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Pension hike is part of labor contract that will save money, Metropolitan Water District says
September 1st, 2009, 6:00 am · 32 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
It will save $21 million or so over five years, a PR consultant for the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California tells us.
Precisely how? We’re still waiting for the details.
We told you Monday that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is poised to hike employee pensions by 25 percent, which could cost Met some $70 million 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.)
Some Met employees scolded us to “get our facts straight,” saying that the union negotiations behind this increase will save Met more in the long run than it will cost them.
Well, we’d dearly love to get our facts straight! Except that, well, Met has been reluctant to give us any.
When we requested backup agenda materials on the pension increase from Met - items for a public meeting - Met instead sent us this emailed statement from PR consultant Brian Lewis of Marathon Communications (and yes, we’ll be asking how much that consultant cost):
“The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the four unions that represent our employees have reached an agreement in principle on a new five-year contract. The unions have completed their votes on the pact, and the Metropolitan Board will take up the contracts at our September meeting.
“The negotiations between the MWD and our employees are groundbreaking, both in terms of the result of our discussions, and in the innovative “interest-based bargaining” process in which the negotiations have been conducted. I believe we have come to an agreement that benefits our 2,000 employees, our Southern California homes and businesses, and Metropolitan.
“This is a five-year agreement, as opposed to our previous three-year agreement, and it will provide longer-term stability for both our hard-working employees and the rate-payers who have come to rely on the MWD to provide their water. The new contract includes creative cost measures that will provide savings for the MWD during these difficult economic times.
“Until such time as our Board votes on the agreement, we will have no further comment.”
Well! Comment or no, we are entitled to the documents that the board will use to make these decisions, as we believe they are public under the California Public Records Act.
Monday afternoon, another consultant representing Marathon Communications stepped in to mediate between us and Met. Mathew Littman said he’d be getting us the presentation given to Met’s executive board last week - and other documents, once Met determines what it’s legally allowed to hand over.
The labor agreements that include the pension hike will save some $21 millionover five years, Littman said, and Met is proud that the agreements have been reached without discord.
Many readers, however, had their own discord, and were outraged that Met would consider hiking pensions at this particular point in time. We were asked to provide contact info for Met, so here goes:
- Met General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger, 213-217-6139 or OfficeoftheGeneralManager2@mwdh2o.com.
- You can also leave messages for board members by calling 213-217-6000. The board members are: Anaheim, Kristine Murray; Beverly Hills, Robert Wunderlich; Burbank, Glenn Brown; Compton, Yvonne Arceneaux; Fullerton, James Blake; Glendale, Peter Kavounas; Long Beach, Suja Lowenthal; Los Angeles, David Fleming, Aaron Grunfeld, John Murray Jr., Jesus Quinonez; Pasadena, Timothy Brick; San Fernando, Sylvia Ballin; San Marino, John Morris; Santa Ana, Daniel Griset; Santa Monica, Judy Abdo; Torrance, Bill Wright; Calleguas Municipal Water District, Ted Grandsen; Central Basin Municipal Water District, Phillip Hawkins, Edward Vasquez; Eastern Municipal Water District, Randy Record; Foothill Municipal Water District, James Edwards; Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Angel Santiago; Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Glen Peterson; Municipal Water District Of Orange County, Linda Ackerman, Larry Dick, John Foley; San Diego County Water Authority, James Barrett, Keith Lewinger, W.D. ‘Bud’ Pocklington, Fern Steiner; Three Valleys Municipal Water District, David DeJesus; Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, R. William Robinson; West Basin Municipal Water District, Gloria Gray, Edward Little; Western Municipal Water District Of Riverside County, Thomas Evans.
Met is responsible for quenching SoCal’s blazing thirst, and recently hiked water rates 20 percent, with more hikes on the way. It is America’s largest provider of treated drinking water, delivering water to 19 million customers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The water comes from the Colorado River and the State Water Project.
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How much do we pay for this “PR Consultant?” We could save alot more by not hiring “consultants” in the first place! What planet are they from???
So let me see if I understand this….a quasi-public agency, who has a monopoly on water, is going to negotiate a new contract with employee unions that will have a dramatic effect on the overall cost of delivering their product…since they can’t absorb this cost themselves, they’ll pass on the increase to everyone who is forced to buy their water from them…who can’t absorb the increase either, without raising the rates they will charge to …..you got that rigt! Us…the little consumer who has no choice but to dig even deeper for these absurd retirement/pension give aways…and , they’re going to tell us that it’s really better for us in the long run..Matthew Littman must be a member of the Obama economic team…you know,” trust us”..”We are smarter then you and we know what’s best for you”…”Don’t worry yourself with the details, it’s to complex for you to understand”…hiding behind a supposed “legality” to not disclose to the public something they have every right to know is criminal…get the torches and pitchforks ready…their day of reckoning looms..
USC, the incumbent employees will be paying an additional 2% into CALPERS medical fund to cover the increased medical costs anticipated. The new employees, under a two tier system, will not get the same match that incumbent employees currently get. If we were not a public agency, management would paying the equivalent contribution to social security. The fact that we get a better return on investment is due to our not relying on the federal government to manage that fund. CALPERS has done a pretty good job over the years managing the fund.
Also, the employer match on the 401K will be reduced under the new contract.
Personally, as a ratepayer as well as an employee, I believe that if CALPERS were to tank, the taxpayers, including myself, should not be on the hook to bail CALPERS out. But, unless and until that were to happen, the enhanced retirement package should not be of concern to ratepayers. If you want to debate salaries, holidays, and other compensation elements, that is a wholly different question. one that I am not to engage in within a forum like this.
I am a retired employee with part of my pension coming from PERS. When their earnings from their investments goes down, they are required by law, to make up the difference, by charging participating agencies more. Most pension pay outs, are from earnings from investments. PERS has lost billions, just like every other large investment fund.
True, CalPERS lost billions (About $234 billion down to $161 Billion), but has already regained about $20 billion in the last 2-3 months. While OCERS may be having issues, CalPERS has weathered the downturn fairly well.
45yrsinoc says:
True, CalPERS lost billions (About $234 billion down to $161 Billion), but has already regained about $20 billion in the last 2-3 months.
============================
And with their 7.75% ROI they are STILL in the red 60 BILLION big ones and are basically insolvent on a cash flow basis.
The public employee gravy train is over-and no mumbo jumbo double talk on this blog is going to change that.
Right USC, we should turn over the operation of MWD to the next Enron in line –they did wonders bringing competition to the power industry
Yea, they are going to savee money by giving hundreds of millions of more dollars to the retiree’s.
Must be their California education talking, because truth is in the numbers and more equals less to these folks.
Can anyone say “1984.”
Calling MET and complaining about huge pension increases is like piddling into a 90 mph headwind. A total waste of time. As soon as you hang up the phone there is a huge burst of laughter at the other end. These scoudrels are no better than thieves. Low-life pick pockets without a scintilla of moral conscience. Who oversees this agency? Those are the ones I’m going to call. Please post numbers of their overseers. Thank you.
FYI: MWD is not the only agency giving out pension increases to union employees. The County of Orange union employees will receive a 2.7% pension increase annually. So stop hating on MWD, and look at all state/county/local agencies.
Pension hike is part of labor contract that will save money, Metropolitan Water District says.
IT’S THE NEW MATH. OR FUNNY MATH.
THESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE ARRESTED FOR THINKING THE PUBLIC IS SO INCREDIBLY STUPID.
This country will collapse given the current state of affairs. This society is just me, me, me and I deserve what I’m entitled to.
By the way…this water district sounds like a monopoly. Mix that with CA state politics and you get a nasty toxic recipe for legalized extortion. Disgusting!
This is COSTING the MWD EMPLOYEES - not the public.
We are giving up ALOT for this - It is costing US
Time and money
ahhhhhh………what planet did you just come in from???
Time and money? State employees are getting 3 furlough days per month. Other public employees are being laid off, or forced to retire. The water district picked a pretty poor time to enhance your pensions.
STOP DRINKING THE COOL-AID WATER GIRL!
Attn, GET REAL; IT AINT COOL-AID, STEP AWAY FROM THE BONG W/G!!!
Are you serious? Put down the kool-aid and get out while you still have half a brain. Whatever you are “paying” will only be for 5 years maximum. The enhanced benefits you will gain will go on for the rest of your life. That in a nutshell is the problem. In the world of finances, it’s called an unfunded liability. When the MWD can not sustain the big payouts in the future, who the heck do you think is going to cough up the extra $$ to keep your retirement check coming every month? Please get a clue and stop whining. NOBODY thinks anyone at MWD deserves a boost in their retirement package now or ever.
Thanks for the names & numbers, Teri. Don’t know if calling or emailing a complaint will make any difference, but it can’t hurt…and if lots & lots of readers do, well….why not give it a try?
Are the water officials who make these decisions elected or appointed? If the are elected they will not get my vote ever again. If they are appointed I will find out who the elected official is up the chain and make SURE that they do not get my vote ever again.
They’re supposed to be elected, but most of the time the incumbent will “step down” in mid-term so that a successor can be appointed until the next electin. Of course that means that they then are shown on the ballot as “incumbent”. Most voters, in the absence of any specific negative information about said “incumbent”, will just vote to preserve the status quo.
The L.A. Sheriff’s department did this for years. The current sheriff would step down in mid-term and appoint his chosen successor, who would ten run as the incumbent. It worked like that for quite a while, until Block died before the election and Baca won. Had Block lived, he would have picked a successor soon after the electin and stepped down.
Amazingly enough, Block still got quite a few votes, DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE WAS DEAD!
“Register parent files Chapter 11 bankruptcy”
HAHAHAHA!
BYE BYE MISS SFORZA!
Maybe the Enquirer has an opening for you!!!
LMAO!!
dont you losers have anything better to do get a life get a real job go to school and quit whining! oh and ship all the illegal aliens outa here thats the real problem with this whole country! its not health care its illegals using our healthcare!
hahaha ya maybe a childrens book editor >>>>> the dog ate the cat.lol! thats more like it!
terry, you have all that you need…..
Its outrageous that the water district was matching 401K contributions IN ADDDITION TO PROVIDING A GENEROUS DEFINED BENEFIT!!! This new pension enhancement places more risk on ratepayers in exchange for a zero risk 401K matching benefit. The folks who benefit the most will be those closest to retirement who make the highest salaries. They are the ones who also negotiated with the unions on behalf of the ratepayers and provided the analysis to the board that they won’t let anyone else see until it’s a done deal. Instead of hasseling over this, let’s demand that overall wages and benefit costs per employee not exceed the average wage and benefits of private sector employees. They can spend their “average” anyway they want.
All you taxpayers need to know in explanation is:
1. How much money did the unions contribute to local politicians;
2. How many campaign workers can the public unions turn out for friendly politicians; and, most importantly,
3. how many voters are public employee union workers, present public employee pension recipients and dependents of either group.
Once you understand these factors in depth, everything will make perfect sense. You will learn that the looters and moochers have pretty much taken control of the ballot box.
Just a point of info to you anti-monopolists. OF COURSE MWD IS A MONOPOLY. There is no conceivable way there could be two multi-billion-dollar infrastructure systems bringing water from the north and another two bringing it from the Colorado River. It was hard enough and expensive enough to get the existing systems in place. They are so expensive to build and operate they necessarily have to be managed by a public agency that has access to federal money and tax-free municipal bonds. That would be MWD.
Whining about MWD being a monopoly is about the same as saying the Defense Department is too expensive and we should have competing armies. Not a good idea …
The MWD must have performed a compensation analysis and determined that they will lose these valuable employees without this pension increase, right? WIth an unemployment rate >12%, I’m sure they’ll easily find work. Monopolies must stop giving ratepayers/taxpayers money away simply because they can and have the money..for now (they just raised rates).
The Directors of MWD are NOT elected. They are appointed by their respective agencies. Some of them ARE elected to a seat at that agency. But even then, many of them are unchallenged in those elections. I can tell you, that any of them do not like bad publicity or even the slightest bit of pressure. If you start making calls, they will respond. But you have to keep it up. They really like when citizens show up at their agency meetings. That is how you are going to get results.
If you guys want to know how much of a retirement payout Met employees get, this site will show you…
http://www.californiapensionreform.com/calpers/
You people screaming foul have your facts all wrong. The employees who ratified the contract did so only after agreeing to forgoe raises, give up holidays/personal days, and agreeing to pay additional contributions into the CalPERS system in order to pay for the 2.5 formula they are recieving. You news people should be ashamed for printing this bogus propaganda merely to encite public dischord. You also fail to mention that all of these retirees listed served more than 30 years of service for MWD, which is not very common in todays cut throat world. You should be ashamed of yourself. People in general industry where there are no pensions are there because of choice, no one is twisting their arms keeping them there. Maybe if companies actually offered pensions instead of tanking 401k plans, maybe they could retain talent for more than a year.