Pensions, Lies, Together With Videotape: An Employee's Direct To Uc's Propaganda
Monday, May 2, 2022
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I write this post service amongst non bad urgency. The University of California is virtually to determine on a path that volition determine its future, too if the university's employees don't wake upwards too create some math, in that place may hold upwards no turning back. The basic truth is that the UC direction is misinforming its employees inwards lodge to larn them to bring a reduction of pay too benefits; soundless to sympathise how the academy is misleading its workers, i must commencement encompass how the organisation is financed.
In its endeavor to convince employees that they should either take away a permanent 7% pay reduction or regard their retirement benefits hold upwards reduced yesteryear to a greater extent than or less 50%, the UC direction is exactly misrepresenting the next issues: 1) why a high degree of contributions is currently needed; 2) how the UC has historically funded retirement; 3) what are the most effective ways of dealing amongst the problem; too 4) how the work volition touching on the hereafter of the university. To reply to these issues, nosotros tin give the axe exactly move out to the videotape too await at the recent Post-Employment Benefits Town Hall (click just 1% of its funding during the concluding ii years, the direction imposed layoffs, furloughs, departmental reductions, too a major reduction of spending on instruction. Imagine what volition take away house when the UC has to lay 20% of its budget into the pension program.
This frightening scenario doesn't take away hold to move out reality. The UC does non take away hold to cut back its budget, too nosotros tin give the axe strength the regents to create the correct thing, but commencement nosotros must counter several misrepresentations, including how the UC actually spends its money.
In damage of pension contributions, nosotros squall for to retrieve that solely a 3rd of the employer costs comes from the heart too mortal budget, too the academy itself argues that the dry reason is obligated to pay that part. Since solely i 3rd of the UC employees covered yesteryear UCRP are dry reason funded, the other ii thirds of the employer contributions should hold upwards paid yesteryear the medical centers, external enquiry grants, too other services. This agency that fifty-fifty if the employer had to contribute 20% of covered compensation to the plan, it would solely actually hold upwards less than 7% out of the full general budget, too if the dry reason paid its share, nosotros would lose zilch from our heart too mortal budget.
It is also essential to squall for out that the direction misrepresented the facts during its Town Hall when Duaine Duckett argued that the UC would attempt out to maintain the historical contribution dissever of the employer paying twice every bit much every bit the employee. In fact, during the concluding decade of contributions (the 1980s), the employer contributed an redistributes wealth to the top, too if employees think that it is solely the novel employees who volition hold upwards screwed, delight think again. In lodge to motivate people to opt into the innovation inwards 2013, the academy plans to growth the employee contributions to at to the lowest degree 7%, piece the novel innovation volition offering a cheaper create goodness for a lower contribution level. It is thus untrue when academy officials insist that the novel changes volition non touching on electrical current employees. Furthermore, yesteryear creating novel plans, you lot describe people out of the electrical current system, when what nosotros squall for is to a greater extent than people paying into the mutual fund.
According to the university’s ain account, the novel tiers volition non cut back the unfunded liability for the side yesteryear side xx years, too the innovation volition solely move out fully funded inwards 30 years. Their suggested solutions are non solely morally unfair, but they create non brand financial sense. In i of the typical academy misrepresentations, Brostrom exactly says “When nosotros await at the side yesteryear side 30 to forty years, nosotros take away hold likewise few assets.” The existent truth is that no i tin give the axe predict what volition take away house amongst the financial markets inwards 30 years, too thus nosotros must take away hold a organisation where nosotros move out on to monitor our investments so that nosotros tin give the axe readjust our contribution levels. Of course, nosotros also take away hold to brand certain nosotros are making the best investment decisions, too this is why the unions take away hold argued for shared governance over the pension plan.
In response to the hymeneals coalition’s asking for employee representation on the pension investment board, President Yudof wrote that it is unnecessary because the UC has been outperforming its competitors yesteryear averaging an 8.9% charge per unit of measurement of provide during the concluding xx years. However, Charles Schwartz has shown that the UC has been underperforming since 2000 when it started to outsource the direction of many of its investments. While it may non hold upwards a prevarication to proclaim that the UC has outperformed its “benchmarks,” the query remains concerning the value of the benchmarks UC continues to role for comparison. Moreover, piece many large investment funds lost 30% of their value during the global financial meltdown, most of these funds used the same questionable exercise of moving funds into high-risks assets. What nosotros squall for for the academy to create is to at to the lowest degree admit that their investment policies may take away hold contributed to the under-funding condition of the pension innovation because without this acknowledgment, it volition hold upwards impossible to brand meliorate decisions inwards the future.
One possible hope from the PEB Town Hall is that the academy promises to psyche to the faculty senates, too so it is necessary for faculty to brand their voices heard on their local campuses. Faculty take away hold to clearly refuse the novel proposed plans, too they take away hold to force for a to a greater extent than equitable too effective funding policy. Unfortunately, things are moving fast, too the direction plans to hash out the novel changes at the side yesteryear side regents coming together inwards Nov too and then perchance vote on them inwards December. If staff, faculty, too unions function together to deal for a meliorate plan, nosotros tin give the axe contrary the administration’s intended changes.
In its endeavor to convince employees that they should either take away a permanent 7% pay reduction or regard their retirement benefits hold upwards reduced yesteryear to a greater extent than or less 50%, the UC direction is exactly misrepresenting the next issues: 1) why a high degree of contributions is currently needed; 2) how the UC has historically funded retirement; 3) what are the most effective ways of dealing amongst the problem; too 4) how the work volition touching on the hereafter of the university. To reply to these issues, nosotros tin give the axe exactly move out to the videotape too await at the recent Post-Employment Benefits Town Hall (click just 1% of its funding during the concluding ii years, the direction imposed layoffs, furloughs, departmental reductions, too a major reduction of spending on instruction. Imagine what volition take away house when the UC has to lay 20% of its budget into the pension program.
This frightening scenario doesn't take away hold to move out reality. The UC does non take away hold to cut back its budget, too nosotros tin give the axe strength the regents to create the correct thing, but commencement nosotros must counter several misrepresentations, including how the UC actually spends its money.
In damage of pension contributions, nosotros squall for to retrieve that solely a 3rd of the employer costs comes from the heart too mortal budget, too the academy itself argues that the dry reason is obligated to pay that part. Since solely i 3rd of the UC employees covered yesteryear UCRP are dry reason funded, the other ii thirds of the employer contributions should hold upwards paid yesteryear the medical centers, external enquiry grants, too other services. This agency that fifty-fifty if the employer had to contribute 20% of covered compensation to the plan, it would solely actually hold upwards less than 7% out of the full general budget, too if the dry reason paid its share, nosotros would lose zilch from our heart too mortal budget.
It is also essential to squall for out that the direction misrepresented the facts during its Town Hall when Duaine Duckett argued that the UC would attempt out to maintain the historical contribution dissever of the employer paying twice every bit much every bit the employee. In fact, during the concluding decade of contributions (the 1980s), the employer contributed an redistributes wealth to the top, too if employees think that it is solely the novel employees who volition hold upwards screwed, delight think again. In lodge to motivate people to opt into the innovation inwards 2013, the academy plans to growth the employee contributions to at to the lowest degree 7%, piece the novel innovation volition offering a cheaper create goodness for a lower contribution level. It is thus untrue when academy officials insist that the novel changes volition non touching on electrical current employees. Furthermore, yesteryear creating novel plans, you lot describe people out of the electrical current system, when what nosotros squall for is to a greater extent than people paying into the mutual fund.
According to the university’s ain account, the novel tiers volition non cut back the unfunded liability for the side yesteryear side xx years, too the innovation volition solely move out fully funded inwards 30 years. Their suggested solutions are non solely morally unfair, but they create non brand financial sense. In i of the typical academy misrepresentations, Brostrom exactly says “When nosotros await at the side yesteryear side 30 to forty years, nosotros take away hold likewise few assets.” The existent truth is that no i tin give the axe predict what volition take away house amongst the financial markets inwards 30 years, too thus nosotros must take away hold a organisation where nosotros move out on to monitor our investments so that nosotros tin give the axe readjust our contribution levels. Of course, nosotros also take away hold to brand certain nosotros are making the best investment decisions, too this is why the unions take away hold argued for shared governance over the pension plan.
In response to the hymeneals coalition’s asking for employee representation on the pension investment board, President Yudof wrote that it is unnecessary because the UC has been outperforming its competitors yesteryear averaging an 8.9% charge per unit of measurement of provide during the concluding xx years. However, Charles Schwartz has shown that the UC has been underperforming since 2000 when it started to outsource the direction of many of its investments. While it may non hold upwards a prevarication to proclaim that the UC has outperformed its “benchmarks,” the query remains concerning the value of the benchmarks UC continues to role for comparison. Moreover, piece many large investment funds lost 30% of their value during the global financial meltdown, most of these funds used the same questionable exercise of moving funds into high-risks assets. What nosotros squall for for the academy to create is to at to the lowest degree admit that their investment policies may take away hold contributed to the under-funding condition of the pension innovation because without this acknowledgment, it volition hold upwards impossible to brand meliorate decisions inwards the future.
One possible hope from the PEB Town Hall is that the academy promises to psyche to the faculty senates, too so it is necessary for faculty to brand their voices heard on their local campuses. Faculty take away hold to clearly refuse the novel proposed plans, too they take away hold to force for a to a greater extent than equitable too effective funding policy. Unfortunately, things are moving fast, too the direction plans to hash out the novel changes at the side yesteryear side regents coming together inwards Nov too and then perchance vote on them inwards December. If staff, faculty, too unions function together to deal for a meliorate plan, nosotros tin give the axe contrary the administration’s intended changes.