Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you for your service!

via GIPHY

Dave "Hutch" wins as Hennepin County Sheriff

Congratulations Dave Hutchinson on your victory in Hennepin County as Sheriff.

As a retiree with over 25 years in that Department I wish you luck. There is a lot of rebuilding to do after 12 years of Richard Stanek.

My advice, surround yourself with good people!



https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/11/07/by-the-numbers-dave-hutchinson-tops-stanek-in-race-for-hennepin-co-sheriff/?fbclid=IwAR3ow1Tr-geMrX5TrTw1IGSjO5QZG4FFic7GpO-88xT1gMphHMAEMCBgnXM

2 CO's Assaulted at Fairbault MCF

WCCO is reporting that:

Two corrections officers are recovering after being injured during an assault at the Faribualt prison.

According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the assault happened Sunday at approximately 6pm. The two officers injured in the assault were taken to the hospital, treated, and then released.

The DOC says the offender who was responsible was placed into restrictive housing.

The prison is still locked down.

There has been a rash of injuries to corrections officers at Minnesota prisons this year, which have resulted in the deaths of two officers.

Oak Park Heights MCF CO Parise ruled a homicide

The death last month of Oak Park Heights CO Joe Parise has been ruled a homicide,

In other Oak Par Heights news, 2 CO's were hospitalized yesterday after an altercation with 2 inmates.

The Star Tribune article goes on to say that the inmates involved were placed in restrictive housing  and Oak Park Heights is on lock down.

Let's hope the 2 inmates don't get the early release treatment from seg MCF OPH has been famous for lately.

Officer safety should be the top priority.

Full Cost of Living Raise for PERA CO's

Good news.

Social Security recipients will receive a 2.8% Cost of Living raise in 2019.

PERA CO's COLA is tied to the Social Security cost of living increase-100% of Social Security COLA capped at 2.5%.

This means PERA Correctional Plan Retirees will receive the full 2.5% increase in 2019.

Never forget Teamsters Local 320, AFSME and LELS had all agreed to a lower cap (1.5%) without ever consulting their members!

Beware LELS, Law Enforcement Labor Services!

Hey Minnesota CO's, all representation is not the same.

LELS has a pitch to Corrections Officers on their website.

That's funny because LELS (Sean Gormley and David Metusalem) , Teamsters Local 320 (Brian Aldes) and AFSCME all signed off on allowing PERA CO's to take a Pension cut just a few months ago. Thank God MNPEA and I caught it.

They are also pitching their Legal Plan. I'm not sure how it's working now, but back when Hennepin County Detention was with them it didn't apply to Detention Deputies, only sworn officers. I'm also sure it doesn't apply to off duty like MNPEA's plan does. Hell, they didn't even support the PERA Correctional Officers Pension when we were working on it. Dan Wells sat behind me at a meeting and laughed!

We are in a time when CO's are leaving the likes of Teamsters Local 320 and AFSCME, just be careful you go to a Union that will represent Corrections. Not just take your dues for Police only.

RIP CO CO Joseph Parise

RIP Oak Park Heights CO Joseph Parise. My heart goes out to his fellow CO's and his family.

OAK PARK HEIGHTS, Minn. - A corrections officer at Minnesota's Oak Park Heights prison has died following a medical emergency after helping a fellow guard who was attacked by an inmate. KARE 11

It's September 11

September 11^th, 2001. 17 years ago, I was working as a Detention Deputy at the Hennepin County Jail. I was working the Release desk that day listening to the radio. Suddenly the news broke in that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center.

I was shocked and remember thinking it was a terrible accident. A very short time later the radio was reporting a second plane hit!

I went up to staff dining to see a television. There I saw the images of the planes hitting the buildings. Soon word came that we were under attack.

Downtown Minneapolis was ordered evacuated. Us Detention Deputies like all law enforcement,remained on the job. There was no leaving work to be with our families. No one knew if any hijacked planes filled with our loved ones would be flown into the IDS or other tall buildings. All commercial flights were grounded. People were trapped in cities for days, unless they rented cars or found other modes of transportation.

I have never forgotten. I have never forgiven. We have enemies who when given the chance will attack. They will attack civilians, military, men, women and children. People just going about their business.

This caused our nation to pull together, and for a short time think about our borders, immigration and security. It didn’t take long for some to forget, to try and appease our enemies and even vilify those who are vigilant.

But I, and many of us know who you are. We will not be lulled into complacency or silenced by political correctness.

I am thankful I live in a country where we have the right to bear arms to defend ourselves, and the freedom to raise our voices. I am thankful we have a strong leader who believes in strong borders. Freedom and Liberty must always be defended.

Today is 9/11. God bless America. We will not forget.

CO's safety takes a back seat, again.

KSTP is reporting that  the industry area at Stillwater Prison is reopened.

It's the area where CO Joseph Gomm was murdered by an inmate with a hammer, while other inmates held the doors.

Stillwater CO's had complained for years about the lack of safety and it fell on deaf ears to both management and their union, AFSCME.

Well, the industry area is reopened and now KSTP is reporting some CO's are refusing to work there.
Now management is wanting business as usual, but AFSCME is actually, at least verbally, asking for more cameras in the area.

Tim Henderson, Associate Director for AFSCME is quoted as saying they want more cameras and a partner on rounds so no one has to go solo.

Sadly, before the death of Joseph Gomm, according to Stillwater CO's, AFSCME was more interested in releasing inmates early from segregation,even though it led to an increase in assaults on staff, supporting the Governor's staffing cuts, and backing BLM against law enforcement!

I have to wonder if AFSCME's sudden backing of members is because after years of ignoring them they suddenly care, or because of the Janus v AFSCME ruling they are losing money, err, I mean members?

I'm guessing the later.

Watch this site for big news on how some of the bigger Unions tried to work against Corrections Officer Pensions.

Big announcement coming in the first part of December!

Members blame AFSCME for problems at Stllwater MCF

As a retired CO who was extremely involved in my Union, my heart is always with the CO's and their efforts to improve workplace conditions. The following letter was forwarded to me from the CO's at Stllwater Prison in the wake of the murder of Joseph Gomm. It highlights the reason many of the larger Unions are loosing members.The members now believe AFSCME became more interested in politics than members. My hope is they form their own  Association to look out for their interests.

Subject: Stillwater

Cc: #DOC_CO-AllStaff; #DOC_FRB-AllStaff; #DOC_FS-Staff; #DOC_LL-AllStaff; #DOC_ML-AllStaff; #DOC_OPH-AllStaff; #DOC_RC-AllStaff; #DOC_RW-AllStaff; #DOC_SCL-AllStaff; #DOC_SHK-AllStaff; #DOC_STW-AllStaff; #DOC_THD-AllStaff
Subject: AFSCME responsibility

Mr. Westmoreland & Mr. Henderson,

I am demanding to know the process that I need to take to stop giving any of my money to this “union” immediately!! Not “fair share” but any money that I was forced to give so you could support your agenda.  The Supreme Court of the United States has recently ruled that I have that right.

This “union” is directly responsible for what has happened yesterday.  This union has silently stood by doing nothing to help our members because they agreed with and promoted this extremely liberal policy of “stopping the harmful effects of long term segregation”.  Numerous officers have been injured and now killed so you could push your liberal agenda.

How many times have Officers spoke up about the harmful effects of short term segregation?  How many staff assaults need to happen for you to realize that this policy is extremely short sighted and utopian thinking?  And this is not the first time you liberal bias has harmed our members.  I will not sit by and promote this ideology by feeding it money.

Several years back you threw our members under the bus when you not only supported the Governor’s plan to lay off about 30,000 employees, you help facilitate it.  And for what?  Your liberal support of same sex marriage and illegal immigrant’s rights.  The first issue really doesn’t affect our membership as a whole.  It has nothing to do with members safety, salary’s or anything our union should be pushing.  The second issue, not only doesn’t affect us as a union, it harms us by taking jobs away from us and our fellow legal Americans.

You also said nothing when some of our fellow AFSCME members decided to protest, wearing ASFCME t-shirts and banners, members of our law enforcement community when a black man was shot by the cops.  You sided with the protesters over our law enforcement and us, as Corrections Officers.

I have done many things for this union.  Writing newsletters, acting as a Secretary, being a E-Board member.  I don’t think there has been one instance of our “union” doing something to benefit us.  Giving us a turkey for Christmas or throwing a bowling party doesn’t count.  Something that really matters is what we want and demand from you.  It’s your job to do that, and you have failed miserably. 

You blindly support one political party over the other and claim we benefit greatly from that support, which is so far from the truth, it’s laughable.  You tell us to vote them is so we get great benefits and pay.  Well, that has never materialized.  In my 26 years here, the largest raise I have gotten was when Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, was our Governor. When I started, Minnesota Corrections Officers were the second highest paid officers in the nation.  I don’t know where we stand today, but it’s nowhere near that.  But our “union” is more concerned with liberal causes than our own members.

I demand that you stop taking my money today.  I am officially denouncing AFSCME.  I will not be part of it or fund it.

Tom Schloesser

Former proud AFSCME Local 3607 member

RIP CO Joseph Gomm

Stillwater Corrections Officer Joseph Gomm had his last watch on July 18, 2018.
According to the Star Tribune he was murdered on duty by an inmate.

Everyday CO's go to work watching the 'bad guys' who were removed from the streets. Everyday they work a dangerous job out of sight and out of mind of Society.

As a retiree I know the long hours, the shift work and constant staff shortages that are a part of the profession. The article says Stillwater was short about 150 staff.

The Star Tribune reports there are over 1,600 inmates at Stillwater Prison and 527 of them are in for homicide.It doesn't mention the number in for assault, robbery, rape and how many are gang members or mentally ill.

Violence is all too common among inmates and towards staff in lock ups.

Joseph Gomm paid with his life keeping the rest of Society safe.
RIP brother.

Leonard Richards runs for U.S. Senate

When I worked at the Hennepin County jail one of our more notorious inmates was Leonard Richards. After being found guilty of 2 homicides he ran, and almost won a School Board seat. Now it looks like he's running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat!

FULL STORY

BAD Cells from Hennepin County Jail

Portland Teaches Protesters a lesson

When anti ICE protesters blocked the entry to an ICE facility it didn't work out as planned!

News Stories of interest to Henn. Co. Detention Deps

Here's a couple of news stories Hennepin County Detention Deputies will find of interest.

Denny Hecker

One of our more famous former 'guests' Denny Hecker is out of prison.
https://www.twincities.com/2018/07/04/denny-hecker-free-from-federal-custody-minneapolis/

I can still see his privileged self coming back to the Court Staging area after a court appearance thinking he could just sit at the Court Staging desk and use the phone.

Of course he never saw a real Hennepin County Jail cell, maybe because he was 'high profile', maybe because he was a heavy Stanek Donor,  he was given a hospital bed in the Med Room and would ask the nurses for lemonade at 2 AM!

Story number two is a much more common story.

Due to lack of beds at State Mental Health Facilities a man suffering from schizophrenia was at the Hennepin Hilton for over 90 days
http://www.startribune.com/man-with-mental-illness-languishes-in-hennepin-county-jail-for-3-months/487453671/

The story says, "During Traylor’s time in custody, his mental state deteriorated substantially, officials said. He threatened to stab and murder jail staff and engaged in increasingly erratic behavior, such as smearing feces on his cell window, court records show."

Ah, the joys of the third floor!

Very few people realize the range of inmates Detention Deputies are required to deal with professionally. 

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government....

Janus wins over AFSCME

Janus wins Over AFSCME

The United States Supreme Court has ruled charging Fair Share Dues to unionized public employees is ILLEGAL! A violation of the 1st Amendment.

This will be the end of AFCSME and Teamsters Local 320 if they don't begin representing their members like the MNPEA does! I predict their membership will plummet like happened in Wisconsin after it became a Right to Work State.

I am, and have always been pro-Union, however, when a Union stops representing members and spends all of the member resources supporting politicians rather than members, those members have a right to leave.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

No. 16–1466 MARK JANUS, PETITIONER v. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL 31, ET AL. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT [June 27, 2018]

JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court. Under Illinois law, public employees are forced to subsidize a union, even if they choose not to join and strongly object to the positions the union takes in collective bargaining and related activities. We conclude that this arrangement violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern

Full Ruling HERE

Never forget, be ever vigilant

Driving across Minnesota I saw a sign that said "9-11 Memorial." I quickly exited and found the 9/11, Veterans and First Responders Memorial at a fire station in Rockville, Minnesota.




The memorial features a piece of  a beam from the World Trade Center, Artifact 1-0092A.

I touched it and all of the anger from that day returned.

Almost 17 years ago Islamic Terrorist hijacked planes full of innocent civilians and flew them into buildings full of more innocent civilians.

This touched off a series of wars to punish the perpetrators and their supporters.

At that time it was learned most of the hijackers had over stayed their Visa's. New laws were passed to make sure we knew who was in our country and to make sure no one overstayed or entered illegally.

Almost 17 years later how much has been forgotten? Our current President wants stricter vetting of those coming from countries with a high possibility of terrorism. He wants to secure our borders.

Yet there are those among us who have forgotten. They believe that somehow making sure only good people enter our country is somehow racist.

Minnesota has accepted many of the 'refugees' from some of the countries on the extreme vetting list.
Many Minnesotans have expressed safety concerns about some of these now living here.

Governor Dayton's response was, "If you are that intolerant, if you are that much of a racist or a bigot, than find another state."

Well I believe in being vigilant so only the right people are allowed in. Here's some reasons some Minnesotan's have been concerned about who's been let in.

Mall of America Attack

St. Cloud Mall attack 

St. Catherine arson attack

Supporters of Al Shabaab in Minnesota

Refugees swindling public daycare money to support terror

Minnesotan's convicted of trying to join ISIS

Suicide bombers from Minnesota

US Attorney says Minnesota has a terror recruiting problem

Unfortunately I could go on. The sad fact is much of Minnesota and the U.S. has forgotten.

We must never forget. We must be vigilant as to who is here. Taking the time to vet is good public safety. If you are here legally to be an American, welcome. If you are here illegally or to do us harm
you should be found and prosecuted.

There are people who will take a plane full of your family members and slam them into buildings. There are people who will go to your malls and stab your family members. There are people who will light arson fires in your schools. There are people who will take the money you generously give to help the less fortunate and divert it to terror.

There are also people who are sworn to protect you.

Never Forget!

Happy Memorial Day

Pension Bill Passes

The new PERA Pension Bill has passed. HF3053 and SF2620

Public Employee Pensions have been a hot topic and the original proposals were to cut our annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) down to a maximum of 1.5% with a minimum of 1%.

The PERA Corrections Pension under the new bill will be between 1% and a maximum 2.5% (COLA) based on the Federal cost of living index.

We have been at 2.5% and based on the economy should remain there for the foreseeable future.

See previous postings for all the grit.

Special thanks to Doug Anderson of PERA and the PERA Board for listening to Tom Perkins of MNPEA and myself and recommending to the legislature we cap out at our current 2.5% COLA. Also to my Representative Abigail Whelan for meeting with me and bringing our concerns to the Bill's authors to allow us to remain at the higher COLA.

To all CO's and retiree's out there remember, Teamsters Local 320, AFSCME Council 5 and LELS
had all agreed to cut our PERA Correctional COLA to 1.5%! They called it shared sacrifice.

Thank you legislature and PERA for hearing OUR voices.

PERA Correctional Pension Update

Good news on our Pension front. 

According to  PERA: Strong year for PERA investments.
The investment performance for PERA's three largest retirement plans--the General Employees, Police & Fire, and Correctional Plans--for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, was excellent. The Combined Fund posted a 15.1 percent rate of return for the 12-month period.

and from the PERA Newsletter 

CORRECTIONAL PLAN

The Correctional Plan legislative proposal includes a post-retirement increase to provide 100 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with a 1 percent floor, and a 2.5 percent cap until the Plan’s funding ratio drops below 80 percent for one year or 85 percent for two consecutive years. The funding ratio would be measured on the market value basis every year. If the funding ratio does not meet the required level, the post-retirement increase would be 100 percent of CPI, with a 1 percent floor, and a 1.5 percent cap. Once the lower cap applies, no further triggers would exist.

The proposal preserves the opportunity for a post-retirement increase as high as 2.5 percent provided that the funded ratio exceeds the existing trigger.

Arbitrator rules Hennepin County must back pay $300,000 for ranking deputies

What? Hennepin County not bargain in good faith?

Hennepin County administrators withheld critical salary information during a contract arbitration with a group of ranking sheriff deputies, a move that will now cost the county more than $300,000, an arbitrator ruled.

A ruling released last week said Todd Olness, the county's labor relations representative, didn't disclose that a group of majors and the chief deputy in the Sheriff's Office received 7.5 percent raises. During contract negotiations with the office's 61 other supervisors, Olness stressed that the county's philosophy was to distribute uniform pay adjustments and benefits across all bargaining units, the ruling said.

FULL STORY Star Tribune

Spike in Assaults on Prison Guards

KSTP is reporting: 

10 Officers have been assaulted at Oak Park Heights since last Friday...and... there have been 22 assaults on prison guards in the first 3 months of 2018.

FULL STORY

Good Bye Jeff Weyek

Good bye long time Hennepin County Detention Deputy Jeff Weyek. Cecilia we all share the loss of a good man.

The Historic Hennepin County Jail

This is a great picture of the historic Hennepin County Jail. Source, Star Tribune. Photo by Glenn Stubbe.

Hard Times, one of my favorite internet pics

Arbitrator rules against Sheriff Stanek on tattoos

The ridiculous fight over Hennepin County Sheriff Office (HCSO) employees with tattoos goes back to 2013.

I wrote about it in a post on this blog called, Semper Fi? Don't Apply!

Long story short, there was a Detention Deputy walked out because 4 months into her employment after they noticed a small tattoo on her forearm. She had the choice of either removing it or being terminated. The HCSO stood on a District Court ruling from 1985 saying they had the right to make grooming policy. That fight was over mustaches on men and fingernails on women.

It's nice to see an Arbitrator nudge the HCSO into the 21st century!

Click below for full story:

Hennepin County deputies win round in fight over tattoos

New Pension Bill

A new Bill has been introduced in the Minnesota  House and Senate affecting our PERA Correctional Pension (HF3053 and SF2620).

Originally the recomendation was to lump our PERA Correctional Plan in with all of the rest and give us only an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) floor of 1% with a ceiling of 1.5% based on inflation. AFSCME called it "shared sacrifice." Teamsters and even LELS signed off on it. Willing to weaken the PERA Correctional Plan!

After Tom Perkins of MNPEA and myself met with PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson and the PERA Board, they recommended to the legislature that our PERA Correctional Plan have a floor of 1% with a ceiling of 2.5% based on inflation.

While I would prefer no change to our annual COLA of 2.5%, if change is going to come, at least we will maintain a COLA of 2.5% in times of inflation.

The new bills reflect that. Thank you Doug Anderson, PERA Board and legislatures.
Special thanks to Rep. Abigail Whelan for meeting with me early on and contacting the Bill's authors.

Common Sense Speech Control

I’ve come to the conclusion that unregulated free speech has led to much destruction and discord in our society. How many of our societal woes are caused by the transmission of high speed misinformation? So, I’d like to suggest some common sense speech control for our own safety.

We are all familiar with the concepts of free speech and freedom of the press as outlined in our over two centuries old First Amendment of the Constitution.

But let’s face it, our founding fathers never envisioned a time when just anyone could sit behind a keyboard and with the click of a button, send information, much of it inaccurate, across the world. This high speed, high capacity, communication did not exist two hundred years ago. It is dangerous.

Freedom of speech and the press were a lot different then.

If you wanted to be heard, you would have had to stand on a soap box in the town square and talk loudly.

If you had money, you could pay a printer to type set a flier or pamphlet. These were limited runs.

If you wanted to publish a book, you had to have an education, then find an editor and publisher willing to finance the endeavor. High capacity communication was difficult then, only for a few, and overseen by publishers and editors.

In order to make our society safer and bring it more in line with the idea of free speech as it was envisioned at our nation’s founding, I suggest the following common sense free speech rules.

1)      You must have a permit to post on the internet. It would require just a simple background check to make sure you are not a criminal or working as a foreign agent, especially Russian.

2)      You cannot have had any psychological or mental health issues. After all we can’t have unbalanced people spreading misinformation, delusions, fear and hate inflaming the masses.

3)      No High Capacity printing or posting allowed without a Federal Permit. High Capacity is defined as any publication or post over 1,250 words or 5 pages. No one needs to use that many words for basic communication. Lengthy publications/posts in the wrong hands can be destructive.

4)      Any posts published to more than one site must be sent to a government official to fact check before publishing.

5)      You must be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma.

You are still free to stand on a soap box in a public area, as long as it’s in a designated free speech zone and talk as loudly as you want.

I think we can all agree that a few common sense regulations on our speech would make the world a lot safer. After all, we need some way to reduce all of these unregulated mass communications.

©Wade Laszlo 2018

Liars, Representation and Pensions

On 2/16/18, Teamsters Local 320 Secretary Treasurer Brian Aldes had an editorial published in the Star Tribune.

I can't believe he had the audacity to discuss public employee pensions, "...pensions are promises employers make to their employees in the form of deferred compensation. Public employees pay into their pensions through contributions to the plan.."

Teamsters Local 320 actually had agreed to allow a cut in the Cost of Living for their CO's pension from 2.5% to 1.5% a year. They along with AFSCME, and LELS were unwilling to stand up for their CO's!  MNPEA was the only union to do so.

Brian's and the Teamsters main concern seems to be collecting dues rather than member representation. Had that been their goal the Hennepin County Detention Deputies and Dispatchers (911) wouldn't have decertified them in 2011, followed not much later by Minneapolis 911 who all went to MNPEA.

The crux of his editorial is the fear that Janus vs. AFSCME, Council 31 will be upheld by the Supreme Court. Why? Because then people won't have to pay dues if the Union isn't doing what they are being paid to do!

I am very pro-union, but if a union has forgotten they exist for the members, they serve no purpose.

PERA Board of Trustees approves legislative proposal for Correctional Plan

After meetings with myself and MNPEA Vice President Tom Perkins I am proud to share:

PERA Board of Trustees approves legislative proposal for Correctional Plan

The PERA Board of Trustees unanimously approved a legislative proposal for the Correctional Plan during their Jan. 9 special meeting. In December the Board approved legislative proposals for the General and Police & Fire Plans. The Board wanted PERA staff to receive additional input from stakeholder groups before voting on a legislative proposal for the Correctional Plan.

The modified Correctional Plan legislative proposal includes a post-retirement increase to provide 100 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with a 1 percent floor, and a 2.5 percent cap until the Plan’s funding ratio drops below 80 percent for one year or 85 percent for two consecutive years. The funding ratio would be measured on the market value basis every year. If the funding ratio does not meet the required level, the post-retirement increase would be 100 percent of CPI, with a 1 percent floor, and a 1.5 percent cap. Once the lower cap applies, no further triggers would exist.

The proposal preserves the opportunity for a post-retirement increase as high as 2.5 percent provided that the funded ratio exceeds the existing trigger which calls for that the funding ratio does not drop below the 80 percent for one year or 85 percent for two consecutive years.

Thank you PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson and PERA Board! Thank you Minnesota Public Employees Association (MNPEA) for standing with us!

No thanks to Teamsters Local 320, AFSCME Council 5 or LELS who were willing to let their Corrections Officer's cap out at 1.5%!

NEW PERA RECOMENDATION

After meeting with PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson he has emailed me a second PERA proposal.

This still has to go to the PERA Board but I believe Mr. Anderson heard what was said and has come up with a very reasonable responsible second proposal.

Here it is:

Proposal 1: Change to 100% of CPI, 1% floor, 1.5% cap. 

Proposal 2: 
*Change current COLA to 100% of CPI, 1% floor, 2.5% cap (currently a fixed 2.5%).

* Maintain the current “trigger off”, which is that the 2.5% cap turns off when funding is < 80% once or < 85% for two consecutive years. 

*If/when the “trigger off” occurs, the benefit goes to 100% CPI, 1% floor, 1.5% cap. 

*Eliminate any future “trigger on”. If the plan triggers off, it could never trigger back on. The benefit would remain 100% CPI, 1% floor, 1.5% cap.

In other words if CPI (inflation) is at least 2.5% or more we are guaranteed the 2.5% COLA. Depending on inflation we are guaranteed at least 1% but can go higher than the earlier proposed 1.5%.

I wish it were left alone, but the writing is on the wall for the legislature to eliminate triggers. The O'Driscoll/Rosen Bill wants to cap us at 1.5%,. The PERA proposal 2 would allow us to go up to our current 2.5% recognizing the health of our plan.

If we drop below the trigger we will join ranks with the other plans. I am a fiscal conservative and believe that is fair. If our plan is doing well we reap the benefit, if it gets weak we tighten the COLA belt. At the end of the day we want a healthy pension.

I again express my gratitude to PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson for taking time to listen to MNPEA Vice President Tom Perkins and myself.

This is not a MNPEA response, the MNPEA Board will meet and respond on their own.

As an interesting aside. We also learned at that meeting that LELS also met with PERA and was on-board with cutting the COLA to 1.5% of their CO's!

Remember, the legislature makes the laws that govern our pensions. PERA executes those laws. There is no guarantee the legislature will follow their recommendation. But if it comes to a fight at the Capital it's another arrow in the quiver.

To be clear, I prefer no change to our current Pension, as it is doing well. IF, they are are going to eliminate the triggers, I prefer the second proposal of the 2.5% COLA to the 1.5% cap.

PERA meeting and recommendation

Today MNPEA Vice President Tom Perkins and I met with PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson and Shayna (?).

They very graciously gave us an hour and a half. We all have the same goal of keeping our pension healthy. They have tremendous pressure to move the plans to 100% funding, a goal I agree with.

There is a proposal to lower the actuarial tables from 8% to 7.5%. If passed, this changes the amount considered fully funded. Under current law it's 8% and our payouts are based on that.

If the actuarial is lowered to 7.5% the proposal is to eliminate the triggers (read previous posts) and go to an across the board COLA formula. An annual COLA of 1% (as a floor) with a max COLA of 1.5% based on inflation (CPI).

In effect this cuts the PERA Correctional COLA a full 1% and the other, not as well funded plans only .5% and  *maintains 1% with no cut to the Police and Fire COLA even though they require $9,000,000 a year just to keep current funding.

This all leads to an assumed funding for the PERA General Plan and Police and Fire to be at 110% in 2047.

Ok, but the PERA Correctional Plan would be funded at 120% in 2047. With "shared sacrifice" we sacrifice more. It reminds me of the book Animal Farm. "All animals are created equal. But some are more equal than others."

PERA does not make law, but are frequently asked for recommendations. These recommendations mirror the O'Driscoll and Rosen Bill.

They gave us this meeting because as stakeholders, MNPEA and retirees of MNPEA, had no input into what they will propose. Now we have, again thank you Doug Anderson.

The hope is when they meet in January they will recommend, like last year, no change to the PERA Correctional Plan.

*Post corrected 12/22/17 I originally posted P&F would get a .5% COLA.

PERA Correctional Plan update

I attended the PERA Board meeting today. There was a motion to reduce our COLA to a 1% floor then tie it to Cost of Living (CPI).

They said they spoke to the "stakeholders" Teamsters Local 320 and AFSCME and they were on board!

They let me address them. Several Board Members thought it unfair to cut us from 2.5% to 1% like the General Plan as our numbers were where they wished all the plans were!

I explained that the MNPEA had majority of CO's, Teamsters lost almost all of theirs to MNPEA and AFSCME only had 100 at the Hennepin County Workhouse.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto made a motion that they contact MNPEA and reconvene in January as not all of the stakeholders had been contacted.

PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson and I spoke and exchanged contact info. He emailed me and I gave him the phone number of Tom Perkins, VP of MNPEA (and author of the PERA Correctional Pension). I also was stopped by reps from the League of Minnesota Cities and the League of Minnesota County's afterwards and we talked at length.

Executive Director Doug Anderson and MNPEA Vice President Tom Perkins will speak tomorrow, Dec. 15th.

The PERA Board will reconvene Jan. 12, 2018 and discuss their findings and make recommendations to the legislature soon after.

My local State Rep. Abigail Whelan spoke to Rep. O'Discoll about our concerns. Both of them recommend talking to your local reps and the PERA Board.

PERA will be making recommendations to the legislature next month. Don't wait!

Meeting with my State Rep about our Pension

Just finished a very productive meeting with my State Representative Abigail Whelan. She met me at our local Dunn Brothers Coffee and we had a very productive conversation about the recent bills (HF 565, SF 545) that sought to lower our COLA. She was in agreement with our position and will be talking to Rep.O'Driscoll (one of the authors) about it.

As you know Governor Dayton vetoed them, but they were part of the Omnibus Bill and very likely will be re-introduced.

I cannot stress enough, please contact your State Representatives and Senators. Rep. Whelan also recommends this.

Stress that our PERA Correctional Pension is well funded.

There is no need for 'shared sacrifice' with less well run pensions.

There is already a trigger in our pension that if it drops below 80% funding our COLA automatically cuts to 1%. (We are funded at 95.7%).

PERA did not recommend any adjustments to our pension, only the Authors of the Bill (HF 565, SF 545) did.

I will be meeting soon with my State Senator Jim Abler.

I cannot thank Rep. Whelan enough for meeting me to hear our issue.

CO severely hurt in attack

Watch Your Backs!

Surge in Hennepin County Felony Cases

"felony charges in Hennepin County are up in all types of crimes, including a 63 percent jump in murder charges, and 15 percent increase in drug charges" -Star Tribune

FULL STORY 

Female CO's sue Cook County

Working in a jail or prison can be a tough environment. It can be even tougher if you're a woman.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting:

Female sheriff’s officers sue Dart over masturbating jail inmates

FULL STORY

Some Details

As with most of you, I am a fiscal conservative. I have watched pension plans crash and burn. Like the Teamsters Central States pension.

To Minnesota's Credit, the PERA Board and legislature have historically done a great job of keeping our pensions solvent.

The last eight years were not particularly good for many pensions. The MSRS Correctional Plan, PERA Police and Fire, TRA (Teachers Union) and Judges pensions are not doing so well
and wisely some adjustments are being made to insure they remain solvent into the future.

Among proposals by Sen. Rosen in SF545 is to reduce the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) of some of the plans, but not equally. Among them is to cut MSRA Correctional from a 2% annual COLA to 1.5% and to cut our PERA Correctional COLA from 2.5% to 1.5% so they are uniform.

Wait a minute. MSRA Correctional is way under funded and only gets a .5% reduction in it's COLA. The PERA Correctional Plan which is funded at 95.7% is asked to take a 1% cut in COLA!

The Legislative Commission's own actuarials on the PERA Correctional Plan state, "The funded status of the plan will increase gradually towards a 100% funded ratio."

It's disturbing to see Republicans like Sen. Rosen and her counterpart in the House, Rep. O'Driscoll, wanting to make things uniform. That sounds more like socialism than conservatism. Sadly, the vote was 100% in the Senate for this.

I can understand the cut to the MSRA Correctional Plan, but not the PERA Corrections Plan. They are two separate pensions, separate funding and one plan is anemic, the other healthy. Why give the healthy plan the bigger cut? This is unfair to County Corrections Officers.

Here's a large part of the problem. The largest Unions representing County Corrections Officers are MNPEA and LELS. We had no input!

The two groups that had input were Teamsters Local 320 (who lost almost all of their CO's) and AFSCME.  They were more interested is shoring up the pensions of their General Groups and Police, which make up a majority of their members.

AFSCME actually threw their approximately 100 CO's at the Hennepin County Workhouse under the bus. On their AFSME Council 5 website they call for shared sacrifice! Cutting our COLA does not help MSRS! If I were a Hennepin County Workhouse CO I'd scream bloody murder at AFSCME.

I leave you with a picture from AFSCME Council 5, calling for shared sacrifice! They plan on working against County CO's again in 2018. We have much work ahead.

Pension Watch Pt 3, what we are up against.

Watch the video, in it Sen. Rosen, Chairman of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement speaks of her bill.

Of note is the stated goal at the 3 minute, 30 second mark of "stabilizing the pensions at 90%."

Watch the video and then look at my comment son You Tube.

Pension Watch Part 2

So after much digging around here’s what I found out.

The PERA Board made no recommendations to change our pension.
It is 100% politically driven by the legislature.

The Bill (HF565) was introduced into the House by Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Dist 13) and in the Senate (SF545) by Sen. Julie A. Rosen (R-Dist 23).

It died last time because Gov. Dayton vetoed it. But my understanding is it’s coming back.

Our PERA Correctional Plan already pays out the lowest benefit of any corrections or law enforcement pension in the state.

The Police and Fire pension pays out at a rate of 3% of their high 5 with a 1% annual COLA. They are only funded at 87.7%. (and they have a seat on the PERA board).

The State Corrections pension pays 2.4% a of their high 5 with a 2% COLA. (and they have a seat on their MSRS pension board).

Our PERA Correctional Plan pays out at 1.9% of our high 5 with a 2.5%  annual COLA because we are funded at 95.7%.

This Bill is patently unfair to PERA CO’s and Detention Deputies. We have the healthiest pension and the lowest payout! If they want to limit our COLA then make it fair and at least give us the 2.4% payout the State Corrections Officers get!

Rep. Tim O'Driscoll

The good news is that nothing can really be done on this until this summer. Our COLA is safe for 2018 and probably 2019 by the time they get anything done.

If we can get the authors of the Bill to withdraw the Bill or at least the part affecting us, we’ll be fine.

If not our pension will not keep up with the cost of living.

Contact Rep. Tim O'Driscoll  rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn and ask him to withdraw our portion from his Bill.
Home: Sartell P.O. Box 225, 56377

Sen. Julie A. Rosen

Contact Sen. Julie A. Rosen sen.julie.rosen@senate.mn

Home: Vernon Center P.O. Box 428 56090

Ask her to withdraw out potion from her Bill.

When you contact them stress the unfairness.
Our pension is fully funded with the lowest payout.
Ask why they are punishing us! 

People who spend their lives in a dangerous career for public safety shouldn't get shortchanged at the end!



Feel free to contact me at my new email: pera.watchdog@gmail.com

PERA Correctional Pension Watch

As a retiree I am paying close attention to our Correctional Pension. There are some proposed changes afoot that concern me. They should also concern future retirees.

Of particular concern is this Correctional Plan item from the PERA website:

Anderson said that PERA staff will continue to meet with Correctional Plan stakeholders to gather input into possible plan changes. The Board did not propose changes during the 2017 legislative session; however, the Legislature did propose a change from the current 2.5 percent trigger to a fixed 1.5 percent COLA. 

In the same letter the legislature is proposing a change from a 1% COLA for Police and Fire to 1.5%.

Currently the *Correctional Plan is funded at 95.7% and the Police & Fire Plan at 87.7%. The trigger for a 2.5% COLA is 90%.

*Source PERA Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.Pg 12.

The exceptional health of the Correctional Plan triggers the higher 2.5% COLA for Correctional retirees.

The Police and Fire Plan has had issues and has been unable to hit the 90% -2.5% COLA trigger.

Our Correctional Plan pays out at a rate of 1.9% of our contributions. Police and Fire pays out 3%!

Our plan has more money and triggers the 2.5% COLA. Theirs currently does not.

I don't care what they give P&F, but the proposed downplaying of our benefit seems to be a give away from the money WE paid into ours for another plan.

There is a PERA meeting on December 14th supposedly seeking input I want to attend. I just emailed PERA to get the info.

Why is this important? Former Teamsters Business Agent David Metusalem has Retired from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office to be Executive Director of Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, aka MPPOA (Congratulations). This required him to relinquish his seat on the Police and Fire Plan Board, triggering an election. We've never had a seat at the table!

The PERA website says they are meeting with "Correctional Plan Stakeholders." Who?

Why does this matter? P&F have members watching their retirement. Corrections does not!

Back in 2009 when we at Hennepin County were Teamsters, we made a proposal to get a Detention Deputy on the PERA Board. It passed, but never happened.

Who is looking out for us? Back in 1997 when we were first meeting at the Teamsters building with Mike Golen and Tom Perkins (our plans' architect) , Dan Wells from LELS sat behind me laughing at the idea. MPPOA and LELS won't care. Teamsters failed to act!

We have to get a Detention Deputy/CO and or Retiree on the Board. MNPEA members your board is already on this. The Correctional Plan architect is on MNPEA's board.

MPPOA and LELS, are you going to protect your 800 CO's?

Watch this blog for updates. Be prepared to contact your State Reps.

A good on and off duty Legal Defense Plan is a necessity

Fox 9 just ran a story about Hennepin County Sheriff Rick Stanek being involved in a fight in Las Vegas. Click here for FULL STORY

Unfortunately this sort of conduct emphasizes the all too common double standard of one set of rules for elected officials and another for everyone else.


I hope current licensed and detention stewards pay attention. This does set a precedent for discipline of employees for off duty conduct.

As a long time steward I can't tell how many times that same Sheriff disciplined employees for similar off duty conduct.

Before joining MNPEA, Hennepin County Detention Deputies were part of LELS. At that time they didn't cover either on or off duty charges. Next we went to Teamsters, their plan covered on duty incidences, but off duty you were still on your own.

When MNPEA formed in 2011, it was designed to protect members on and off duty with their legal plan. People will be people, and without protection off duty incidences can cost you time, money and as a public employee your job. They even added full coverage for spouses, because their conduct can also affect you and your job.

You don't have to abide their double standard.