[Poncherello]

Unfortunately, it seems TX law prohibits that. We taxpayers will have to come up with it one way or the other.

Civil service workers were always underpaid but had job security. When the market is flying high no one says boo about retirement payments because most municipalities rake in millions of dollars by skimming from the pension funds. Now that times are tough these same municipalities are the first to complain. The truth is, these muncipalities negotiated these deals because in the long run it works out finacially for them.

What we must do immediately is change the rules for future employees.

I have no issues with negotiating new pension tiers.

Why should these people retire at 50? I realize it's a tough job, but, in any other job if you tried to retire at 50, your benefits would be minimal.

I have to be honest with you, if I ever have to call the police I don't want a 57 year old man rolling out of the car to protect me. Let them retire and hire younger people who get paid less and can do a better job physically.


These lump sum payments are usually the result of unused sick time which is a pretty standard practice across most employment fields. I think we should be thankful that these people were able to stay healthy during their careers in order to protect us.

 

[Poncherello]

And that is the crux of the problem.

Re-negotiate the contracts. Happens in the business world and with several unions everyday.

I never said they should re-negotiate the contracts. Both sides must honor the contracts they both negotiated on in good faith. Negotiating new pension tiers means that future hirees will be under different pension rules than current workers. You just can't go around saying we should throw out this contract because it doesn't work for us now. When the current contract expires then a new one is negotiated and they can ask for whatever they want in givebacks. Government contracts don't last that much more than 3-5 years any way. Just like many defend Obama by saying he can't change things over night with the economy you can't change government contracts overnight either.

 

[Poncherello]

Time to eliminate public unions who soak the taxpayers..

Many places have elimnated public unions.... those so called right to work states. The government still negotiates a contract and must adhere to it. I'm no big fan of unions but let's not pretend that government unions are the 100% fault here. Government has long been skimming those pension funds to balance budgets during fiscally prosperous times with out ever thinking about how they'll make ends meet in less prosperous times.

 

[Poncherello]

I agree about not wanting cops too old to do their job. My point was that that job requirement is no excuse for mega-retirement benefits in early 50's. As for the lump sum, the article says that the last few years they work, they can start drawing retirement benefits and plow them back into a bigger retirement fund --- while working! Who passed this stuff? They also now get to base retirement pay on their highest earning years --- including overtime! They can pile a bunch of overtime in their last couple of years on the job and increase their lifetime benefit by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Someone has to pay for this for 30 years or more for every retiree. Not one cent of it goes to current public safety. As the public becomes aware of this and other public employee mega-retirement benefits, there will be a huge battle between public employees and all others. Those public employees - including teachers - obviously think they deserve their benefits, but as individuals, they aren't thinking about the cumulative cost of this largesse. Mark my words, you will hear much more about this in the next five years after cities, states and the feds have to face these unfundable benefits and taxpayers balk at paying more.

Which is exactly why new pension tiers need to be negotiated. Don't blame union members for the benefits they receive when the local government negotiated them and agreed to them in good faith. Those ocntracts are made public, every member of the community has access to it and no one ever complains until they see an article in the paper. Again, I'm no big fan of unions but don't put the blame squarely on them here.

 

[Poncherello]

My problen with unions is their general utter unwillingness to negotiate lower benefits for future employees.

I wouldn't totally agree with that statement. Here is one article I found after 2 minutes of looking. I also seem to remember some years back New York City negotiated with their police and fire departments to lower starting pay to $25K with reduced vacation for a number of years.

PALISADES PARK — The borough and police union agreed Wednesday to a new contract with a 6 percent salary increase over five years.

In exchange for what both sides said is a modest pay raise, officers will get a few perquisites. Those include two extra personal days and an agreement to fold officers’ annual clothing allowances and holiday pay into base salaries, effectively boosting their state pensions.

“The cops understood the economic conditions, and they worked with us,” said borough Administrator David Lorenzo, who negotiated for the borough. “The taxpayers should be happy.”

A majority of the 29-member police union voted to approve the terms of the contract, which will run from 2011 to 2015, said Patrolman Rory Tennant, the head of the collective bargaining unit. The Borough Council still has to formally approve the contract, Lorenzo said.

The average senior patrolman in the borough currently makes about $101,000 after six years, Lorenzo said.
Under the new contract, annual percentage pay raises over the next five years will be: 0, 0, 1, 2, and 3. Lorenzo said that matches the salary increases in four other union contracts the borough has agreed to in the last month.

The starting salary under the new police contract was reduced from $41,472 to $27,472. The new contract also improves the benefits of the 17 officers hired after 1995, who got fewer vacation days and less longevity pay than their previously-hired counterparts under the old contract.

Now, all officers will get 24 vacation days after their 20th year of service and will get a maximum longevity pay increase of 12 percent — not just those hired before 1995. Personal days also increased from two to four.