Aetna to be New Prescription Drug Service Provider

President Gregory Floyd is pleased to announce the change to a new Prescription Benefit Manager to administer the Welfare Fund’s prescription drug benefit. Effective July 1, 2012, Aetna will be the new Prescription Benefit Manager. The Board of Trustees went through a thorough process to select the best vendor to meet the needs of the Teamsters Local 237 Welfare Fund.  Aetna has been in the insurance business for over 150 years adhering to their values of putting the members they service at the center of their business.   We are looking forward to our new partnership with Aetna.  You will receive a new ID card and additional details in the mail in the coming weeks.

Summary of Prescription Benefits

Public Pension Facts

Public Employees are not to blame for the state and local budget crises that are being used in the effort to gut their pensions — Wall Street is.
The financial and economic crisis generated by speculation on Wall Street is the reason state and local governments are in crisis, not public employee pensions.  Balancing those budgets on the backs of public employees by gutting their pensions is wrong headed and will only lead to a further reduction in the living standards of all workers. Public employees should not be singled out for attack while those responsible for the financial crisis receive government bailouts and retain their lavish salaries and bailouts.

The funding problems of public employee pension systems are not the result of overly generous pension benefits.
The average public employee nationally collects $20,000 per year in pension benefits upon retirement.  The problem in public employee pensions stems from the combination of underfunding by state and local governments over the last several decades and the financial collapse of Wall Street.  Many states have not kept their end of the bargain with public employees.  For example, Illinois has contributed only half of the amount required to pay workers benefits statewide, and the states pension funds are $54 billion short.

Growth in pension assets over the years has not been primarily fed by state and local taxes, and closing the gap in pension funding will not be primarily borne by current taxpayers.
First, only 26 cents of every dollar that is paid out in retiree pensions in the public sector can be attributed to taxes, the rest is the result of investment income and, yes, contributions by the employees themselves – employees contribute an average of 40% of the contributions in public pension funds.  Second, the most unrealistic estimate of the underfunding of state and local pension benefits – a trillion dollars nationally according to the Pew Center – is meant to scare people not deal with the problem.  The “trillion dollar gap amounts to more than $8800 for every household in the U.S.” according to the Pew Center.  The problem is that the trillion number is estimated over a thirty-year period, which would be $300 per year.  Since public employees already pay for 40% of the investment contributions made to cover their retirement and investment income covers much of the rest, taxpaying households, under the worst scenarios, would be expected to pay roughly 25% of the $300 per year – or $75 to cover the retirement security of essential workers.

The problem of state and local budget crises is not because “unions have a stranglehold” on politicians to fund their lavish pensions.
The truth is that state and local budget crises are pervasive in the nation.  Today, 48 out of 50 states are facing a budget deficit, and with the end the federal stimulus it is likely that all 50 states will face a deficit.  Those deficits are not the result public employee pensions, but because the financial crisis has destroyed the tax revenue base.  Further, there is no correlation between public employee unionization and how well states fund their pension systems.  Public employee pensions are the result of legislation and workers in both high union and low union density states have defined benefit pension plans.

The case of the $100,000 a year public employee pensioner is not the norm.
There are cases where a handful of top earners in certain cities and states have gamed the system to get large pension payouts – a practice known as “spiking”—but the solution to that is not to cut the pensions of the average public employee who receives $20,000 per year.  The answer is to place restrictions on rules that open pension funds up to abuse.  Teamsters want to protect the pensions of members, not the gaming of the system by some top earners – usually managers – in the public sector.

Tax Preparation Discounts

Local 237 has arranged the following tax preparation options for members:

● Members who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) may have their return prepared for free at numerous centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City.  Members are eligible for EITC if they have children and earned less than $50,000 last year, or have no children and earned less than $18,000.  You can locate the free tax-return-preparation center most convenient for you by calling 311, the New York City information number.

● Members who choose to have their return prepared at an H&R Block location may take advantage of a discount coupon for Local 237 members from H&R Block. The coupon entitles new clients to $50 off the cost of tax preparation, and prior clients get a $25 discount.

For more information, or to request an H & R Block coupon call Local 237 at 212-924-2000.

Get the Facts: Stop the War on Public Employee Pensions

As the economic crisis rips into state and municipal budgets across the nation, the conservative campaign to dismantle public employee defined benefit pension systems has gained new life.  While municipal government budgets are in trouble, most of the claims made for destroying the pension plans are based on falsehoods.  Nevertheless, the attack on public employee pensions has gained ground.

It's important for Teamsters to debunk the myths spread by those whose primary goal is to destroy the defined benefit pension system that is designed to provide them with a secure retirement.

Click here to arm yourself with the facts.

The assault on public employee pensions comes at the same time as tens of thousands of public employees are being laid off or furloughed, and with tens of thousands more facing that prospect once the federal government stimulus funding runs out.

A simultaneous wage and jobs crisis is affecting millions of Americans.  With economic insecurity at an all time high, those seeking to undermine the defined benefit pension system are appealing to workers-taxpayers who do not have pensions to oppose public employee pension security.  

Public Employees are not Over-Paid
Public employees have made trade-offs over the years between wages and retirement security.  A recent study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National Institute for Retirement Security finds that state and local employees earn 11 to 12 percent less than comparable private sector workers.  Even when benefits are included, total public employee compensation lags behind private sector compensation for similar work.  

A study by the Center for Housing Policy finds police officers and teachers still don’t earn enough to buy a typical house in 2 out of 5 metro areas.  Firefighters and librarians can’t afford a median priced home in the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago metro areas.  Nationwide a school bus driver’s average wage is not enough to pay rent on a standard two-bedroom apartment.

Workers Unite!
It’s up to us to educate the general public and other union members about the truth of public employee wages and benefits.  The goal of the anti-public employee movement is to divide private and public sector employees by appealing to private sector unions and workers on the basis of taxes.  With wages and jobs disappearing and taxes rising, private sector employees are easy prey.  Wages and jobs are eroding for private sector workers, but we shouldn’t accelerate the race to the bottom by gutting public employee pensions.  Rather than fewer workers having retirement security, Teamsters believe that all workers should have retirement security.  With only a small percentage of private sector workers belonging to unions, but a majority of public sector employees in unions, conservatives are now targeting the public sector for attack.

The Bottom Line
Wall Street caused the economic crisis that is the real threat to state and local governments and the retirement security of all Americans – public employees should not be forced to bear the brunt. We should be working to achieve real retirement security for all Americans, not take it away from those who have it. Public Employees work hard for everyone while earning modest wages and deserve a secure retirement.