Calpers Final Compensation

Opposing campaigns come out slinging on Measures A and B

San Luis Obispo voters are being inundated by the pros and cons of two ballot measures focused on employee benefits and compensation.

The special election campaign — consisting of debates, print and broadcast advertisements, rallies and phone calls — has been under way for the past month, urging voters to pick a side in the contentious fight.

New battle over binding arbitration in San Luis Obispo

Eleven years ago, San Luis Obispo voters passed a measure that altered the way public safety unions and the city decide on pay, benefits and working conditions.

The change introduced a rule that stipulated a third-party authority would decide on those issues if an agreement couldn’t be reached.

The unions declared it a victory, saying it would lead to better working conditions for their members. City leaders shuddered, saying the decision could potentially take away local control of the city’s budget.

Editorial: Yes for Measures A and B makes most financial sense

Binding arbitration has been used only once in San Luis Obispo, and that one time was disastrous enough. We shouldn’t take the chance on that happening again.

Here’s a refresher course on what occurred in 2008: Police Department salaries went up 30 percent for officers and 37 percent for dispatchers over the course of the four-year contract, when accounting for compounding.

That boosted salaries for San Luis Obispo police officers to among the highest in the state; starting pay for a San Luis Obispo officer rose to $75,000 per year, which at that time was 33 percent more than the entry-level police salary in Los Angeles.

Talk targets binding arbitration

A police officer, a firefighter, a city councilman and a local citizen faced off Tuesday to debate how San Luis Obispo residents should vote on two measures that could change city policy on pay, working conditions and retirement benefits.

UCLA Faculty Association: LAO Writes Up Yet Another Ebenstein ...

California Has Both Statewide and Local Public Pension Plans. The two largest entities managing state or local pension systems in California are the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). Combined, CalPERS and CalSTRS serve 3.1 million members (about 8 percent of California's population), including around 750,000 members and beneficiaries who currently receive benefit payments. Members of CalPERS include current and past employees of state government and the California State University (CSU), as well as judges and classified public school employees. In addition, hundreds of local governmental entities (including cities, counties, special districts, and county offices of education) choose to contract with CalPERS to provide pension benefits for their employees. Members of CalSTRS include current and past teachers and administrators of California's public school and community college districts. Members of CalPERS and CalSTRS receive differing levels of pension benefits. Many CalPERS members also participate in the federal Social Security program; in general, CalSTRS members do not.

In addition to CalPERS and CalSTRS, about 80 other defined benefit state and local pension systems (such as the University of California [UC] Retirement System, the Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association, and the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System) serve about one million other Californians, including about 300,000 who currently receive benefit payments.

Defined Benefit Pensions. CalPERS and CalSTRS both provide "defined benefit" pensions to their members. Defined benefit pensions provide a specific monthly benefit after retirement that is generally based on the employee's age at retirement, years of service, salary at or near the end of his or her career, and type of work assignment. Defined benefit pensions are one part of public employees' total compensation, along with salaries, health benefits, and other employment benefits. In general, both public employees and their employers (and, in the case of CalSTRS, the state government as well) contribute to public retirement systems to finance future pension benefits during the employees' working years. Public pension systems invest these contributions to generate returns that, over time, pay for a significant portion of these pension benefits. The pensions of CalSTRS members are established in state law—specifically, in the state's Education Code—and generally are not the subject of local negotiations between districts and teachers' unions. The pensions of CalPERS members also are established in state law—generally, in the state's Government Code—with some aspects of state or local employee pensions delineated in memoranda of understanding (MOUs) or labor contracts with unionized public employees' bargaining units.

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