Mainline - San Francisco Firefighters Local 798

what the Adachi amendment will mean to
ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE city employees:
-Increase pension contributions
to 9% for all miscellaneous employees
and 10% for all public
safety employees
-Prohibit employer “pickup” of
pension contributions
-Double the cost of medical benefits
for dependents
-Increase the cost of dental benefits
-Require voter approval each
time and arbitrator rules in any
case
-Require voter approval of any
wage increases or economic
benefits
(Adachi co-authored this legislation with
Craig Weber, the Chairperson of the Civil
Grand Jury Commission on Pensions. This
Grand Jury issued two reports on the pension
system within 12 months, and during
the second report Mr. Weber became the
treasurer of Mr. Adachi’s campaign.)
This measure, if passed, would mean
$400 to $800 a month out of every firefighter’s
pocket. The majority of this money
would result from an increase in the
cost of dependent medical care.
The Adachi measure is
unethical
The phony measure that Jeff Adachi
authored was almost entirely funded by
a British-born billionaire named Michael
Moritz. Mr. Moritz also worked in conjunction
with Stephan Crane, a Schwarzenegger
ally and big contributor to the
Republican Party. Nearly $275,000 was
contributed by these two during the signature
gathering process, all to advance
an anti-worker, anti-middle class ballot
measure.
These contributors allowed Mr. Adachi,
the “progressive”, to become the spokesperson
for “pension reform”, but nearly
80% of the cost savings from Mr. Adachi’s
measure really comes from increased
health care costs for working families.
The entire premise of the measure is a
lie…there is virtually no “reform” to the
pension system.
The basis of the legislation is the Civil
Grand Jury Report, “The Pension Tsunami”
authored by Craig Weber, the treasurer of
Adachi’s campaign. Mr. Weber’s big “issue”
is that public safety workers have not
contributed enough to the pension system
to cover the costs of Prop. H, which
increased our pensions beginning in 2002.
Mr. Weber believes that we have never
“met and conferred” over the increased
costs of the pension upgrade. Apparently
he missed the fact that we have increased
our contribution to the pension fund three
times for active employees, and just raised
the contribution amount for new employees
with Measure D.
Mr. Weber has also carefully ignored
the fact that our contributions to the
pension system since 2002 have equaled
nearly $202 million dollars. The increased
cost to the pension system since that
time? $205 million dollars. And the reason
for the $3 million dollar difference?
Wage concessions that we have agreed
to for 7 out of the last 9 years! None of
these facts were acknowledged by Mr.
Weber and the Civil Grand Jury, and none
of these facts are acknowledged now by
Mr. Adachi. San Franciscans are not getting
the whole story.
Voters were manipulated into signing
the petition believing that $170 million
dollars will be saved yearly…but the
measure will not save nearly that much.
Nearly 50% of all city workers leave before
collecting a pension. When these workers
stop working, they receive their pension
contributions, with matching funds from
the City AND interest. If the Adachi initiative
passes, the City will have to pay out
MORE money to employees who move on
to the private sector.
The Adachi measure also jeopardizes
nearly $23 million dollars a year in federal
subsidies for health care and will result in
increased costs to the Healthy SF medical
program, with more lower paid workers
opting out of paid health care and into
the City’s free program. The measure
also jeopardizes retiree health care costs,
by eventually decreasing the number of
plans available due to increased cost.
Virtually every claim made by Mr. Adachi
and his Republican “fat cat” cronies
is a falsehood. The measure isn’t about
health care reform, the measure attacks
working families, the measure gains nearly
all of its savings from increased health
care costs, and it will not save the City
$170 million dollars…far from it.
The biggest ethical “sin” committed
by the legislation? Jeff Adachi is exempt
from making any contributions to
his own pension. Jeff Adachi has never
taken a wage concession like other city
workers. Jeff Adachi, the fiscal defender
of all social programs, has had budget
increases of nearly 48% over the last 6
years. Jeff Adachi is a hypocrite and San
Franciscans need to know this.
The Adachi measure is
possibly illegal
Hidden deep within the Adachi farce is
a little sentence which is absolutely poisonous…”If
any portion of this legislation
is found to be illegal, all wages increases
shall be withheld for 5 years.” Mr. Adachi
was so confident in his measure that
he inserted a clause that would punish
city workers if they dared to question it in
court. This is a possible violation of the 1 st
Amendment; there can be no monetary
penalties for advancing your interest in
speech.
Mr. Adachi’s legislation also takes away
collective bargaining rights, the very basis
of the labor movement in America. We
have bargained for our health care coverage
by deferring raises. We have bargained
away pay raises by increasing our
contribution to the pension system. We
have watched as increased medical and
dental costs have taken away the value
of our paycheck. But all of this was done
at the bargaining table in a give-and-take
process, essential to the collective bargaining
process. What Mr. Adachi wants
to do is take away that right to bargain
(Cont’d p6)
www.sffdlocal798.org Main Line 5