Dennis Leone, August 16, 2009: Everything is NOT really "on the table"
Subject: Everything is NOT really "on the table"
1. The staff has refused to recommend --- and the board has refused to take action -- to require that STRS employees pay more for their health insurance which is provided by pension system funds.2. The staff has refused to recommend – and the board has refused to require – that STRS employees receive a base wage reduction. Yes, a few months ago the board finally and reluctantly took action (with split votes) to implement a wage freeze, to require a 40-hour work week (changing the long-standing 37 ½-hour work week), to suspend bonuses for the second half of fiscal year 2009, to eliminate bonuses completely in future years when STRS experiences a stock market loss, to require a minimum asset threshold of $65 billion for investment staff members to be eligible to achieve their bonus potential, and to remove certain staff positions (i.e. real estate attorney) from the bonus plan completely . It deserves noting that ALL of these were initially rejected by both the STRS staff and the STRS board majority when they were first recommend many months earlier. The staff and the board felt they knew better, and the changes that finally occurred only after much ugliness and blood on the sidewalk. But don’t talk about anyone getting a possible wage reduction. After all, the staff and OEA-dominated board majority continue to believe that STRS won’t be able to attract the “best and the brightest” at STRS if we reduce wages or if we fail to give bonuses to investment staff. Never mind that the average BASE compensation for the STRS investment staff in fiscal year 2009 was $156,000. Bonuses come into play on top of that, even though the STRS Board provides staff with spectacular fringe benefits and a wonderful pension plan (through PERS) which are not the norm in the private sector.3. The staff has refused to recommend – and the board has refused to implement – a true hiring freeze. Yes, the board has approved a “head count” freeze, but his is not the same as a hiring freeze. A “head count” freeze does not ensure savings. While I do not believe that the staff will be attempting to “beat the system,” it is a fact that two half-time employees can cost more than one full-time employee -- with the FTE “head count” remaining constant. The STRS executive director has pledged to reduce staff, but the board has rejected the notion that formal action is needed to require it. I made such a motion and it failed. Everything seems to be built on trust, even though the staff and board members personally and collectively violated this trust in past years by wasting pension system money in many, many different ways.4. The staff has refused to recommend – and the board has refused to require – that STRS employees have an unpaid furlough of any kind. Bowling Green State University announced on August 14 that 500 employees there will be receiving an unpaid furlough during the 2009-10 academic year. Many state offices in Columbus are currently doing the same. Not at STRS however. In fact, there even are employees at STRS who still receive additional compensation yearly with “service awards” as well as annual cash reimbursements for unused sick leave.5. The board flat-out rejected a motion I made a few months ago to place a moratorium on board member out-of-state travel. In other words, it is okay to reduce things for the membership, but not for the board members themselves. This will cause happiness for board member Tim Myers, who spent thousands and thousands of dollars on out-of-state travel “for training” during fiscal year 2009. Myers is the reincarnation of Jack Chapman on the STRS Board. Myers also publicly stated that the board “broke a promise” when bonus checks were suspended for the investment staff in January (Myers voted no), even though the STRS employees do not have individual contracts, and even though said employees were told very clearly a year in advance, in writing, that the board could suspend or modify the bonus plan at any time for any reason. At the June board meeting, Myers even made a motion (which failed 5-4) to stop me from discussing the bonus question for fiscal year 2009. This provides a snapshot for what STRS is facing in the future with the OEA-dominated board.
STRS Retiree Board Member
August 16, 2009
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