OPINION: Defined-benefit foes misrepresent Alaska union member sentiment

Christopher Wright told the truth in his recent commentary when he wrote that not all public employees want a defined-benefit pension. Thanks to his contribution, I now know of one; but other than that finer point, the rest of his commentary was full of distortions, half-truths and blatant bias — one can only assume based on his own self-interest.

First of all, Mr. Wright is on the executive board of his bargaining unit — which makes him the very definition of a “union boss,” to the extent there is such a thing. I’ve been in a public union for almost a quarter-century, and at no time can I think of an example where the voices of another member or myself were somehow silenced. Quite the opposite, we elect and appoint our brothers and sisters to be our voice. The notion any union is tied or intertwined to any political ideology other than the interest of a union is completely false. I base this on the fact that my union has supported and is supported by elected officials on both sides of the aisle and is made up of the same.

Mr. Wright implied that unions ignore the best interest of members. He used several sentences to paint a picture that most union members want to keep the current scheme; this is wholly false. He pointed out that other departments nationwide are short-staffed; this is true, but he left out important facts and context. Let’s start with some facts, then roll into anecdotal examples. First, in the private sector, employers are required to pay 6% into Social Security for each employee. State and local governments are not, thus the only retirement a policeman or firefighter receives is what they can save. Second, between 2000, when I was hired, and 2007, I cannot think of one single coworker who quit — not one. Now we have people quit frequently. Why do they quit — to a person they quit for better pay and a pension; they say this directly to our administration and union. Put another way, I have yet to encounter one union member who quit from a defined-benefit department and came here because, as Mr. Wright implied, a defined-benefit pension is supposedly outdated, although it used all over the world.

To contrast the picture Mr. Wright paints, every single legislative session, the young members of my and other unions, not union leadership fly down to Juneau to lobby the Legislature to switch from our current system that does not provide a real retirement. The younger members of my union sometimes take on other schemes to supplement their retirement devoid of security, such as second jobs, increased work hours, van rental, rental properties, etc.

The biggest beneficiary of our current system is not the residents of Alaska, it is the residents of Washington state. I can think of about a dozen members of my union who left after our city paid to recruit, screen, train and even put through paramedic school, only for them to leave for Washington and Oregon; others have quit to do other jobs with pensions.

If one does some research, they would know that the 401(k) was never intended to be a sole retirement vehicle, and we can all remember the crash of 2007-08, the billions in people’s savings and retirement accounts wiped away — which could happen again tomorrow. In continuing about Mr. Wright’s being loose with facts, 13% is not paid into his account; half is, the other half is paid into Tier III. That’s right — just like all retirement systems, they need new money to pay for those who are approaching retirement are currently are. The state of Alaska’s own actuarials show the current system is inadequate and unsustainable.

The most misleading and disingenuous thing about what Mr. Wright’s argument is this: The most recent bill that had been moving through the Legislature had a 90 day opt-in window; he and all current Tier IV employees could keep the defined contribution if they chose. In the end, Mr. Wright and I come back to agreement: Do speak to policeman, firefighters, Alaska State Troopers, friends, family and acquaintances. Ask them. Since 2007, I have yet to meet a single union member — not one — who wants the current, inadequate system. In contrast, my union brothers and sisters are voting with their feet.

Shawn O’Donnell is a 24-plus year rank-and-file member of the Anchorage Firefighters Union Local 1264. He is speaking for himself and is not representing any member of any union. He is grateful for the defined-benefit union pension he has worked for, provided by the citizens he serves.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.