The New York Post Cites NYSPEC Legislative Agenda

NY Post Highlights Governor's Attack on Comptroller DiNapoli

On Friday, February 17, the NY Post ran an article on Governor Cuomo blasting Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli: http://is.gd/hxYvgd

Our letter to the Editor follows:

February 17, 2012

To The Editor

New York Post
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-8790

To The Editor:

In your article, “Gov rips union man DiNap on Pensions” (New York Post, February 17, 2012), reporters Erik Kris and Carl Campanile miss several key points.

To begin, public employees have cautiously planned for the future for many years, foregoing the pay raises received by private employees to secure pensions and benefits that will protect their families.

It is an amazing and outrageous irony that anti-labor forces and their private-sector supporters are now using the economic crisis caused by greedy private entities as an excuse to strip the benefits earned by the very people who were thoughtful and conservative in their approach to financial planning.

Governor Cuomo, seemingly taking a page from the playbook of Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio, implies that the interests of public employees are opposed to those of New York State citizens and taxpayers. However, New York State’s pensions are actually well funded, and they are not suffering like those in other states.

The public employees of New York State are further confused by the governor’s attack. We have all dedicated our careers to the state, and many of us have put our lives on the line for the state. We thought we were citizens and taxpayers.

It seems that the governor is criticizing Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli simply for suggesting that the governor sit down and discuss his proposals with public employee unions.  Is that suggestion so outrageous? In Wisconsin it would be.

Sincerely,
Peter D. Meringolo
Chairman, NYSPEC

NY Post Targets NYSPEC Legislative Agenda:

The Post has targeted NYSPEC again.  This time, a reporter got a copy of the 2012 Legislative Agenda that was handed out at the recent Legislative Breakfast, and he put a warped and uninformed spin on the content in the newspaper's February 13 edition: http://is.gd/Kk79nO

A few thoughts:

1.  Variable Supplement Fund: The NY Post must be listening to Mayor Bloomberg again when they call the Variable Supplement Funds a “bonus.”  Of course, the newspaper neglected to say the VSF was negotiated, and the City received millions in return for making the VSF a defined benefit.

2.Tier Equity: It seems that the NY Post is a proponent of having 20 different tiers for City and State workers, with each new tier affording fewer benefits to the hard-working Public Employees who make our City and State safe and run efficiently.

3. Heart Bill: The Post calls this bill “controversial.” But the physical evidence clearly indicates that public employees of many different titles suffer heart disease at a higher rate than the general public due to the pressure and stress of their jobs.

4.Guarantee Health Benefits: The piece seems to state that NYSPEC is wrong to safeguard and protect the Health Benefits of all retirees.  How would the reporter feel if the NY Post should reduced the Health Benefits he receives for himself and his family.  What if he were to lose his Health Benefits when he retires?

5. Boosting Cost of Living: I guess a public employee who retired 15 to 20 years ago should still be able to live on the same amount, regardless of inflation.  It makes no sense.

6. Lower Retirement Age for certain pension benefits: The Post took this out of context. We were talking about the eligibility age of spouses of deceased retirees.

As to Maria Doulis, the pension analyst of the Citizens Budget Commission (a business-backed group), I say this: I suppose your group backed Governor Cuomo. The Public Employee Conference supports moving forward for our members, who deserve nothing less.  You are obviously a proponent of going backwards like the rest of the City and State administrators.  We will continue to preserve and protect the benefits Public Employees have earned through collective bargaining and through legislation.  We will continue to move forward while you and your group moves backwards.

We will stay tuned for more of the hype and rhetoric from papers like the Post.

Dr. Stephen M. Levin:

NYSPEC was saddened when Dr. Stephen M. Levin, who fought for 9/11 rescue workers, died recently.  Dr. Levin was a tremendous help to the 9/11 Task Force and worked tirelessly as an advocate of those who were injured, or who may become injured.  On February 13, The New York Times ran an obituary on Dr. Levin: http://is.gd/VzGbVu