COLUMBUS, Ohio — In response to what it calls growing attacks on public workers, a new coalition of Ohio unions has launched to protect public retirement benefits.
“This coalition will highlight the many ways that hard-earned retirement income strengthens our economy and supports local communities,” said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. “Every worker deserves to retire with dignity, and we are here to remind legislators of the promises made — and of the contributions and sacrifices workers have made to earn that right.”
The Ohio Public Pension Coalition brings together six public-sector unions:
Ohio Federation of Teachers,
Ohio Education Association
Fraternal Order of Police
Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters
AFSCME Ohio Council 8
Ohio Association of Public School Employees
The coalition’s formation follows a series of Statehouse moves that unions see as threats to public retirement systems.
Those include a budget amendment that reshaped the State Teachers Retirement System board and Senate Bill 69, a placeholder measure declaring lawmakers’ intent to “reform the law governing the state’s public retirement systems.”
One proposal already on the table is House Bill 473, which would ban public employers from paying any part of their workers’ mandatory pension contributions in new contracts.
Supporters say this would make compensation more transparent and fair to taxpayers.
Right now, a superintendent might be listed as earning a $200,000 salary, but the public doesn’t see another $20,000 or more the district might be paying toward that person’s pension contribution.
Rep. Dave Thomas, an Ashtabula County Republican, said hidden costs like that make it hard for taxpayers to know the true value of a public employee’s compensation package.
Union leaders see it differently.
They have said these contracts get approved in public meetings and are available for anyone to read. And if greater transparency is the goal, it shouldn’t come at the expense of local governments’ flexibility to recruit and retain top talent.
While pension pickups are rare for teachers, Ohio Education Association President Jeff Wensing said about 20 of its member districts currently offer them.
HB 473 isn’t the only flashpoint.
A last-minute budget amendment this summer replaced most of the elected teacher representatives on the State Teachers Retirement System pension board with political appointees.
Republicans, who added the language into the budget, said reform was needed after years of board drama and mismanagement.
Teachers’ unions said it unfairly singled them out, making STRS the only pension board where elected members are in the minority.