cover their pension obligations.

To the extent loopholes in plan benefit formulas allow for unjust enrichment such as “spiking” of final salary to gain a higher annuity, those loopholes should be closed.

• AFSCME has worked to end spiking, double-dipping and other unjust gains from the pension system wherever the problems have emerged.
   
• While stories of abuse make headlines, they are extremely rare, and closing loopholes will not resolve the pension funding challenges.

Defined benefit pension plans make sense in the public sector where jobs in public safety, education, social services and public management are unique to that sector.

• Pension plans are actually less expensive for the taxpayer, for long-term employees, than 401(k)-style plans. Pension plans can deliver the same retirement benefit as a 401(k)-style plan for 46 percent less cost – a huge savings for taxpayers.
   
• The reason costs are increasing for public pension plans is because employers are now paying for past service that the employer did not properly fund.
   
• Pensions are a key tool for recruiting and retaining quality public service workers.

The economic crisis has wiped out the retirement security of millions of Americans in all walks of life.

• Pension funds, unlike 401(k) plans, may be rebuilt over a period of decades because they cover a wide range of employees in terms of age and years of service.
   
• Depending on the age of a worker in a 401(k) plan, they may have only a few years in which to address their retirement savings deficit.

Pensions are engines of economic growth and help maintain economic stability and curtail poverty.

• A national economic impact study finds that the benefits provided by state and local government pension plans have a significant economic impact: 2.5 million American jobs and $358 billion in economic activity each year.

Our nation faces enormous fiscal challenges. But these challenges are manageable if our political leaders and the public understand both the source of the problem and the implications of proposed solutions. It’s time to start having a serious conversation about retirement security for all Americans.

AFSCME-FactSheet_Pensions.pdf

AFSCME Local 4041 members now have the opportunity to enroll in two insurance plans offered by our Union’s carrier, AFLAC, from February 21st through March 2nd, 2012 for an April 1st, 2012 effective date. You will also receive a discount prescription card for being an AFSCME Local 4041 member. You must be an active AFSCME 4041 member at the time of application to enroll. If you are not a member, now is the time join to get the following benefits.

What is the discount prescription card and who gets one?

Every AFSCME Local 4041 member will be entitled to get an AFSCME Local 4041 discount prescription card when you meet with one of the Benefits Counselors during the enrollment period. Take this prescription card with you to any pharmacy and be eligible for additional discounts off prescriptions. Members have saved up to hundreds of dollars throughout the year from using these discount prescription cards.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole Life Insurance can help give you the insurance protection you need, while also giving you the financial flexibility you want. This policy is designed to provide a death benefit to your beneficiaries if you pass away, in addition to an available cash-value living benefit.

Plan Features:

Critical Illness Insurance

Critical Illness Insurance is designed to protect your income and personal assets if your out-of-pocket expenses increase as a result of a covered illness. Health insurance is not always enough to cover all of the unforeseen expenses associated with a serious medical condition. Critical Illness insurance pays a lump-sum cash benefit directly to you that can be used any way you choose, and benefits are paid in addition to any other insurance coverage you may have.

Coverage for:

Plan Features:

Local_4041_Insurance_Benefits.pdf

It was a year unlike any other for AFSCME and our members like you who are on the frontlines of the fight for a strong middle class and public services.

Take a moment to watch our year-end video and celebrate how we all fought back against attacks on working families in 2011.

The struggle will continue next year, but we’ve shown what we can do when we raise our voices together.

full article at : http://action.afscme.org/c/51/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6188

On the 75^th anniversary of the American Federation of State, County, Municipal and County Employees (AFSCME), and as one of the Friends of Labor, I, Steve Weiner, want to say how grateful I am to my union. Because of the justice AFSCME has brought to many American workers, I had a job as a Computer Specialist for many years at the NYC Department of Education that had dignity and was well paid.

Beginning in the 1930s, there were many courageous people who fought to get government workers decent working hours, health care, and pensions–something every worker in the private and public sector deserve. I thank these men and women very much.  You can learn more about them and the history of AFSCME; click here.

full article : http://unionsmatter.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/congratulations-to-afscme-on-its-75th-anniversary/