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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

SEPTA: We didn't mess up the pension fund

Transit union president Willie Brown said in a morning press conference that SEPTA’s chronic underfunding of employee pensions has forced his union to the picket lines.

SEPTA general manager Joe Casey begs to differ.

At his own press conference this afternoon, Casey blamed employee pension problems on the stock market. In 2005, before the crash, pensions were 65 percent funded.

“The stock market crashed,” he said, bringing funding down to 52 percent.

Though Casey admitted that 52 percent was a low funding level, it is comparable to the state of other public sector unions’ pensions, he said. The pension fund for Philadelphia city employees is also about 52 percent funded.

Casey called union criticism of the pension fund’s management (which includes investment decisions) disingenuous, because the fund is overseen by a board including two representatives from Transport Workers Union Local 234. The board is responsible for overseeing the fund’s investments in securities.

He also said that union demands could put the pension fund in worse financial shape. SEPTA has offered to increase payouts from the pension fund to union members from 5 percent to 11 percent. But, he said, making these payments would lower the funding level to 40 percent or less, because the extra money would come out of the existing pot.

Casey also disagreed with the union's assertion that an 11-percent raise in wages over five years, which SEPTA says it has offered, would be offset by increased worker contributions to the pension fund (Brown said in his press conference that this offer had never been made).

SEPTA workers currently pay 2 percent of their wages before overtime into the pension. Under SEPTA’s offer, that amount would increase by 1 percentage point in three years, and by another half a percentage point in four years. Casey said the proposed pay increases would more than cover the increased pension contributions by workers.

Casey is expecting a call from the governor this afternoon, but no word yet on when talks will resume.

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Anthony Campisi @ 4:53 PM  Permalink | 12 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:46 PM, 11/04/2009
    actually, i heard willie brown stole everyone's pension then set the fire to the R5 train. at least that's the word on the street.
    — BleedingRed
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:57 PM, 11/04/2009
    Fire them all and see how useful they are outside of the TWU bubble.
    — dr.anonymous,md
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:00 PM, 11/04/2009
    Casey is lying so much his nose is growing.
    — union guy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:00 PM, 11/04/2009
    Casey is lying so much his nose is growing.
    — union guy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:02 PM, 11/04/2009
    fire them all
    — dreinterests
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:20 PM, 11/04/2009
    Hey Union Guy, maybe you should check the comments from the readers of the other articles to see how the general public feels. You've been brainwashed and fed lies by your own "representation". Typical union extortion. Fire them all.
    — sameol
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:45 PM, 11/04/2009
    fire them all... That is 'Fire' as in terminate and not 'Fire' as in setting something ablaze....
    — Conshy04
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:32 PM, 11/04/2009
    Please, does anyone believe these union lies?
    — iamsue
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:01 AM, 11/05/2009
    Op#1) Use CURRENT pay scales and charts and index from there. 3% each year means the EXACT same $ each year, not 3% of the increased wage. @ 52K now, that equal $1560 each of the next raise cycles, not 1560/1607/1655/1705. It still equals an 11% raise. The difference to be paid to pension fund. Op#2) Fire ALL, go to unemployment files, screen out all fired SEPTA, pulse, valid D/L, train and hire. BUST the UNION
    — Deskpilot
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:27 AM, 11/05/2009
    How do SEPTA's TWU wages and benefits compare with other transit workers in US? In Canada? In EU?
    — MB6
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:38 AM, 11/08/2009
    People that purchased tranpasses should be refunded.
    — janice1003


12 comments
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