"My Pension Is My Pay"

As a former County of Sonoma civil servant, I receive correspondence from SCERA-Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association-and there is no T-shirt that would be more fun to wear. However, it is something that I worked very hard for in life and I take it seriously when states like Wisconsin wipe out decades of labor suffrage with a Republican governor's effort.

We are the new whipping post because even gays are not sufficient enough to bash anymore. Besides, it is about the economy stupid and we need a new scapegoat. So it is that public employees and their union pensions have become the most hated for all our perks and wonderful benefits that we earned while sitting on our hands and chewing gum while the public we served went hungry. Yeah. Right.

Most recently, correspondence from SCERA let us know that they had lost the lawsuit with The Press Democrat-a now right wing local newspaper.   The Press Democrat supported the County Adminstrator, denigrated our union and the county workers during our entire year worked without a contract.

During that year in the County Administrator wiped away the health care stipend for the retirees and all but brought pandemonium to our negotiations fueling a feeling of loathing and anger towards county management.  The CAO was much later fired with a large stipend and hired in Stockton.  A cheering wave went up around our office when the email of his demise was sent.  Nice guy that Bob.

You get the picture. The Press Democrat has reviled us as workers with benefits that were not earned. This is the smaller version of the new national trend. Although we worked hard for our pensions, the provider is now acting like they changed their mind on the agreement made with us and we are in line to lose big. Everyone who has a pension knows the feeling and it enrages all of us who have given our lives for our work. Our time on the planet as workers is as easily dismissed as the promise made upon our hiring date.

The long journey to losing the lawsuit with the Press Democrat means that my name will be published with my pension benefit amount in their newspaper. All of us will be held up as the new evildoers who have not earned a seat at the table. When we worked for the county, we gave up weeks of pay so that others could keep their jobs and we did not get any cost of living increase while the CAO, the county managers and the Board of Supervisors all took raises and kept them. That did not seem to bother The Press Democrat. 

Now it seems, like so many workers in this world, we also are subject to broken promises and broken contracts. Whether it is Britain or Sonoma county, the same lie is being fed to the public who are just dying to blame someone, anyone, for making off with their bag of riches. However, "my pension is my pay" whether the promise is broken or not.

Don't pee on my foot and tell me it's raining because I actually know the difference.