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Metropolitan Water District prepares to hike employee pensions, despite investment losses
August 31st, 2009, 6:00 am · 121 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
At a time when generous public employee pensions are generating enormous heat (among the less-well-pensioned populace, at least), the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is poised to hike employee pensions by 25 percent.
In coming weeks, Met’s board of directors is slated to vote on hiking its pension formula from 2 percent at age 55, to 2.5 percent at age 55. English translation:
- Under the old formula, an employee who worked for Met for 25 years would get 50 percent of his salary upon retirement, every year, until the day he died.
- Under the new formula, that employee would get 62.5 percent of his salary upon retirement, every year, until the day he died.
It could cost Met some $70 million; we’ll bring you details in coming days. (You can hear an actuary give his report to Met’s executive committee here.)
It happens at a time when water rates are rising significantly, and when Met’s pension investments in CalPERS have tanked at least $405 million. Bringing Met’s “unfunded liability” to something very close to a half-billion dollars.
Met’s unions have already approved the change.
Met is responsible for quenching SoCal’s blazing thirst, and recently hiked water rates 20 percent, with more on the way. It is America’s largest provider of treated drinking water, delivering water to 19 millioncustomers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The water comes from the Colorado River and the State Water Project.
Timing?
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O.K. class, today’s spelling lesson in socialist, marxist govt. control;
Unsustainable. u,n,s,u,s,t,a,i,n,a,b,l,e., unsustainable.
What the hell does this have to do with Obama?
This is pure Republican greed being modeled here byt he unions.
yo, beer dude. who said anything about obama beside you?
You just assume because I said socialist, marxist I meant the O’man???
VVEEERRRRYYYYY interesting you would make this leap, vvveeerrrryyyy interesting indeed!!!
So you draw this conclusion from my comment, then show your obvious support for, well, the obvious. Now somehow this is unions following republican models ???
Dude, that’s NOT beer, ITS THE BONG WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!oh sheiat.
Isn’t it funny that this guy automatically, socialist = Obama..,.
Absolutely outragous. I’m sick of the MWP with their ‘flex your power’ and ‘move the needle’ cliche’s. They are all hype and marketing to benefit themselve at the expense of the taxpayers and rate payers for water and power. They no longer represent hard work, innovation and planning to bring water and power to So Cal. The are all about gimmicks and conservation.
What can we do to fire the leadership and replace with real vision, leadership and business acumen?
Can’t any thing be done to stop these pirates in the public sector? At al levels of government the pigs at the public trough are getting fatter and fatter, the public be damned.
Another item in the same newspaper today suggested a long term unemployment rate of one in four in the private sector.
The Orange county register needs learn it’s trade. Investigative reporting.. How about go to the source………….. This proposal was not conceived by the union but by the management.. They want to dump employees as fast as they can. They think robots can do the job of people… It’s their way of getting rid of employees.. ( 2000 employees for 18 million customers is not that out of bounds.) Fewer employees will have little effect on rates.. . Especially when hi tech robots need two technicians for every job that is downsized.
Nothing surprises me anymore, I actually expect this behavior. By the way Tony Villar, could you turn off your sprinklers and only water when us peasants can.
This really shouldn’t surprise anyone. There’s no accountability at any level of government. Like academia, they don’t live in the world with the rest of us.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!STOP!!!!! NO WAY!!!!!!!!! IS THIS WHY MY WATER RATES HAVE SKYROCKETED??? BECAUSE THEY WANTED A RAISE?!?!? NOOOOO!!!
never ending fight for freedom … Go back to school. Socialism has been here for over half a century as well as communism. They are called The Social Security Act and Unions. Pay attention at school next time you attend third grade.
MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU VOTE NEXT TIME.
STATE LEGISLATURE IS THE BEST YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THIS.
If you don’t like it, buy your water elsewhere.
We need to put these water welfare queens back in HS and have them take basic math-because this scam has got to end.
Sounds like more sour grapes from Miss Sforza (and the rest of you here too).
Too bad you weren’t bright enough to choose a career with decent benefits.
KOC says:
August 31, 2009 at 7:59 amSounds like more sour grapes from Miss Sforza (and the rest of you here too).
Too bad you weren’t bright enough to choose a career with decent benefits.
================
Spoken like a true welfare queen, living off of others. Hey KOC how about YOU pay for YOUR pension instead of the taxpayers for a change.
nice try genius. I work my ass off for this job and get paid for it. stop whining just because you can’t manage a 401k.
what you and others don’t seem to have a clue is, not everyone who pays into PERS works for the state (and hence YOUR taxes). some are for cities, special districts, etc. our constituents get low rates (about the lowest in OC), so what do they have to complain about?
ms. sforza and your likes are just whiny muckrackers who have nothing better to do. you lump EVERYONE into your anti-PERS campaign, even though 95% work hard and deserve it. yes, some have taken advantage and need a spanking.
here’s a tip - next time you look for a job, do better research on what their benefits are.
cheers!
.
KOC says:
nice try genius. I work my ass off for this job and get paid for it.
===========================
You sit on your butt all day is more like it-like most gov leeches.
And you do NOT get paid for your pension-nor do you pay into it-it is taxpayer fudned-retroactively no less.
You’re the typical gov welfare queen pretender, trying to claim they “earned” their pensions-when in fact you didn’t.
Gravy train is over loser, prepay the rent on your doublewide.
Not suprised, this is the same district that just increased water rates for SMWD residents to provide the same sources of water we’ve been provided for the past 10 years. It’s now obvious what our increased water rates are really funding. How stupid do these people think we are? Next election, vote them all out! Better yet, pass an initiative which only allows voters to elect board members and eliminates appointments by sitting members to fill vacant seats. As the taxpayers of this state we must statrt paying attention to EVERY elected official no matter how small the office.
Lets consider the COST of this GIFT (from TAXPAYERS) … to an employee with 25 years of service, now age 55, and assuming he makes $100,000.
His annual pension would have been 100,000x.02×25=$50,000 annually. Under the change to 2.5%/yr, the pension becomes $62,500 annually, or a $12,500 ANNUAL increase. The COLAs in future years add 50% (increase in value when compared) to an annuity that does NOT have a COLA feature (like ALL Private Sector pensions). Hence the $12,500 extra in the 1-st year of retirement and increasing at inflation annually thereafter is roughly equivalent to a LEVEL extra of 1.5x$12,500= $18,750 annually.
Now, to determine the present value of this EXTRA $18,750 annually, we must multiply it by a “life annuity factor”. For someone age 55, this factor is roughly 15. Hence the “VALUE” if this GIFT from TAXPAYERS (without their approval I might add) is $18,750×15=$281,250.
This is beyond outrageous !
never anding light,
while clever, your assertion is, well, unsustainable. Socialism and Marxism are not responsible for the corruption of MWD. Corporate sociopathy is what drives government corruption. Capitalism, taken to its logical end will look just like this. A captive consumer base, elimination of competition, and strict laws for the unwashed. Who do you think make up the majority of water boards, city councils, state and federal legislative bodies and so on? concerned citizens? humble servants? or greedy capitalists, leveraging political power for greater revenue opportunities?
CalPERS is broken- anyone under 50 who believes it will be around to pay out when they retire are the suckers at the table. Its easy to make a promise like a pension enhancement to appease a union when you know you will never have to pay it.
Follow the money. what did met get from the union in return?
Youve got the right idea AmericanGirl: never vote to re-elect an incumbent. end the gravy train for career politicians and they might start paying attention to what people want, rather than who makes the biggest campaign contributions.
It’s all about getting a county, city, state & government job.
My Grandfather worked for the MWD, he managed the reservior up on the hill in Corona Del Mar. He passed away, then my Grandmother received his monthly checks until she died. It’s a long, but great story how he got this job, but it saved our family back in the days after the depression. My Uncle worked their as well, and he too raised a family with wealth. He has recently retired, but will be set for the rest of his life. He does not receive any Soc Sec, just retirement pension fund.
My Sister’s husband works at the MWD now. She is going thru a divorce and her lawyer is trying to tap into his pension, so she can live high on the hog in 10 years. MWD takes care of their employees. They work hard, very hard, but as the years progess, they are rewarded, and I mean rewarded. Sure wish I had gotten a job with the MWD years ago.
To Teri Sforza and The Register Editors: Please publish the names, addresses, incl. email addresses, and phone numbers of the board members who voted in favor of this. The public needs to shut down this type of chronic behavior of public employees in every sector, because they won’t stop unless we stop them with our many & loud voices of protest…taxpayers have had enough! Good job - keep it up, Watchdog!!!
Really classy, hiking pensions right in the middle of the worst economic crisis in the past 70 years. Talk about bad PR, pure arrogance and greed. They should be cutting pensions, not raising them.
These people have absolutely no shame. They raise our water rates 10-15% and in the middle of a financial meltdown fill up the feeding trough for their swine-like employees by bumping up their pensions by 25%. One way or another this inexcusable behavior will stop. EIther you will see a citizen uprising or a financial meltdown that they take their pension funds to zero. I have never witnesses so much selfishness and outright greed in american society. Like animals at the feeding trough whose bellies are filled yet demand even more feed.
here is how it works,management formulates the increase for employees the board (the spineless wonders) approves this recommendation. BUT Management gets the same increase. ( conflict of interest?) After all the only one that suffers is the rate payer. (Who cares) what a great business 1/2 billion unfunded liability , so now we are working 1 billion underfunded liability. What is the board smoking?
Brought to you by the same pathetic morons who cant wash their driveways down w/o using 150 gallons of water. Its called a nozzle, us it.
I washed & captured the water i used to clean my 47”x34′ drive way, its huge, larger than most i would guess, 57 gallons.
I wouldn’t bash MWD until you hear both sides. My company employs union workers and when it’s a negotiating year, both sides have their goals. My feeling I bet is that Management wanted something and were willing to offer the additional half percent retirement to get it. Also I bet offering the half percent increase will be an incentive to get those older, higher paid employees to finally reitre to they can hire a younger person at a much lower salary (another benefit to management). I’m sure the employees are also giving up something to management as well. Of course, that would not make a good news story if the article was balanced and showed both sides.
what is the other side?
Lets see how good of a reporter Mrs. Sforza really is after reading all these comments, I hope it challengs/motivates her to get the information out there so people can see what we, at MWD are GIVING up for this enhanced retirement.
watergirl says:
August 31, 2009 at 6:53 pmLets see how good of a reporter Mrs. Sforza really is after reading all these comments, I hope it challengs/motivates her to get the information out there so people can see what we, at MWD are GIVING up for this enhanced retirement.
=================
“Giving up”?? Are you for real??
Gov employees right now make DOUBLE what the private sector makes , and “retire” at age 50 making more than when they worked.
Put the crack pipe down sweety.
Unfortunately this article only talks about a small portion of the proposed contract and down not talk about what the employees are giving up in exchange for this benefit and to keep cost down.
what are they giving up?
Jake says:
what are they giving up?
==================
Nothing, as usual.
What are they giving up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so tired of these public employees crying when they have anything taken away from them. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have several friends that have had their JOBS TAKEN AWAY from them. Give me a break. As far as I am concerned, I wish we could take this public pension to the voters and have it removed! It is OUR tax dollars. Damn I am pissed!
Too bad the article doesn’t tell the whole story and include what MWD employee’s gave up to procure this retirement. Instead I see a lot of sour grapes and cries of “you have something I don’t have”. As for rate increases, have you noticed that everything had gone up in cost over the years? The only problem is MWD’s board held back for too many years on rate increases and took rebates from MWD instead of reinvesting in the company until it caught up with them and a large increase was necessary. Labor is a very small percentage of MWD’s budget. Wow truth and facts sure screw up a sensational story don’t they?
what is the whole story?
Attached is the link to the name of the board members. If any board member votes yes on the pension hike, please vote them out of office on their next election. Thank you for saving our state.
http://www.mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/board/bio01.html
Wow, amazing. Don’t you think you should get the whole story BEFORE you start spreading your poison and threatening people’s positions?
People like you are dangerous.
OMG, the ” dangerous Ca. taxpayer”, EXPOSED!!!
This sounds like a union hack trying to spread union doo here.
Yo water girl, pick a side of the fence & get on it, lest you get shot in the crossfire.
I happen to work for MWD, and live in South Orange County. I am a feepayer, not a full union member, and thusly could not vote on this issue. I am a libertarian conservative, registered independent voter.There is more to this than meets the eye, and I suggest readers rely on more than just this article to make an informed opinion.
I have been unable to find mention of the pension enhancement anywhere other than here at the watchdog. Do you have any links to more info on this story? Terri, are the results of the negotiation public? can we see the whole burrito?
You mean Miss Sforza didn’t get ALL the facts straight before publishing her story?!?!?
I, for one, am SHOCKED!
.
Excuse me!!!!! Get your facts straight!!! Metropolitan Water District employee’s are giving up more than enough to cover the enhanced retirement. It’s a trade off, and in the long run the water district will be much stronger for the trade.
what have they given up, water man? Considering that CalPERS may be increasing employee contribution requirements up to 25% in the coming years, i am very curious to know just how the short-timers have screwed the new guys out of a big chunk of their future salaries to fund the retirements of those who wont be paying any extra.
would the enhancement have been approved if those over 50 were excluded?
do recent hires realize that they have just agreed to pay for this for the rest of their carreers- with little chance of recouping the cost?
Yea, that is what the cops and ff’s keep saying yet the infastructure of our state is falling apart and the pension funds are going broke.
The truth is none of these grabs for endless pay for little work will last and you will end up with nothing.
That is because the State of California has SO MANY illeagals that we are supporting…Medical, dental, vision, food stamps, welfare…. etc…..
It has nothing to due with our pensions.
Water Girl says:
That is because the State of California has SO MANY illeagals that we are supporting…Medical, dental, vision, food stamps, welfare…. etc…..
It has nothing to due with our pensions.
=======================
LOL…right leech.
amen! brother lets ship em back before they multiply like rabbits!
do you have any infastructure experience jackass … i mean donkey if so you could get a real job and quit posting on the register all day or maybe go to school and get educated so you can contribute to the problems of this state instead of complaining about people who make a difference in your life 24/7 365 days a year! loser!
Hey Squid, Water Man et al -
It would be lovely to get facts to get straight! I’ll be posting another story tomorrow about my requests for info and background from Met - which have been greeted with a statement from a public relations person saying “no comment.”
Ms. Sforza,
You probably won’t get much from MWD because it is not a done deal yet but rest assured this proposal is not just a “give away” to the employees.
Alright, I’ll ask:
WHAT are the MWD employees “giving up” in exchange for this pension increase?
Several posters are writing about this “something,” but failing to tell us what (if anything) is actually involved in this “trade off.”
So, please, enlighten.
I am a feepayer who could not actually vote on this contract, so I suggest the author of this article talk with not only Met board members, but the union leaders who negotiated the contract to get the fully story…But, that said, I believe there were two siginificant concessions 1) incumbent employees would have to start paying 2 percent more of their salary into CALPERS to offset costs and 2) they will implement a two tier system where new employees will have to pay even more into CALPERS.
There were a few other concessions unrelated to CALPERS, such as giving up a holiday and not getting a COLA for this fiscal year.
I suspect once about 300 folks take the golden handshake, they will not fill all the jobs, and of the ones they do fill, they will be younger folks at lower salaries.
I just find it suprising that the writer did not relate all the specifics in this proposed MOU. That would be responsible journalism, though, would it not?
WOAHH, 2%. Your absolutely right!!! WE ALL STAND CORRECTED!!
2 fn %, are you fn kidding, 2 fn %
WHAT A HUGE SACRIFICE THESE UNION HACKS HAVE MADE!!!!!!!!
2 fn %!
thats 2% more than you make loser!
kevenshut;
wtf do you know? keven’stfu.
Union hack no doubt.
The employees at MWD are giving up ALOT for this to happen, funny how none of that is even mentioned in the article.
Think about it people…… you are only being told what people want you to hear. This all came about by unhappy MWD employees who dont want to give up what is necessary for the enhanced reiterment… includeing pay reduction. They brought this to the media. You are being used. Get the whole stroy before you decide. Shame on the reporter for printing the ‘whole’ story.
OK Water Girl. You keep saying that we don’t have the “whole story”. Why don’t you tell us exactly what you gave up for this retroactive pension increase?
Class? Can anybody give me the definition of the word “OUTRAGEOUS” ?
yeah your an outrageous loser
I beleive the cops and police are typically receiving 3% @ 50 that is really bankrupting cities and counties–ANYBODY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?
Yes!!!! I do have a problem with it!!!
Please list the names, addresses, phone and email addresses of those who will vote on this increase.
We need to bombard them with a an army of NOs!
All that comes to my mind is REVOLUTION!!!!!
We are being robbed by the very people that are supposed to be working in our best intersets.
has your water been shut off ever …… ever! except when you cant pay your bill loser!
Every pothole you hit in the road is the result of having to fund these obscene pensions of the trough feeders.
Yes, as a poster said, these people live in a bubble and we need to pop it now!
at least im not a door greeter at walmart loser!
I am an employee at metropolitan. what ms sforza fails to mention is that through bargaining negotiations the EMPLOYEES at Metropolitan,NOT THE COMPANY OR TAXPAYERS are paying for this benefit.
Miss Sforza
Howz that crow taste?
.
I too am an employee at metropolitan and YES Mrs. Sforza fails to mention that through bargaining negotiations the EMPLOYEES at Metropolitan,NOT THE COMPANY OR TAXPAYERS are paying for this benefit.
This is NOT going to COST the public a DIME! WE as employees are paying for this. - Mrs. Sforza needs to become better educated on reporting.
And to MWD Employees who voted no and are upset that the majoritey voted YES, need to stop complaining.
I’ll believe that when pigs fly !
swine flu! loser.
Yo w/g. Where does the water district get their$$.
Could it be from the $ people pay for their water??
Are these people the general populace??
You can twist & spin all you want, your not convincing anyone here.
Roger, I expecf that folks don’t want to be on the hook to bail out CALPERS should it suffer catastrophic losses in its investment portfolio. I personally don’t think they should be on the hook.
Overall I see the new MOU as a win win with the enhanced retirement. Folks exiting will be earning enough money so as to not be a big drain on the public assistance dole, and paying plenty of taxes. Folks coming in will have a chance to train and work in one of the best water agencies in the world, and if they decide they want higher pay and benefits, they can go work for a private sector company in mid career, the mirror image of what I did…I worked private sector and then came here.
So Rodger advises everyone to do the OPPOSITE of what he did, at leased now that hes on the dole!
What a stand up character.
losers!
Who is paying for the employees at MWD? The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Where does the company get their revenues from? From the people (taxpayers) and businesses of Southern California.
Who just hiked the water rates to 20 percent? The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Which companies are providing water to Southern California? Just one, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Who is about to vote on hiking its pension plan for the employees at MWD? The board members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Under the current system without the MOU, the employees pay into CALPERS instead of paying into the Social Security System, and Met as the employer, funded by the ratepayers, pays a matching contribution for the employee to CALPERS, just like PRIVATE SECTOR companies pay a matching contribution for the employee’s retirement fund, that happens to be SOCIAL SECURITY.
Under the new system, incumbent employees have agreed to pay an additional 2 percent of their salary into CALPERS and have made the concession to go to a two tier system where new employees will pay into PERS without the same Metropolitan match. Given that it is expected about 300 employees will take the golden handshake and some jobs will simply not be refilled or will be refilled at a lower wage and compensation package, ultimately Metropolitan will save money.
Now, if you want to debate MWD salaries compared to private sector and how that may affect costs, that is a whole different question.
Jan Duffy says:
Under the current system without the MOU, the employees pay into CALPERS instead of paying into the Social Security System, and Met as the employer, funded by the ratepayers, pays a matching contribution for the employee to CALPERS, just like PRIVATE SECTOR companies pay a matching contribution for the employee’s retirement fund, that happens to be SOCIAL SECURITY.
============================
Hey Jan, don’t look no but the age for full retirement in social security is age 67, and you get about 30% of your highest years salary, while you lowns “retire” at age 55 and get about 70% of highest years salary.
Try to compare apples to apples next time.
Who pays your Salary? THE TAXPAYERS. MWD generates its revenues from us, THE TAXPAYERS. Justify it anyway you want, THE TAXPAYERS are funding your pensions.
Roger says:
I am an employee at metropolitan. what ms sforza fails to mention is that through bargaining negotiations the EMPLOYEES at Metropolitan,NOT THE COMPANY OR TAXPAYERS are paying for this benefit.
=========================
Hey Pinnochio, don’t look now but your nose just grew 40 feet with that WHOPPER~!
OK Roger. Let’s do the math. Why don’t you tell us EXACTLY what you gave up. Pensions like yours are unsustainable in their current form. Adding benefits just makes them more unsustainable. The CalPERS chief actuary just admitted as much a couple of weeks ago.
I don’t think so Roger…….
And what about the boardmember who flies around in their jet?
We don’t talk about that here - too upsetting.
The responses from the MWD employees, is the standard to be expected from the unions. The employees CANNOT pay the full cost of this benefit, and golden handshakes are for senior employees who earn the most and will benefit the most from the retirement change. Someone earlier in the comment s did a calculation of the total cost of the change, and golden handshakes costs about 40% of annual salary. The two tier plan is a good start , but does not return tangible savings until after year 20. And, yes management does have a conflict of interest. These are the highest paid staff, and will benefit the most from the change. Here is a dirty little secret that doesn’t get mentioned. With 2.5 @ 55 it is likely that senior personnel who have a long tenure with MWD will actually earn more than 100% of their final salary. Bad timing as well. Did MWD think they could sneak this thru in the middle of the worst recession of the last 70 years. Senior management should do an ethics check, as to their intellectual honesty. And, to the board members wake up and smell the smoke your pants are on fire….and if you are really going to do this, remove the cost of retirement benefit from the cost factors used to calculate rate increases. If the employees are so sure they are paying for the cost of the benefit, they should not object to holding the District harmless from any employer rate increase, and contractually bind themselves to pay those increases.
If about 300 employees take the golden handshake, management will not likely refill all those positions, and if they refill some, they will hire younger folks at a cheaper wage. As for “senior personnel”, I am one of a substantial number of employees who would be leaving in several more years with far less than 100 percent of my pay, because I came here mid career, and I am not a manager.
One major mistake Met has made over the past years is to not pass along rate cost increases but rebates. The cost of water has gone up, and labor is a relatively small portion of the equation. A vast majority of the operating budget is infrastructure as in facilities and equipment. I would hope that Met will pass along increased costs more incrementally instead of waiting for several years at a time.
The author and detractors here need to get the big picture here. But, alas, few folks take the time required to do that.
Jan, we have a MWD Board Member, and know way more than you think. If you are just a shill for management or the union, fess us. I’m betting you are part of MWD’s PR department, or a union spokes person in drag…
Deepthroat, I am a feepayer, not a union member, and have made that clear. Think before you type, dude.
Here are a few great link to some issues MWD is dealing with:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-brick26-2009aug26,0,6459448.story
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2146832.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap25-2009aug25,0,5395588.column
here’s the whole story:
the new contract is good for the next 5 years. To get the enhanced retirement current employees will pay 2% of their salary into a medical fund not CalPers. will give up a holiday and 8hrs of personnal leave. MWD will reduce the matching contribution to 401K from 4.5% to 3.0% and the new MOU (memorandum of understanding) has a lot of changes in the wording that really concerns the employees.
Plus new employees hired after July 1st will pay an additional 8% of their salary into CalPers.
I give thumbs up to those trying to shut it down, it doesn’t make sense…only to those ready to retire.
It has been more than 10 years that MWD has not raise the rates that charges for water, just ask any board member.
History lesson:
MWD gets the same amount of water per year, every year, since 1930, regarding of population.
I just this part …”Plus new employees hired after July 1st will pay an additional 8% of their salary into CalPers.”
So much for “union” types “taking care” of their “young” (new members).
What a bunch of BULL …. These OLDER Civil Servants will soon retire with the big big bucks WITHOUT paying anything more. SO exactly who (besides TAXPAYERS who always get suckered anyway) is supporting this fat retirement? Its the NEW members … the “young” they care so much about. Well, it you care so much … PAY YOUR OWN WAY … greedy pigs!
Where any of you aware that MWD employees have one fo the LOWEST pension plans - even lower than our member agencies.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage, and other resource-management programs
http://mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/memberag/member02.html
Its nice to come home, turn on the faucet or hose and see the water coming out… TRY to REMEMBER peope,
WATER WORKS BECAUSE WE DO !
Get educated on the topic and support MWD Employees and the board.
3 things that flow downhill? water, sewage & money paid to union workers.
2 of the 3 are laced w/ crap.
“Where any of you aware that MWD employees have one fo the LOWEST pension plans - even lower than our member agencies”
No sympathy here. At least they have a job and will get a pension!!!!!!!!! I am so tried of public employees crying because they have had to give up something. THEY HAVE A JOB, AND WILL HAVE A PENSION!!!!! That is not what half of my friends, or people of this country will have. I am educated water girl, and this public employee pension is the biggest scam of the century, and shame on us the tax payers for letting it happen.
Jan, and if you are a 38 year MWD ( or PERS) employee, take a golden handshake, and have the PERS EMC rollup you will get 107% of pay. That is the way PERS does it.. Just the facts, no BS.
You take an extreme example. Many of us came here mid career FOR THE BENEFITS after being Enron’d in the private sector. I will retire with just over 20 years service. That does not remotely equate to 107% of pay. You folks just love to bring up the exception, not the norm.
As for golden handshake rule, where did you find it? Same place you ASSUME that most of us are going to be getting huge payouts?
Cooler heads must and will prevail.
Jan, by the way under the golden handshake rules, the 300 positions CANNOT be refilled. So if your Director of Finance goes. oops can’t fill the position. Kind of inconvenient don’t you think…Same for the GM.
just a bunch of jealous losers who never went to school never got a good position divorced paying child support but were first in line for the cash for clunkers giveaway courtesy the taxpayers! like me and everybody else that works for met i have been a taxpayer for the last twenty years you losers the feds always get my check you ingrateful bastards im not some of the fluff at mwd but i know it exists be water wise all this crap is prevalent at mwd i voted no for this contract but some of these fellow met people have not mentioned that it was a threat of a mandatory 200+ employee layoff if this contract did not go through take a look around people everybody is reshaping there mou’s that is simply what the article does not state, what a suprise for the oc register.
Calm down and take your meds Kevin. You may also want to take a grammar class during your retirement.
thanks for noticing my shortcomings in grammar like i care im getting enhanced retirement full medical the rest of my life and your going to pay every cent hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahaha! oh did i spell hahahahahahahaha right you a$$! fu!
I find it a sad commentary on our collective intelligence to read so many half-baked, misinformed and vitriolic statements written as if they were fact. “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” If you would check your facts (and I’m including Terri Sforza) before committing an opinion to the public eye, then you wouldn’t have to retract your statements when you ultimately discover the truth.
KUDOS to you Larry !
i would like to applaud the oc sherrif dept for laying off administration people though because normally the lower on the totem pole people are let loose first i voted no on this contract because were too fat at the top and i would like to see layoffs to specific depts. i.e hr were in a hiring freeze and theirs a whole floor of people not doing any hiring! waste! ethics dept the entire 12th floor is ethics dept. not doing any good for me! let em loose! engineers couldnt engineer a taco bell, ship em back to india,pakistan,china there worthless!
kevenshut; there is NO DOUBT that the ethics dept. is doing nothing for you.
wtf do YOU do thats so GD important anyway, hhmmmm???
pin pushing pee stick.
hahahahaha ya and im laughing all the way to the bank with my pension spike this will pass its signed and delivered and in a year well have opening in case you need a job loser!
Seems like Kevin McLaughlin in the 10th floor has a problem with people working in hr,engineering, and ethis office. I think all those Pr Public Affairs Reps dont do crap as well…
survey says eeeeeeehhhhhhh! im not the kevin you think but you headquarter pukes enjoy your daily 2 dollar omelette and your wellness center and your endless waste of public dollars while the true people make sure the water we send out to our customers is safe efficient and still cheap. fu naysayers
MWD is the greatest company in the state of California. The people that are bitching are jealous that someone else is getting a piece of the pie instead of them. If anyone else was given this situation they would take it. Please just shut your mouth and pay for my retirement. Thanks!
and like it! shut up! thank you!
nobody cares when sce scg or ralphs or vons has had the same contract agreements and groceries go up 30% utilities go up everything is going up!
CALPERS is a criminal organization
I tried to e-mail MWD directors, but none of the water district websites have contact information for their directors. MWD’s site has all the info on state and federal representatives so you can lobby them on Met’s behalf. Since none of the MWD directors are elected, finding their e-mails is just impossible.
What a joke this all is. When I retired as a public employee the retirement age was 65.
For years I have warned my children that the US was developing a mandarin class, and to my sorrow I was right.
I’ve lived her 35 years now, and regular as clockwork there’s a cycle in water rates. MWD jacks them up really high, everyone grouses so MWD doesn’t raise them for 8-10 years and then jacks them up high again. Why don’t they do gradual increases like everyone else?
you can always move outta here there plenty of people that would take your place our water is clean safe and a wasted commodity that everybody takes for granted so wise up people and use what you need!
its funny how fast you cowards on radio change your tune when metropolitan pulls its spots on your stations i love coporate greed its ……. exactly like government greed! hipocrits
Public Employee unions need to be abolished.
They are becoming tyrants that demand never ending raises and increases in their benefits while the taxpayers are going broke just paying taxes.
Nobody in private industry commands these type of pay packages,Taxpayers are fast becoming the slaves and public employees the royalty ruling over us.
What we have is tyranny and I think we should fire them all and rehire employees under new contracts with a no UNION clause.
thats right your my slave now go get me a beer im thirsty you filthy stinking vermin
Unless you happen to work for the gov’t. or a utility, the State of California has been screwing us out of so much money it’s unreal.
The benefits and pensions gov’t workers receive is one of the greatest social injustices I have ever witnessed in my life.
And the Assembly approves these benefits/pensions under the radar and it’s costs Californian’s billions.
It’s time to put a spotlight on these pampered utility workers and their outrageous salaries and benefits/pensions.
Ever wonder why your utility bill is so high? It has to be to support the Golden Retirements of these utility workers .
California’s public retirement funds reel from losses of nearly $100 billion in recent years and lack enough cash to cover their long-term costs. So let make it $150 billion?