Take Back UC: Pension Plan

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UC must prioritize its patient care and service workers, in order to provide the high level of patient care and student services that Californians deserve.

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UC workers are calling for the UC Retirement System to be governed jointly by a board of trustees that would include representatives of both UC management and UC employees. Right now, the UC Regents make decisions on the pension unilaterally.

Employees of the California State University system and of the California Community Colleges are in pension plans that have joint governance, with management and plan participant (active and retired staff and faculty) representatives on their boards. In fact, UC workers are the only California state employees without a say in how their pension money is invested and how benefits are administered.

Overall, pension plans with joint employer/employee boards are better managed, are able to avoid conflicts of interest, and have better and more secure benefits than retirement systems that are governed solely by management. See below for articles on the UC Retirement System and conflicts of interest and poor management.

UC Regents have the constitutional authority to delegate pension decision-making to a jointly governed board of trustees, but so far have not heeded the call by employees, faculty and legislators to do so.

Joint governance for the UC Retirement System is supported by AFSCME, other UC unions, and the Council of UC Faculty Associations.

The California State Assembly and the Senate passed a resolution last year – SCR 52 – instructing the UC regents to delegate their unilateral authority over the pension plan to a board of trustees comprised of management and plan participant representatives.

Legislation passed earlier by Senator Leland Yee – SB 190 – enacted the Higher Education Governance Accountability Act, which prevented the UC regents circumventing open meeting laws by forming Regents “task forces” to discuss pension and other compensation-related decisions.

Legislators continue to work with UC employees to secure their right to a voice on their pension!

UC pension plan articles:

Cap & Frown
Institutional Investor, 9/07

Legislature Demands UC Workers Get Voice on Pensions
California Chronicle, 9/12/07

Parsky’s Party
East Bay Express, 5/9/07

Pension Woes Dog UC Regents
East Bay Express, 5/23/07

Union Calls for Closer Look at Finance Experts
San Francisco Chronicle, 5/4/07

Many Eyes on the Pension Prize
The Berkeleyan, 10/06

UC Deal Followed Big Gift to GOP
SF Examiner, 7/16/00

More GOP Donations Preceded UC Contract
SF Examiner, 8/13/00

2008 Take Back UC: For Patients, Students and Families