San Jose POA Pension Fight May be Over

Photo: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

A spokesman for San Jose’s police union said Friday that labor and city officials may be closing in on a deal to roll back pension reform Measure B in exchange for cost savings and a resolution to a bitter, years-long legal and political conflict.

Tom Saggau, spokesman for the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, told CBS News that a breakthrough came last Wednesday, when Mayor Sam Liccardo sent a letter to city employee unions saying the City Council might agree to resolve issues on pensions, disability, and other aspects of Measure B as part of a “global settlement” this year.

The union would be amenable to proposals that would reduce the city’s costs to pay employee retirement and disability pensions, replacing what Measure B mandated, he said.

One controversial provision enjoyed by some police pensioners, the so-called “13th check” pension bonus at the end of year, would be eliminated, saving the city $18 million annually.

Another topic would be to have second-tier retirement plans for new officers in place that are “competitive to retain and attract police officers,” he said.

The union would also be agreeable to a disability pension plan “without abuse,” a pension pay cap “that has to be lower” and having employees work longer and contribute more to their retirement plans, he said.

Saggau said city officials have had a standing goal of returning to the level of service the city had in 2011, the year 300 police were laid off when San Jose had to cut costs due to the national recession of the late 2000s.

Saggau said that could mean that Measure B and the lawsuits filed by unions against it and fought by the city could be settled while the city and the unions bargain simultaneously on employee labor contracts that expire this year.

“We’ll be discussing both of them for a global settlement in 2015,” Saggau said. “So, it’s pretty significant.”

“This is really from our perspective a very positive development,” he said.

Saggau said union and city officials conceivably could meet as early as next week about legal settlements and issue discussions after which “Measure B would go away,” he said.

“Both sides would end litigation and appeals” concerning the measure, he said.

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