Keep The Promise

There were no real surprises this morning as the Public Employees’ and Retirees’ Benefit Sustainability Commission voted in favor of recommendations to the General Assembly that would reduce educator benefits and shift pension costs to the local level. Be on the lookout for a more detailed analysis in the coming days.

The following statement was just released from AFSCME, AFSCME 67, AFT, SEIU, and MSEA.

Today’s Recommendations of the Public Employees’ and Retirees’ Benefit Sustainability Commission:
Joint Statement by Maryland Labor Organizations

AFSCME Maryland, AFSCME 67, AFT Maryland, the Maryland State Education Association, and SEIU Maryland are deeply disappointed in today’s recommendations by the Public Employees’ and Retirees’ Benefit Sustainability Commission, which would saddle hundreds of thousands of Maryland’s working families with the responsibility for covering up the shortcomings of Wall Street and the State’s broken funding promises. The Commission’s recommendations are frighteningly short-sighted and would be detrimental to the stability and quality of Maryland’s public schools and public services. The Commission’s recommendation to shift the cost of teacher pensions to local school systems in particular would have a devastating impact on local funding, resulting in layoffs, additional cuts in local services, critical dollars out of the classroom, and seriously jeopardizing our children’s education and future.

State workers keep us safe, maintain our roads, and provide quality services for children and families. Despite under-staffing, pay cuts, and furloughs, these dedicated employees work hard every day to provide the vital services that keep moving Maryland forward. Haphazardly slashing our already modest benefits will burden the State with massive recruitment and retention issues, as well as dooming many retirees to a future with insufficient retirement funds and healthcare coverage, creating additional long-term problems for state and local governments.

Despite the challenging fiscal climate, there are viable solutions worth investigating together that have not been adequately addressed by the Commission. We urge the General Assembly and the Governor not to make the same mistakes when they take up this issue in January.

Maryland’s public employees have kept their promise by increasing their contributions to the system and by providing outstanding public schools and services. We will work with the General Assembly and the Governor to ensure that elected officials keep their promise of a secure retirement for employees, exceptional public services for our citizens, and world-class public schools for our children.