NYC Cultural Workers
500 signatures reached
To: Heads of NYC Cultural Institutions in CIRS
NYC Cultural Workers Say: Hands Off Our CIRS Pension!
Workers at NYC cultural institutions covered by the Cultural Institutions Retirement System (CIRS) pension plan call on management to pull back proposals to cut benefits for current and future employees.
Why is this important?
Cultural institution workers did not enter this profession to become rich. But we expect the promise that was made to us be kept - that after a lifetime of public service at modest compensation, we have a right to retire in dignity with a real pension.
We are upset to learn that management is demanding deep cuts to our pension benefits in the current round of CIRS bargaining. This is not what my coworkers and I signed up for.
During the last bargaining round, employees made a very significant concession by agreeing to suspend the employer’s matching contribution to our 401(k) savings plan. Many of us relied on the match to help us save for retirement. Now it’s management’s turn to make sacrifices instead of trying to solve the problem of funding pension benefits entirely on our backs.
We also call on the management team to reconsider any potential proposal to establish a lower benefit level for future employees. We all do the same work - we should all receive the same benefits.
Finally, cultural institution workers - union and nonunion alike - call on management to work with the unions to find a fairer way to protect CIRS now and in the future.
