To Serve and Protect—Police Pensions

[Valin]

WSJ:

Message from the unions: Don't try cutting a cop's retirement pay.

ALLYSIA FINLEY

1/11/13

 

What is a powerful public union to do when it looks like a city's busted balance sheet is finally forcing some fiscal reform? Naturally, buy a house next door to the city manager's and launch an intimidation campaign aimed at getting him to avoid any real fixes. At least that's what the police union of Stockton, Calif., did in 2011—with great success.

 

The police union claimed that the home purchase was meant to diversify its "investments." But at the time, Stockton City Manager Bob Deis was asking the union to come to the table and renegotiate benefits that were contributing to exploding labor costs and budget gaps exceeding $40 million as far as the eye could see. Already, Mr. Deis had tried to stave off municipal bankruptcy by cutting the city's staff 25%, furloughing employees and trimming fringe benefits.

 

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But strong-arming police unions aren't unique to Stockton. Last summer, a private investigator used by Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir—the law firm representing the public-safety union of Costa Mesa, Calif.—followed Mayor Jim Righeimer (who was serving at the time as mayor pro tem) home from a pub and called the cops on him for drunken driving. Mr. Righeimer, who had merely imbibed two Diet Cokes, passed the sobriety test. Costa Mesa's police union fired the firm after Mr. Righeimer went public about the incident.

 

(Snip)