Unions want state leaders to sweeten their retirement packages. What would it cost and what would it achieve?
If you were in Albany on March 8, you might have felt the ground shake under your feet as 15,000 public sector union members chanted: “Fix Tier 6!”
It’s a cry for state leaders to boost the pensions of government employees. In 2012, the state created a new pension plan, called “Tier 6,” that had less generous benefits and required more years of work compared to previous plans. Then-Governor Andrew Cuomo claimed the change would save state and local governments $80 billion over three decades.
Now, New York’s top unions want to roll back those changes. They argue it would help keep workers in the public sector, but it won’t come cheap: In dollar terms, it could end up being one of the biggest decisions made in this year’s budget…