Pensions

• Idaho Teachers to Get Bonuses Even if Law is Repealed
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Idaho   |   September 24, 2012
• Idaho teachers who earned merit-pay bonuses last year under a controversial school-reform law will get those payments this fall, regardless of the outcome of a Nov. 6 vote on whether to repeal the law.

• Teacher Pensions to Cost Illinois $670M More for Next Budget
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Illinois   |   September 24, 2012
• New figures boost need to approve overhaul, says an aide to Gov. Pat Quinn.

• Public Officials Convene at Cost of Government Summit
• BY: News Staff   |   Washington, D.C.   |   September 21, 2012
• State and local government officials from around the country met in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss how we can afford the government we need.

• Wisconsin Unions Want New Contracts in Wake of Collective Bargaining Ruling
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Wisconsin   |   September 21, 2012
• A union that represented about 100,000 employees in Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Public Schools, the City of Milwaukee and other municipalities sent letters requesting negotiations on new contracts, based on last week's court ruling striking down parts of the state's bargaining law for public workers.

• Chicago Has Limited Options to Finance Teachers Contract
• Source: Reuters/Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   September 21, 2012
• Chicago public school teachers returned to their classrooms but thorny questions remained over how Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the cash-strapped school system will pay for the tentative contract that ended a strike of more than a week.

• Phoenix Pension Plan Could Save $600M
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Phoenix, Ariz.   |   September 21, 2012
• Phoenix has unveiled a plan to reform its ailing pension system that would require new employees to contribute more and work longer, potentially saving taxpayers $600 million over 25 years.

• The Bottom-Line Benefit of a Healthier Public Workforce
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   September 20, 2012
• Some approaches to employee wellness programs have more of a track record than others. But they clearly can save a lot of money.

• Pensions, Medicaid and State Budgets: Is a Solution in Sight?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   NATION   |   September 19, 2012
• State and local leaders say that in order to fix their budgets, they'll need to view citizens and government employees and partners.
• 1 Comments

• How Can States and Cities Create a Healthy Public Workforce?
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Nation   |   September 19, 2012
• As states and localities strive to rein in employee health-care costs, innovations might become the norm.
• 8 Comments

• Chicago Teachers Union Ends Strike
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   September 19, 2012
• The overwhelming vote by the union's 800 delegates paves the way for CTU's entire membership to approve a contract in the coming weeks that will secure them a double-digit salary increase over the next three years, including raises for cost of living while maintaining other increases for experience and advanced education.

• Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Resigns Amid Drug Lab Scandal
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   September 18, 2012
• The lab’s director was fired and her supervisor resigned last week amid allegations that a chemist at the lab, identified as Annie Dookhan, mishandled drug samples by altering the weight of the drugs, not calibrating machines correctly, and manipulating samples so that they would test as drugs when they were not.

• Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Struck Down
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   September 17, 2012
• A Dane County judge's ruling striking down many limits on collective bargaining for public workers will likely be appealed quickly and could go straight to a showdown on a divided, but often conservative-leaning state Supreme Court.

• Chicago Teachers Strike Continues as Emanuel Seeks Court Order to End It
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   September 17, 2012
• Mayor Rahm has maintained for over a week that the two major sticking points in negotiations — evaluations and the ability to recall teachers who have been laid off — are not legal grounds for a work stoppage.

• Wyoming's Retiree Rehire Policy Rankles Some Public Workers
• Source: Casper Star-Tribune   |   Wyoming   |   September 17, 2012
• Only three retirement groups are eligible for rehire after retirement — the big public plan that includes state government employees and the plans for law enforcement officers and Wyoming Air National Guard firefighters.

• Pension Reform Gets Final OK in Ohio
• Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer   |   Ohio   |   September 14, 2012
• Beginning in January, many Ohio public workers will face increased pension contribution rates and higher retirement-age requirements.