Union Action Protects Retiree Benefits!

An SEIU-backed bill passed the Metro Council on its third and final reading thanks to the hard work of union activists and retired Metro employees.  BL2007-101, sponsored by Councilmen Parker Toler, Rip Ryman, and others sailed through the council without opposition.  The bill ensures that Metro employees who are entitled to health insurance benefits continue to receive them under a "defined benefit" plan, closing a 30-year old loophole in the city code.

The loophole was discovered during the debate last year over the new regulations from the federal Goverment Accounting Standards Board known as "Statement 45".  These regulations - which are causing problems for state and local governments across the country - would require governments to report their post-employment benefits as unfunded liabilities.  This new accounting gimmick allows anti-tax and privatization supporters to argue that cities and states are in "fiscal crisis" with massive debt, even though health insurance and pension benefits have always been funded on an annual, pay as you go basis.

"The war continues against GASB-45, but a key battle was won tonight by local legislators who know that retirees are entitled to the benefits they were promised," says Albert Burke, a retired Water Department employee and SEIU member who helped in the lobbying efforts to pass the bill.  "Who I really worry about are the current Metro employees and the new ones who haven't even been hired yet.  If they don't start organizing for this fight, retiree benefits might end up being a thing of the past".

Thanks to the legislators who sponsored and voted for the bill.  Also, our thanks to our allies with the local firefighters union, the Metro Retirees Association, and the Central Labor Council, and to the Metro Retiree chapter members who spoke out to their councilmembers on the issue.