Pensions

• Chicago Schools Details Its Strike Contingency Plan
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Chicago   |   September 7, 2012
• Chicago Public Schools put in place a contingency plan listing 144 schools that would provide limited services to students affected by a possible teachers strike next week.

• Philadelphia Hires Its 1st Chief Data Officer
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Philadelphia   |   September 7, 2012
• Mark Headd, a self-taught computer programmer and self-described "civic hacking veteran," has joined the Nutter administration as the city's first chief data officer, responsible for improving public access to information the city collects.

• Utah Schools Superintendent to Retire
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   September 7, 2012
• State Superintendent Larry Shumway plans to retire after three years as Utah’s top education official -- a time marked by debates over academic standards and testing and a recession that strained schools here and nationwide.

• Gallup: State, Local Governments Hiring Most Since Economic Collapse
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Nation   |   September 5, 2012
• For the first time since the start of the economic downturn, state and local governments created more jobs than they lost last month.

• Michigan to Appeal Ruling on School Retiree Health Care Costs
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Michigan   |   September 5, 2012
• The state will appeal a ruling that declared unconstitutional a 3 percent deduction from school employee pay to support post-retirement health care.

• Government: Factory, Enterprise or Both?
• BY: Patrick Ibarra   |   September 5, 2012
• The assembly-line approach in delivering services has its place, but there’s danger when risk aversion permeates a government.

• Sick Leave Causes Headaches for Governments
• BY: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene   |   September 2012
• Governments are struggling with how to properly manage sick leave to prevent employees from abusing it.
• 13 Comments

• What Makes the Boomers the Boomers?
• BY: Neil Howe   |   September 2012
• The baby boom generation is about to retire, and it has vastly different wants, needs, likes and dislikes than the generations before them.
• 7 Comments

• Democratic Convention Viewed as Opportunity to North Carolina's Unions
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   August 31, 2012
• North Carolina union leaders are eager to use the convention to highlight for a broad audience the struggles facing organized labor in the South.

• Detroit Police Lose Lawsuit to Halt 10% Wage Cut
• Source: Detroit Free Press   |   Detroit   |   August 31, 2012
• A judge denied a request by Detroit's largest police union for an injunction against pay cuts and work rule changes Mayor Dave Bing's administration imposed in July.

• Oregon Lawmakers Demand to Know: Why Wasn't Anyone Fired for State's Largest Tax Fraud?
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   August 30, 2012
• A contrite director of the Oregon Department of Revenue appeared before a legislative committee and apologized repeatedly for dropping the ball on a fraudulent $2.1 million tax refund.

• Chicago Teachers Set Sept. 10 Strike Date
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   August 30, 2012
• The Chicago Teachers Union filed a 10-day strike notice that moved the city closer to its first teacher walkout in 25 years and left the district racing to finalize a plan if more than 402,000 students are locked out of the classroom.
• 1 Comments

• Illinois' Credit Rating Downgraded
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   August 30, 2012
• Now, only California is ranked lower than Illinois by Standard & Poor's. But unlike Illinois, California has been given a "positive outlook."

• Controversial Pension Deal Struck in California
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   August 29, 2012
• Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers unveiled a long-awaited deal Tuesday that for the first time would set statewide public pension formulas for new hires in both state and many local government jobs. The plan, which is likely to win approval in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, assumes higher contributions from existing employees and imposes pension caps, and raises the retirement age for new workers.
• 1 Comments

• 2,500 Detroit Teachers Rehired
• Source: Detroit News   |   Detroit   |   August 29, 2012
• With the start of school just a week away, 2,500 teachers have been called back to work at Detroit Public Schools, months after the district's entire faculty was laid off.