Bosses’ Law Ransacks Workers’ Pension

OAKLAND, CA — The ruling class, through its politicians and the collaboration of union leaders in California, has moved to steal billions from the working class by decimating the future of retired workers.  Governor Jerry Brown, with the assistance of Democrats who control both houses of the legislature, has passed the Public Employees Pension Reform Act (PEPRA). It could go into effect at AC Transit as early as July 1, when our contract expires.
This “reform” hurts new hires immediately. While current workers don’t face changes yet, after 2018 all of our pensions will be affected. First, PEPRA mandates that all new workers pay a minimum of half their pension costs or 6.75% of wages. That’s a wage cut of $3,000 to $5,000 a year. AC Transit workers took lower wages in the past to maintain their benefits.
Second, it bases pensions on 40 hours per week, while the average work-week of a bus driver is actually closer to 50 hours, due to split shifts and long hours in the seat. Lastly, it reduces the compensation schedule at the end by as much as 35 percent. At 55 years old, a current pension is 2 percent per year of the average of your top three years times years worked. Under PEPRA, it’s 1.3 percent. With all the changes, the pension could be reduced by almost half. Since AC has no cost-of-living allowance in its pension it means a meager pension, will be worth even less in years to come. 
While Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 192 called a special meeting of over 300 members to “fight” this attack, its strategy mainly revolves around relying on lawyers to argue that PEPRA violates federal law, or on legislation from the same state Democratic politicians to exempt transit workers. It refused to organize any mass protest at a recent Board of Directors’ meeting, which voted to adopt PEPRA.
Further, there has been no coordination among other transit unions — especially at BART, the regional subway system — whose contract also expires July 1. At the same time, AC Transit bosses plan to raise fares again on July 1st, as much as 33 percent for monthly passes for youth, seniors and disabled riders. 
PLP has put out the only information about the attack.  Our Transit CHALLENGE focused on the message “It’s up to us, the working class!” No law, no savior politicians and no “special exemptions” will rescue us! Unity across the whole Bay Area and a fight for the whole working class is our strategy. We have engaged transit workers to join with community groups to reach out to youth to fight these outrageous higher fares and service cuts. 
The membership of ATU Local 192 also passed a resolution to demand Justice for Alan Blueford, an 18-year-old high school student murdered by Oakland cops last May. The resolution flies in the face of a mass media campaign to make youth violence and crime in Oakland a “State of Emergency” with the implication that “effective community police” is the solution. The media campaign does not address continual racist police actions (four officers were involved in the shooting on the weekend of 03\01\13 in the Bay area) and massive racist unemployment among black and Latin youth.
This resolution is a small step to making a fight for the whole working class, tied to immediate issues that face our membership. Transit workers attended the March 5 rally to stop racist police terror and demand prosecution of cop Masso who shot the unarmed Blueford. The Governor, the Legislature, the cops, and the media are all part of the bosses’ system of capitalism and its state apparatus whose laws enforce profit-making by exploiting the working class. The months ahead will offer us many opportunities to struggle over the need for a communist society without exploitation and racist terror.