PAGE 2 | January 17, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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Oregon Democrats meet with public workers whose
retirement contributions they voted to cut
In the basement at Oregon AFL- accounts — and “redirected” the
CIO headquarters, Oregon’s savings to refill the underfunded
House Speaker Tina Kotek and Oregon’s Public Employee Re-
fellow Portland House Democ- tirement System (PERS).
rat Rob Nosse came face to face Kotek, who had told the Oregon
Jan. 10 with several dozen pub- AFL-CIO she wouldn’t cut pub-
lic workers whose retirement lic employee retirement bene-
savings they voted to cut last fits, had led passage of the leg-
year. It was a gloomy meeting islation together with Oregon
that left no one satisfied.
Senate President Peter Court-
Most in attendance were ney. Nosse, a union rep for the
members of IBEW Local 48, Oregon Nurses Association,
which organized the event, but voted for it, even though it re-
co-workers in AFSCME Local duced the compensation of
189, Laborers Local 483, and some of his union’s own mem-
Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 bers.
who work for the City of Port-
Under SB 1049, the diversion
land and Portland Public of funds will go on for 10 to 15
Schools were also in attendance. years, until PERS is restored to
Graham Trainor, president of 90% funding. More senior em-
the Oregon
ployees who are
AFL-CIO,
in the more gen-
opened the
erous PERS
“They seem to think
meeting.
Tiers 1 and 2
they have this solved. I
The public
are losing retire-
employee
ment savings
don’t think anybody left
union mem-
account
contri-
feeling all that reassured.”
bers came to
butions
equal
to
— IBEW Local 48 Union Rep
hear Kotek
2.5%
of
their
Kevin Jesequel
and Nosse ex-
salary. Less sen-
plain Senate
ior public em-
Bill 1049, which among other ployees who have the less gen-
things reduced contributions by erous defined benefit pension
public employers to public known as OPSRP (Oregon Pub-
workers’ individual retirement lic Service Retirement Plan),
will lose contributions equal
0.75%. Employees with annual
salaries under $30,000 are
spared from the cuts.
Kotek and Nosse told union
members SB 1049 was the least
bad solution to restore stability
to the retirement system, which
took a big hit in the 2008 finan-
cial market crash. If Republi-
cans had their way, they’d get
rid of public employee pensions
going forward, and offer just a
401(k) style retirement savings
plan, Kotek and Nosse said.
Since 1996, Oregon lawmak-
ers have repeatedly reduced
public employee retirement ben-
efits. Some of the cuts and
changes have been struck down
in the courts.
The cuts are part of a
decades-long nationwide trend
in both the public and private
sector toward less secure retire-
ments for workers.
“They seem to think they
have this solved,” Local 48 rep
Kevin Jesequel said of Kotek
and Nosse after the meeting. “I
don’t think anybody left feeling
all that reassured.”
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