But it is now possible-even after the strike ended-that the transit union may succeed in getting the authority to take all or some of its pension demands off the table as the two sides seek to put the final touches on an overall settlement.
With New Jersey facing a$25 billion shortfall in its pension obligations,a state advisory commission recently urged that the retirement age for government employees,other than police,firefighters and judges,be raised to 60 from 55.
And in California,Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger faced a storm of criticism after he proposed replacing the traditional pension plan for government employees with a far less generous plan resembling 401(k)s.He ultimately backed down even as budget watchdogs complained that many police officers retired with pensions equaling 90 percent of their annual earnings.
Many government employees and their unions assert that the campaign to trim pensions threatens America's social contract for the middle class:a respectable pension.
Saying that in recent contracts they had sacrificed wage increases or better health benefits for solid pensions,many public employees and their unions assert that governments are betraying their commitments by seeking to now cut pensions.Further,they argue that much of the shortfall in pension financing could be erased by a strong stock market in the next several years.
“A lot of people are exaggerating the size of the problem,”said Gerald McEntee of the American Federation of State,County and Municipal Employees,which represents 1.4 million government workers.“Right-wing think tanks and conservative Republicans want to do away with traditional pension plans and replace them with much-cheaper 401(k)'s at the same time they want to give all these tax cuts to the rich.”
The fight over public-sector pensions follows a movement to cut private sector pensions.In recent years,corporation after corporation has complained about what they assert are the onerous costs of pensions.