• Pension Meetings on Campus with George Diehr
  
  
• Facts, Myths & Outright Lies
  
  
• CFA on the Attack on our Pension
  
  
• Related Links

Gov. Schwarzenegger held a press conference at 10 a.m. April 7 2005 to announce he is pulling the plug on the pension initiative. He said he plans to re-file it for the June 2006 election with changes to address death and disability benefits.

This is a huge, but temporary, win for us.

Congratulations to all who have worked on the campaign to preserve our retirement benefits. A special thanks to CFA leader George Diehr, who serves on the CalPERS board of administrators and who has worked tirelessly on CSU campuses to inform faculty and staff about the dangers of the proposed change to defined contribution plans.

CFA holds leadership positions in two coalitions—California Families Against Privatizing Retirement and the Alliance for a Better California—both of which have been working against the pension and other hostile initiatives.

Both coalitions will continue full force as will CFA to make sure the other harmful initiatives are defeated whether they appear on the ballot in a special election in November or in the primary election in June 2006.

Also, work must continue to defeat any legislation that would damage our current retirement benefits or other hard-earned benefits.

The Alliance board will meet this afternoon. CFA intends to keep the coalition focused on any initiatives drafted for the June 2006 election.

San Marcos business professor George Diehr is our elected representative to the CalPERS board to stand up for secure, fair retirement and healthcare programs. Diehr says the vicious attack that would privatize our pension system would hurt all of California, especially those of us and our families who count on CalPERS.

Although the governor withdrew his pension initiative other attacks on pension benefits continue.

Diehr: “The race to the bottom in benefits —whether we work for private employers or we serve the public—is an attack on the quality of life in our state.”

LEARN THE FACTS AND WHAT YOU CAN DO!

SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS WITH GEORGE DIEHR

April 25, noon • CSU East Bay
April 26, 11:30 a.m. • CSU San Bernardino
April 27, 5:30 p.m. • CSU Humboldt

Click here to view a video of the presentation at Cal Poly Pomona:

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• Responses to the most frequent misstatements about our pension (html)
• Downloadable handout (pdf)
  
  

• Pres. John Travis: Why is the governor attacking our pension plan? (pdf)
  
  
• George Diehr: Assault on Public Retirement Systems is Misguided, Unjustified (pdf)
  
  
• CFA Board of Directors: “Resolution opposing two-tiered retirement system for California’s state and local government employees,” December 2004 (pdf)
  
  

• Alliance for a Better California
  A statewide coalition, including CFA, fighting for and against ballot initiatives including the gov's attack on the state pension system

See the Alliance's TV ad running in April 2005

• CalPERS Pension Debate Information Center
  
  
• ArnoldWatch.org O
  Reveals the real special interests behind the governor
  
  
• RetirementSecurity.info O
  National news about threats to retirement security
  
  
• Social Security Calculator 
  Compare your future benefits under the privatization plan with the current system
  
  
• The Myths and Realities of Public Employee Pension Plans
  
  
• Action information to protect social security

News Releases from CalPERS

• January 6, 2005: CalPERS Says State Should Look Before It Leaps Into Privatizing Public Pensions
  
  
• February 16, 2005: CalPERS Board Votes to Oppose Defined Contribution Legislation