by Ron DeLord | Sep 26, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Just how bad is Oregon’s public pension funding crisis? Bad enough that Rukaiyah Adams, the normally polished investment professional who is vice chair of the Oregon Investment Council, broke down in tears last week as she spoke of passing...
by Ron DeLord | Sep 20, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
After two years of negotiations with public safety unions, the Oxnard City Council this week approved new contracts that include pay increases but require employees to contribute toward their pensions. The contracts — already ratified by the Oxnard Peace Officers...
by Ron DeLord | Sep 20, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner followed through on his timeline to roll out a pension reform plan this fall with his Sept. 14 announcement of a $7.7 billion plan that will pay off the city’s debt in 30 years. To do that, significant benefit plan changes will...
by Ron DeLord | Sep 20, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
PHOENIX — A sharply divided Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that public employees can be paid public money for work for their unions. The court’s 3-2 decision said Phoenix’s negotiated labor agreement with a police union for paid “release time” doesn’t violate the...
by Ron DeLord | Sep 20, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
The shift from pensions to 401(k) plans is making retirement inequality much worse—and education is what separates the haves from the have-nots, a new study has found. College graduates have always been able to get better jobs. What’s new in recent decades is...
by Ron DeLord | Jul 23, 2016 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
Past and present Joplin firefighters and police officers testified Tuesday about changes in the city of Joplin’s Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund that resulted in a lawsuit. The one-day trial in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin involved a 2011...