California Professional Firefighters

Pension Initiative Pulled, But New Threats Loom

Battle for Retirement Security Moves from Ballot to Budget

First, the good news: A ballot measure that could have cut new employee retirement by as much as 50% and more will not be on the ballot this November.

The proposal, which would have imposed punitive new restrictions on retirement, health care and collective bargaining, was withdrawn after no deep pocket stepped forward to bankroll the signature gathering campaign.

The proposal was the latest in a series of attacks launched by an anti-firefighter, anti-employee organization that's been on the attack for the better part of the last decade. Their 2005 ballot proposal - also withdrawn during signature gathering - sparked widespread condemnation for shutting off defined benefit payments to the survivors of fallen firefighters and law enforcement.

"The backers of this ill-conceived proposal didn't learn the lessons of the 2005 campaign, but their benefactors clearly did," said CPF President Lou Paulson, "The withdrawal of this measure is a victory for firefighters and their families."

Now, the bad news: The battle for retirement security is far from over ... in fact, it's just beginning. Only this time, the venue isn't the ballot box - it's the budget process.

  • Local governments have made two-tiered pensions a focal point of local collective bargaining. Regional city manager organizations, with the encouragement of advocates such as the League of California Cities, have proposed "pension guidelines" that seek to impose a one-size-fits-all pension solution.
  • Candidates hostile to public employees - most notably former eBay CEO Meg Whitman - have proposed eliminating pensions entirely and replacing them with higher cost, higher risk retirement savings accounts.
  • Anti-employee, anti-union media outlets have explicitly (and inaccurately) targeted public safety retirement security as the biggest threat to long-term fiscal health for local and state government.

"We may not see retirement security on the ballot, but that doesn't mean the issue has disappeared," said Paulson. "You've earned your retirement security, but if we let down our guard now, they'll take it away."

What We're Doing

California Professional Firefighters continues to work collaboratively with other labor groups in the "ground war" against steep pension rollbacks. In addition to co-chairing labor's Californians for Health Care and Retirement Security (CHCRS), CPF has also produced an informational video on retirement security, available online at www.cpffirevision.org.

CPF has also provided local affiliate leadership with an array of public outreach tools and resources to fight back against the attacks. Participating in positive public outreach programs are the most effective counterbalance to the attacks on firefighters and public employees.

To keep current on the battle to protect your retirement security, look for Pension Updates at www.cpf.org, under "Find It Here."