Background on the issue

. . . The fight is building already. A powerful business group in Houston is forming a pressure group – Texans for Public Pension Reform – whose goal is to dismantle public workers’ pension plans. A consensus is building among anti-public services/anti-public employee legislators that Texas cannot afford decent retirement and health benefits for public employees. Well-funded right-wing think tanks are providing “research” and talking points.
. . . The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the preeminent national far-right organization of state legislators, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation have both made public employee benefits major targets for 2012-2013. The TPPF held a forum in Austin in October 2011 to begin building its campaign for the 2013 legislative session.
. . . Meanwhile, the Employees Retirement System held three day-long forums in November 2011 that focused on state employee pensions, state employee health care, and state employee workforce issues. While many of the speakers at the ERS forums backed up the importance of our current benefit structure, the forums made it clear that ERS takes the coming attack very seriously. TSEU was invited to have a representative on a panel at the third forum that also included other state employee organizations and representatives of state agencies and universities.
. . . The 260,000 people who live on sub-standard salaries to work for state agencies and universities need and deserve quality, affordable retirement and health plans. And it’s not just individual employees who have a stake: our pension and health plans play a major role in our agencies’ and universities’ ability to hire and retain staff. With turnover still at crisis levels during a major recession, the State of Texas cannot afford to cut the benefits that attract the employees we need.

Get to know our state employee pension plan

. ERS, TRS are defined benefit plans
. Defined Benefit vs Defined Contribution
. A snapshot of the ERS and TRS plans
. CLICK HERE

A Pension Primer for State Employees - PDF

Click image to download this 6-page informational brochure. It contains what you need to know about our State Employee pensions.

February 15, 2012 - PDF
A secure retirement for state employees is important to all Texans
Download PDF of a presentation by TSEU to the Employees Retirement System, Solution Session

February 9, 2012
An Open Letter to Texas Public Employees & Retirees from Bill King
A message from one of the founders of a Houston-based group hoping to 'reform' our current pension plans.

TSEU's respsonse
has also been posted.

DOWNLOAD PDF
“Public Employee Pension Funds Under Assault.”
Pension booklet by CWA
The CWA Public, Health Care, and Education Workers department has published a booklet describing the attack that is breaking out on the national level, and what several unions are doing to fight back.

Knowledge alone is not power - it will take action, by thousands of state employees and our friends, to defend our pension plans, along with our health plan, our jobs, and the critical, quality services that we provide for the people of our state.