New York Officials and Unions Push for State Funding of Proposed Tier 6 Pension Changes

Hochul Confirms Tier 6 Negotiations Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed she is in negotiations with labor leaders as part of state budget talks to bring more parity to Tier 6 workers with veteran employees.

Hochul said, 'Tier 6 is on the table. We’ve been requested to look at it by the unions to right some of the wrongs of the past,' after an event last week. The Tier 6 pension plan was established in 2012 by former Gov.

Andrew Cuomo, changing requirements for different groups of unionized government workers. Union leaders have been fighting to undo or scale back Tier 6 since 2012. While running for New York City mayor, Andrew Cuomo said he would consider lobbying to relax the Tier 6 pension tightening he approved.

Thousands of union members, including those with the United Federation of Teachers, attended a rally in Albany last month demanding better pensions. A rally was held by law-enforcement unions on Long Island last week.

Proposed Costs and Local Opposition The proposed Tier 6 plan would impose $1.

2 billion in new costs on municipalities and school districts, according to a union proposal obtained by The Post. Under the proposed Tier 6 plan, state municipalities outside New York City would face $407 million in costs. School districts would face $480 million in additional costs.

The proposed Tier 6 plan would impose $328 million in new costs on New York City alone. 4 billion deficit. ' Mamdani, a former state assemblyman, said he is open to a proposal allowing government workers hired after 2012 to retire at 55 years old.

' Feiner, who has been the Greenburgh Town supervisor for 35 years and is a Democrat, said, 'One hundred percent of all costs should be paid for by the state, not local governments or school districts,' regarding the Tier 6 proposal.

Joint Statement from Local Government Groups The Conference of Mayors, Association of Counties, and Association of Towns issued a joint statement saying, 'Our position is unequivocal: if the State of New York chooses to amend Tier 6, the State must fully fund all costs associated with those changes.

' The groups stated that counties, cities, towns, and villages operate under severe fiscal constraints including the property tax cap, rising costs for essential services, and the growing burden of unfunded state mandates. The Conference of Mayors, Association of Counties, and Association of Towns stated that any increase in employer pension contribution rates from Tier 6 amendments would force local governments to cut essential services, eliminate positions, or seek property tax increases.

Local governments must contribute more to employee pensions if investment returns underperform, such as during a downturn or bear market.

Views from Political Figures Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor, said, 'Tier 6 is a complicated issue that should be part of the collective bargaining process.

As Nassau County Executive, I have had four years of labor peace without raising taxes.