Organized Labor

Delegates to the San Francisco Building Trades Council voted December 7 to endorse Tom Harrison for San Francisco Retirement Board. Harrison is one of three candidates challenging incumbent Herb Meiberger for a seat on the seven-member board. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters Dec 26, to be returned by Jan. 30.

Harrison, Meiberger, and Jim Gilday attended the delegates meeting to pitch their candidacies and answer questions. Candidate Ricardo Lopez was unable to attend.

Harrison told delegates he has been endorsed by the two current Board members who represent public employees: Commissioner Al Casciato, representing Police, and Commissioner Joe Driscoll, representing Firefighters. Harrison said the third seat that is set aside for public employees should be designated for a building trades representative. Harrison is a retired member of Laborers Local 261, where he served as Assistant Business Manager. He currently serves as chair of the Public Employees Committee of the San Francisco Labor Council. A San Francisco native, he started working for the Recreation and Parks department as a gardener in 1964, as a member of Gardeners Local 311. (The gardeners Union merged into Laborers Local 261 in 1967.) Harrison was appointed to the Recreation and Parks Commission by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004.

Harrison said he wanted to find ways to make the City’s $15 billion retirement fund grow. “The more the fund grows, the less the City has to contribute to it,” he said. “Then the City can spend more money on hiring people. That will also add to the fund [through their employee contributions].” Harrison also said the retirement fund should invest in housing development in the City.

“I’m not an actuary; we hire actuaries,” Harrison told delegates. “As a business rep. my focus was on service to members. That’s what I’d bring to the board—more information and services for members.” Harrison added that there is still concern among public employees about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s effort in 2005 to change defined benefits to defined contributions at the state level. “It may come back again,” he warned.

Candidate Gilday said he was running because of dissatisfaction with the incumbent. He said he wanted to secure and protect retirement funds, better administer mandated benefits, and make sure the funds were there for retirees. He said that San Francisco’s retirement fund is, “… a model for investments, but information isn’t given to participants.” He said he would listen to concerns and ideas and wanted to improve communication between the board and the constituents that make up the retirement system. Gilday is a member of SEIU and has worked for 24 years in the City’s Health Department.

Incumbent Meiberger is a Chartered Financial Analyst who has served on the board for 15 years. “You have the best funded pension plan in the state, maybe the U.S.,” he said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Meiberger said he had championed increased benefits for City employees and fought to retain the Defined Benefit. As a CFA, Meiberger said he had the expertise to obtain the best performing mutual funds for the employees’ Deferred Compensation Plan.

Ricardo Lopez is an attorney who says he has been an advocate for union members as a shop steward for United Public Employees, SEIU Local 790. He has been a union negotiator for over 20 years and says he is committed to work with employees to improve benefits.

SFBCTC Secretary-Treasurer Mike Theriault said that Harrison was endorsed because of his commitment to the building trades. “It’s important to have someone from our ranks on the board who understands our issues and will work to protect our pensions,” he said.

     – Paul Burton