by NYSPFFA President Michael McManus
For months, the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon has made no secret of his point-of-view regarding the issues associated binding arbitration, or his principal targets: the police and fire fighters who every day risk their lives to protect the public.
Earlier this week, McMahon and the Empire Center issued a report that unfairly attacked the pensions earned by police and fire fighters.
And while I disagree with virtually every word that he utters, this week his “research” not only lacked credibility, but makes you ask: What exactly is your point?
McMahon ‘s twists segmented data and asserted that the annual pension benefits received by members of the police and fire retirement system are excessive.
The truth is this: after careers that in many cases span more than 20 years, the average retirement benefit for members of the state’s police and fire retirement system is approximately $42,000.
My review of the “report” left me scratching my head – especially the list of top pensions received in the state. More specifically, the statistics he provides indicate that 17 of the top 20 pensions received in the state are a result of the common employee retirement fund – not police and fire. The average benefit of these non-firefighters and police officers – but rather college presidents, doctors, administrators is $209,876 – nearly five times the average pension earned by police and firefighters.
McMahon is relying on misdirection to support his statistical sleight of hand. And, is relying on the age-old truism, with the vulgarity cleaned up for this posting: If you can’t win on the facts, dazzle them with your footwork.
Some of the nation’s most credible economists have studied the issues surrounding binding arbitration. And these researchers from Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have reached the following conclusion: that binding arbitration settlements mirror those of traditional negotiations.
As the end of the legislative session nears, I urge the members of the Senate and Assembly to take action on the measures sponsored by Assemblyman Peter Abate and Senator Martin Golden that will maintain the rights of fire fighters and police officers to seek third-party resolution when contact disputes reach an unavoidable impasse. This is the only responsible way to ensure that labor disputes do not result in a breach of public safety.