Albany, NY – Labor Leaders and Public Sector Workers turned out at the MVP Arena in Albany on Sunday, March 8th to push for changes to New York’s Tier 6 Pension System.
Union Members and a variety of Public Workers participated in the rally of 15,000 who came from across the State. The goal was to ask legislators to fix Tier 6. Governor Kathy Hochul joined the group.
The union message was clear to State Lawmakers: Fix Tier 6 now – and restore fairness to the State’s Pension System.Union Leaders say roughly 780,000 Public Workers are currently enrolled in Tier 6, which requires Employees to work longer, contribute more from each paycheck and receive smaller retirement benefits than Workers in earlier Pension Tiers.
The retirement requirements are very different: Tier 6 Members must work until age 63 or complete up to 40 years of service to avoid penalties – while Tier 4 Members can retire at age 55 with 30 years of service.
Every Worker deserves a dignified retirement, the Union speakers said, and if Tier 6 is not fixed now, New York risks losing its ability to attract and keep the talented Public Servants our communities depend on.
Governor Hochul said the differences have made it harder for Schools, Hospitals and Government Agencies to hire workers: “You told us you were struggling to recruit nurses and teachers and other hardworking individuals, and we listened. We have to make some changes.”
Hochul is proposing several reforms, including reducing the vesting period from 10 years to five years and changing how retirement benefits are calculated by averaging a Worker’s three highest consecutive years of salary instead of five.
Hochul said the changes would create a fairer Pension System and help encourage more people to pursue careers in public service. The proposals need approval from State Lawmakers as budget negotiations continue in Albany.
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie also spoke at the rally.
Union speakers included: New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento; New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) President Melinda Person, President; American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten; Public Employees Federation (PEF) President Wayne Spence; New York State Professional Firefighters Association President Sam Fresina; Actress Lisa Ann Walter, the star of ABC TV’s Abbott Elementary and Vice President of the Los Angeles Local of SAG-AFTRA, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew; New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) President Pat Kane, to name a few.
