ALBANY — CSEA recently urged state legislators to support continued reforms to the pension system, civil service examinations and worker hiring process, in testimony to the State Senate’s Civil Service & Pensions Committee.
CSEA Legislative Director Joshua Terry delivered the testimony on behalf of our union at a recent public hearing, joining representatives from the New York State AFL-CIO, PEF and NYSUT on a panel.
Our union has been working with Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration on efforts to reform the pension system, as well as civil service reforms to promote worker recruitment and retention. The governor and legislature have made positive reforms to pensions and civil service, but more work needs to be done.
The need for these changes is dire, as years of state inaction, austerity budgets and hiring freezes have decimated the public workforce. Both the state and local governments have lost tens of thousands of workers in the past decade, and more than 25% of the state workforce is eligible to retire within the next five years. More so, the public sector has not kept up with private sector employers’ higher wages, bonuses and flexible work schedule.
“We recognize the fact that Governor Hochul and the Legislature, particularly those on this committee, have acknowledged and acted on the crisis we are facing,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “We are encouraged by the changes made by the Governor and legislature to Tier 6. We are also pleased by recent civil service reforms. However, while these are important changes, there is still much work to be done to address this staffing crisis.”
Among numerous items, CSEA has proposed the following reforms to pensions, civil service and hiring:
- Standard contribution rate of 3% of salary (aligning the rate with Tiers 4 and 5), as opposed to the current variable rate for Tier 6.
- Increasing the pension multiplier after 20 years of service to equal that of Tier 4.
- Ability to count an increased amount of overtime in pensions.
- Have pension payment be based on a three-year final average salary.
- Eliminate salary withholding for newly hired state employees.
- Virtual civil service examination options.
- Streamlining the onboarding process for new hires.
Read the full testimony at cseany.org.
— Janice Gavin
CSEA Legislative Director Joshua Terry, third from left, delivers our union’s testimony on workforce retention and Tier 6 reform to the State Senate’s Civil Service and Pensions Committee as part of a labor panel. From left to right in photo are NYSUT Deputy Director of Legislation Pete Savage, PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio, CSEA Legislative Director Joshua Terry and New York State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Mike Neidl. (Photo by Jill Asencio.)
