CUNY ALLIANCE           

If you care about sound management of your benefits, it's time to elect new union leaders.

THIS WEEK you have an opportunity to change the leadership of the PSC by marking your ballot in favor of the CUNY ALLIANCE and mailing it back.

The fact that the Bowen regime mismanaged the Welfare Fund (our benefits fund), and then agreed to a contract that forced members to give back $30 million in retroactive pay to save it from bankruptcy, provides a powerful argument to do just that.

Here's a reminder of the facts.

The Welfare Fund nearly went bankrupt under New Caucus mismanagement

• In 2000, when Bowen's New Caucus took office, the Welfare Fund Reserve (our benefits fund) stood at $15.2 million (see page 26 of the NYC Comptroller's report [Click here], or the complete report [Click here] )
  
  
• By fiscal year 2005, the reserve had decreased to $3.7 million, a level that the NYC Comptroller warned was at short-term risk of insolvency (see page 36 of the NYC Comptroller's report [Click here] )
  
  
• By October 2005 (i.e., after five years of New Caucus mismanagement) the Welfare Fund Reserve was even closer to bankruptcy at $2 million. (See Board minutes [Click here] )

Members were forced to give back salaries to save the Welfare Fund

In Spring 2006, the Bowen regime reached a contract deal that required union members to give back about $30 million of our retroactive pay to save the Welfare Fund from bankruptcy. (A typical member lost between $1000 and $2000 in retroactive pay, and some gave up as much as $2600.)

Specifically, we were forced to give up all of our retroactive pay in year one ($800 in cash) and 80% of our retroactive pay in year two (i.e., 2% of our 2.5% raise). [See E-mail from NC VP Steve London] Both our calculation and the Chancellor's report on the agreement put the total rescue package at around $30 million.

The solution: Elect leaders who put union business first

The CUNY ALLIANCE believes that Bowen's New Caucus mismanaged the Welfare Fund and negotiated bad contracts because of its unrelenting focus on global politics to the detriment of union business. Our focus will be different: we believe that union leaders should focus on protecting our rights in job-related matters, like wages, benefits, job security and working conditions.

We can't afford to re-elect the same Bowen administration that focuses on global politics, while our benefits fund nearly goes bankrupt.

The CUNY ALLIANCE believes that it is the duty of union leaders to focus on real and tangible improvements in the working lives of union members.  

Vote CUNY ALLIANCE
for
PAYCHECK JUSTICE

If you have not received your ballot please click on the following link for more information.

http://www.cunyalliance.org/mis/
election_countdown.htm

CUNY ALLIANCE thanks you for your support

President: Frederick Brodzinski

First Vice-President: James Blake

Secretary: Thea Pignataro

Treasurer: Rina Yarmish

To contact us via email write to: ca@cunyALLIANCE.org
www.CUNYALLIANCE.ORG