Opinion: Pension Reform is Best Done at Bargaining Table

Throughout California, there’s a buzz about pension “reform.”

Suddenly, police officers and firefighters are being scapegoated for the financial challenges facing some Central Valley communities even though the average public employee pension in California’s Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) is $26,000 per year, with more than half receiving less than $19,000 annually.

Along with that criticism comes an undercurrent that taxpayers should be offended by these benefits. For those of us who are willing to work weekends, work while our friends and family are home asleep, and who are willing to risk our own safety to protect a complete stranger or their property, the suggestion that there is something insidious about public servants being provided with a pension is simply offensive.

Fresno police officers are public employees whose pensions are simply deferred salary that is essential for public employers to recruit and retain qualified, trained and experienced public employees. Fresno police officers will receive multiple injuries throughout their career, and some have or will make the ultimate sacrifice of never returning home to their families.

During their service, Fresno police officers contribute salary every month toward their retirement and their health care costs. This is one of the many reasons why the city of Fresno’s retirement system is the No. 1 funded system in California, and is among the top 500 funded retirement systems in the nation.

Essential to the success of the Fresno City Retirement System is that it is managed by an independent body called a trust, and not by elected politicians. A solvent pension system reduces the strain on elderly aid programs in our community.

When the market crashed in 2008, middle-class Americans lost trillions in retirement savings. More than one-third of Americans in a recent Wells Fargo study said they will be forced to work until they are either too sick or die.

The recession can be blamed in part, but the real culprit here is Wall Street. They got us into the recession in the first place. Wall Street unveiled 401(k) plans that were attractive to private-sector employers, many of which eliminated their pension plans — leaving workers to fund their own retirement. Under these plans, employees are left to make their best guess as how to invest for their future.

It’s no surprise that Wall Street is behind the ballot measure being put forward by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, either for this year or 2016. It’s being bankrolled by a pair of hedge fund managers and John Arnold, a Texas billionaire who made his fortune with his own hedge fund.

Reed’s measure doesn’t just reduce benefits for new employees; it eliminates the vested retirement rights of all employees. It allows politicians to tear up contracts negotiated in good faith.

In a report released in late December, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated the Reed measure would cost our communities “billions” in the short run. It also would expose our cities and towns to expensive and extensive litigation. In Reed’s own city of San Jose, taxpayers are on the hook for $5 million to defend a voter-approved pension modification measure that has been been rejected by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.

What’s the solution?

In addition to Gov. Jerry Brown’s changes in pensions last year that are estimated to save $77 billion, more than 600 new agreements have been signed in nearly 400 cities and towns where public employees are paying more for their retirement.

That’s why it makes more sense to solve this issue at the bargaining table than at the ballot box. It’s time elected leaders commit to bargaining agreements with employees that offer long-term pension solutions, rather continuing wasteful spending on flawed quick-fix schemes.

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Jacky Parks is president of the Fresno Police Officers’ Association.