Labor Trustees Turn Up Heat on Wall St. Over Social Security

NEW YORK -- Turning up the heat on Wall Street to keep it out of the Social Security debate, three New York City Employees' Retirement System trustees are questioning whether firms that support privatization can act in the best interest of the system's members, Newsday reported Friday.

The trustees -- labor union representatives acting as part of a nationwide union drive to defeat President Bush's plan for private Social Security investment accounts -- recently wrote to the financial firms that manage the pension fund asking their position on privatization.

"If they are engaging in partisan political activities, are they acting in the best fiduciary interest of our members?" asked Michael Musuraca, who represents retirement system trustee Lillian Roberts, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 37.

The trustees say Bush's proposal would jeopardize system members' retirement income because it would reduce their guaranteed Social Security benefits and make it difficult to plan for their post-work years. The New York City Employees' Retirement System covers about 200,000 active members and 120,000 retirees.

Roberts, along with trustees Roger Toussaint, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, and Carroll Haynes, president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 237, contacted JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price, Barclays Global Investors, Bank of New York and State Street.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 3/18/05