This post on the Alliance for Retired Americans annual legislative conference being held this week in Washington, D.C., comes from James Parks at the AFL-CIO Now blog:

This is the year for passing real health care reform and to begin rebuilding the nation’s middle class by passing laws that give workers a free choice to join a union. And union retirees, one of the most active political groups in the country, will play a big role in bringing about change, top government leaders said.

Speaking in the opening session of the Alliance for Retired Americans annual legislative conference on Monday were U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee.

Both Sebelius and McEntee told the delegates that any health care reform must include an option for a public plan and must not tax the health benefits that workers and retirees receive through their employers.

Pointing out that President Obama received a higher percentage of votes from union retirees than any other group of voters, McEntee, who heads the AFL-CIO Political Committee, said health care reform is just one of the ways that “we’re taking back our nation for working families and retirees.”

“They [Republicans] are trying to take away our victories. George Bush stole part of the American Dream. He decimated the middle class, created the biggest gap in wealth in decades and left us with two wars.”

McEntee urged the seniors who will lobby lawmakers Wednesday to send a message to Capitol Hill.

“This is our best chance [to take back America]. We have to take it. We know what we’re up against. Go to Capitol Hill and tell them we’re kicking ass and taking names.”

Read more at the AFL-CIO Now Blog.

It’s no mystery. The economy is ailing, working families are fighting hard to make ends meet and this week alone, American companies reported as many as 65,000 job cuts.

You’d think that in these times of duress everyone would be tightening their belts and pulling together to jumpstart the economy, right? Well, not Wall Street bankers, that’s for sure. According to a report by the New York State comptroller, financial executives received a whopping $18.4 billion in bonuses for 2008.

President Obama condemned their behavior as the “height of irresponsibility,” adding that:

“It is shameful. And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.”

That’s right. We are talking about the same banks and investment firms that were bailed out last year to the tune of $700 billion because of their own financial irresponsibility. If taxpayers and shareholders take huge losses, there should be no bonuses. Period.

This is why for years AFSCME has spearheaded the fight to curb executive pay. Congress should give shareholders a “say on pay” on CEO compensation and “golden parachute” severance agreements. Not only is the compensation awarded to CEOs outrageous, but shelling out excessive amounts of money to a few greedy individuals genuinely damages the economy.

In the wake of our current financial crisis, the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan has announced its 2009 shareholder program with an emphasis on reasonable executive pay and more director accountability.

The AFSCME Plan is an institutional shareholder with more than $850 million in assets that works to ensure that the retirement benefits promised to public employees are safe and secure. In 2006, the AFSCME Plan was first to file “Say on Pay” proposals requiring shareholder approval of executive compensation.

In a statement released today, AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee explained the importance of the 36 shareholder proxy proposals submitted for consideration at annual meetings this spring:

“The failure of boards to properly assess risk, coupled with an emphasis on short term results that produced sky high pay for executives has left us in the worst financial mess since the Great Depression. These proposals will encourage corporate executives to avoid the type of short-term decision-making that has wreaked havoc upon our financial markets.”

Proposals have been filed at: Abercrombie & Fitch; Allstate; American International Group; Ameriprise Financial; Apple; Bank of America; Bank of New York Mellon; Charles Schwab; Citigroup; ConocoPhillipsVS Caremark (CVS); Danaher (DHR); Dow Chemical (DOW); E*TRADE Financial (ETFC); Equifax (EFX); General Dynamics (GD); Honeywell (HON); Huntington Bancshares (HBAN); Ingersoll-Rand (IR); IntercontinentalExchange (ICE); JPMorgan Chase (JPM); Macy’s (M); Moody’s (MCO); Morgan Stanley (MS); Nabors (NBR); Northrop Grumman (NOC); Occidental Petroleum (OXY); Office Depot (ODP); Raytheon (RTN); Safeway (SWY); Tenet Healthcare (THC); Textron (TXT); Valero Energy (VLO); Vulcan Materials (VMC); Wachovia (WB); and Walt Disney Company (DIS).

Read the press release for more.

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was originally posted on The Huffington Post.

Right-wing critics of public employee pensions will use any angle to convince folks that these plans are bankrupting states, cities and towns. In the Wall Street Journal this week, Steve Malanga blames pension plans for today’s economic difficulties and in the same piece urges governments to sell off their assets.

Malanga fails to mention that most public pension plans are in good financial condition and does not note that states built up rainy-day funds and cut taxes during this time. It’s a fact that most of us are required to contribute to our plans regularly, and our contributions, along with our employer’s, are invested to earn additional income. While the economic downturn has caused some dips in funds, estimates of the ratio of pension assets-to-liabilities for state pension plans indicate that they are in good shape. Most plans have diversified their investments so the impact of today’s market losses is softened. Over the last twenty years, most pension funds have had a good rate of return, even during downturns, because they keep fees low and use professionals to routinely beat market benchmarks.

Pension funds, with assets from employers and employees, are an essential part of this nation’s capital market, particularly at a time of economic crisis such as the one we are currently facing. Public employees have sacrificed pay increases and made contributions in order to ensure that their pension plans are adequately funded. And governments have also been prudent about building up their reserves — as of July 2007, state rainy day funds stood at 10% of total budgets, which would have been sufficient to deal with a moderate cyclical recession. Of course, what we’re seeing is far worse.

The truth is that in these times of real budget challenges, pensions make good economic sense. Pensions put money into the economy, offer real retirement security to workers, and allow government employers to recruit and retain a quality workforce to make the vital public services that America relies on happen. The investments made by pension funds have helped make America work and can help turn our economy around in the days and months ahead.

Most Americans recognize that today’s government challenges are the result of an economic downturn rivaling that of the Great Depression and a Bush Administration that willfully ignored the economic problems. Malanga himself acknowledges several times in the piece that “rapidly declining tax collections” are the cause of the states’ budget problems. Yet this fact is ignored in the diagnosis and prescription of the fiscal crisis we are in.

Malanga also argues for privatization of roads and other public goods. The solution is not privatization, which all too often means that the public pays more and gets lower quality services while public workers are laid off and corruption scandals make the news. Americans need quality public services and efficient governments that help achieve real progress for communities. While some view selling public assets like toll roads to private firms as a panacea for infrastructure investment, the public is fiercely — and rightly — opposed to selling our roads for the pursuit of private profit.

Public pensions are providing benefits for the economy, retirement security and taxpayers. As states find their budgets under pressure, it is important that states put in place procedures and practices that will mitigate against rosy projections regarding investment income and provide a means to pay for the benefits their employees have earned.

While improvements can always be made, pensions are not the problem. The economy is the problem, and the President and Congress need to take real steps to revitalize the economy and help the American people.

The Social Security Administration announced Thursday that Social Security benefits are set to jump by 5.8 percent next year, the largest increase in more than 25 years. But if George Bush and John McCain had implemented their plan to privatize Social Security and put our hard-earned money into risky private accounts on Wall Street, seniors would be seeing a massive reduction in their benefits instead.

As this ad explains, putting John McCain and Wall Street speculators in control of Social Security is a gamble Americans just can’t afford to take.

Paid for by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees PEOPLE (1625 L St, NW, Washington, DC 20036) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was originally posted on The Huffington Post.

After days of silence from the White House, President Bush emerged last night to tell a national television audience that his request for a $700 billion blank check for bankers was dead. Instead, the president capitulated on some of the key points that Democrats, labor and progressive groups have been demanding in any federal financial bailout, including the need for oversight, limits on executive compensation and protection for the taxpayers who will be footing the bill.

The threat to Wall Street clearly got the president’s attention. That’s great. But it’s hard not to be amazed at the threat to working Americans that he’s ignored all year long. After all, we’ve lost more than 605,000 jobs this year, while Bush echoed John McCain that the economy was fundamentally strong. 9,800 people lose their homes to foreclosure every day, while Bush and McCain opposed federal assistance. 45 million Americans go without health insurance, while Bush and McCain ignore the country’s demand for quality, affordable health care for all.

They insist they oppose “big government” - except when their friends on Wall Street ask for help! The struggles of America’s working families don’t cut it for them. Nope. Problems on Main Street are to be ignored. However, led by President Bush and his anti-regulation, pro-market, anti-government, free-market-cheering corporate cohorts, the federal government is swiftly coming to the rescue of the financial markets.

The mess on Wall Street does need an urgent fix and it is an appropriate role for government. It’s also the government’s role to help prevent these kinds of crises in the first place, and to make sure that this week’s solution tackles the whole problem, because the problem is bigger than Wall Street.

But last night, Bush agreed to several of the common-sense proposals given by those who want to resolve the crisis but ensure that tax dollars won’t be given without strings attached. However, the president continues to ignore the needs of American workers laid off this year, state and local governments that are reeling under the failed Bush economy, and families who are losing their homes and savings while Bush has been in charge.

For working families, the Bush message is clear: “You’re on your own.” So too are state governments, who have to meet their responsibilities to their citizens no matter what the federal government does. Not only is that approach not right, it also won’t work.
As Bush drove the national economy over the cliff, state and local governments have been put into an ever-tightening vice grip. Their budgets are bursting at the seams while their cash flow is drying up.

This creates another real crisis - just when citizens’ needs are greatest - our state and local governments are least able to provide that assistance. But throughout the last year, George Bush and John McCain have turned a blind eye to those who are struggling to keep their homes, their health care and their jobs during this economic downturn. Back then they were talking about “market correction.” Only now are they talking about government intervention.

While the federal government comes to the aid of Wall Street, it also needs to help the families on Main Street. States need immediate assistance to prevent cuts in health care and vital services. They need more resources to create jobs and complete infrastructure repairs. They need funds to help families maintain a basic standard of living. Federal assistance for programs such as Food Stamps and Medicaid are especially important right now. While we must restore accountability and stability to our nation’s financial institutions, we also can’t turn our back on the urgent needs of millions of hard-working Americans who struggle to pay the bills, feed their children and seek health care if they fall ill.

This is America - we know how to take on tough challenges. And we can do more than one thing at a time. We have to rescue the economy and our state governments and the working families who depend on them.

There are tough choices to be made and Congress should make them. They should insist on fairness for all rather than a bailout for the wealthy few. They should help our state governments along with the Wall Street firms. They should insist on a bailout that’s accountable, transparent and prevents these problems in the future. Congress should remember that the goal here is not to bail out Wall Street but to rebuild the economy and rebuild America’s middle class.

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was crossposted on The Huffington Post.

On Monday of last week, John McCain discussed the economic crisis facing Wall Street before an audience in Jacksonville, Florida. Reflecting on the turmoil then engulfing the economy, McCain reassured the crowd that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” It is a line he has used repeatedly throughout the past year. McCain spoke at the beginning of a week when the financial markets began to implode. Major American business institutions that had survived the Great Depression failed to survive the week, brought down by the mismanagement and excess of the Bush years. One might ask Senator McCain to explain why a country whose economy is fundamentally sound is now facing the greatest economic crisis in 70 years. And why are hard-working citizens being told to pick up a tab of $700 billion to pay for the huge mess that the greedy, Republican free-marketers have left after their disastrous experiment with “look the other way” regulatory policies?

Senator McCain wants to continue the experiment, this time on health care. Writing in the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries, Senator McCain suggests that we should apply the same hands-off approach that he encouraged throughout the past decade on Wall Street to the health care industry. McCain wrote, “Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.” I am absolutely certain that the American people have had enough Republican-generated “innovative products” to last a lifetime. What we need is quality, affordable health care for all.

American families have already seen what unregulated corporate gurus can do to workers’ pensions and investments, including their depleted 401(k) accounts, yet John McCain wants the insurance industry to enjoy the same kind of unregulated excess that he gave the investment bankers. We already know the havoc insurance companies can inflict on families - denying coverage and care - with the limited regulations they face today. As it is, they run roughshod over consumers. Why would John McCain want to make things worse?

Senator McCain talks tough about the economic disaster facing Wall Street and investors across the country, but his talk doesn’t match the deregulation agenda he’s pushed during his many long years in Washington. Yet, even when he’s talking tough, he reveals how little he knows about the economy. Last week, as the depth of the crisis became clear, he said that if he were President, he would fire former Congressman Chris Cox, who George W. Bush appointed to head the independent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Unfortunately, no one told Senator McCain that the U.S. President cannot fire the chairmen of independent agencies. That’s why they are “independent.” As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, you would think McCain would know this.

AFSCME has been leading the fight for shareholder “say on pay proposals,” and we’re battling to make sure that restrictions on excessive executive compensation are included in the bail-out legislation heading to Congress. John McCain says he thinks executive salaries are too high, but he hasn’t done anything about it. On the campaign trail, he’s taking on a populist tone: “That same executive got $21 million of your money,” McCain said of Fannie Mae’s CEO Jim Johnson. “And the other CEO [Frank Raines] . . . got $25 million of your money. Let’s tell them to give it back. Let’s tell them to give it back.” Both Frank Raines and Jim Johnson were outrageously overpaid, but they were paid with shareholder funds, not tax dollars. It is shocking to learn that Senator McCain, who claims that his decades on the Commerce Committee is valuable economic experience, was unaware that until last week, Fannie Mae was owned by shareholders, not by taxpayers.

Senator McCain may not know the details of Fannie Mae’s structure, but he should know more about his staff’s close connection to the failed company. News reports today indicate that Washington lobbyist Rich Davis, Senator McCain’s top campaign aide, was paid $30,000 a month for five years by Fannie Mae. It seems Fannie Mae paid that money to Davis because of his closeness to Senator McCain. Perhaps the senator should spare us his newly found populist rhetoric and simply fire Davis. While he’s at it, he might ask him what he did to earn $30,000 a month. He might also ask him to “give it back.”

From the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): Fears about the future of Social Security were allayed on Friday by a new report issued by the independent Congressional Budget Office. The report finds that not only can future beneficiaries keep counting on receiving benefits in retirement, they can expect those benefits to be larger – even after adjusting for inflation – than those being paid to today’s retirees.

Bush and company in 2005 failed miserably to convince the American public that Social Security privatization was the holy grail of retirement security. Doomsayers will continue to claim the sky is falling, but the facts tell a different story.

EPI outlines the CBO’s findings in a new Policy Memo.

On Monday, July 7, Senator John McCain told a Denver town hall meeting that Social Security, as originally conceived more than 70 years ago, is an “absolute disgrace.” In his latest entry on the Huffington Post, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee says the real disgrace is how little Sen. McCain understands about Social Security and the U.S. economy.

Just like George W. Bush, McCain’s out to destroy something he knows nothing about. When they combine ignorance with power, they leave it to the rest of us to pick up the pieces from the damage they cause. Bush tried to destroy Social Security and we fought him tooth and nail.

If John McCain thinks he can do what we kept Bush from doing, he’s got another thing coming. The American people won’t let him destroy Social Security.

Read the full post.

This just out: A Time Magazine feature on executive compensation and how the “Say on Pay” movement began… at AFSCME. AFSCME has led shareholder reform efforts at major U.S. corporations such as AIG, Morgan Stanley and Home Depot and has played a leading role fighting for more democratic elections on corporate boards and has led the effort to restrain runaway executive pay. Read the full story.

Also out this week, USA Today ran a three-page feature on executive compensation complete with an interactive chart of CEO pay and stock awards at the top 50 companies in the S&P 500.

Today AFSCME is leading an effort to vote against the directors at Washington Mutual, who decided to award bonuses to executives despite the huge losses to the company from the subprime mortgage mess for which they were directly responsible. We will continue these efforts until skyrocketing CEO and executive pay is brought under control.