Nobody disputes that there are some small problems with the union health care costs. Are the problems as extreme as this anti union material presents? Of course not because in the big scheme of things it could be handled if priorities were moved around. The unfunded liability for Trimet union employees is less than the cost of the MLR project. There is plenty of tax funds around for stupid capital projects but zero around for citizens health care. It's a problem of priorities more than a problem of funds.
But the biggest problem is that Trimet has never stopped growing the agency, hence the liability continues to balloon. I happen to agree with John Charles, the directors and executives of Trimet should be in jail for serious breach of their fiduciary responsibilities in handling agency funds. Instead of putting the retirement funds in the appropriate accounts, the executives used that money as a debit card for all sorts of other purposes. Hence we are where we are today, a big mess.
Shaky Financial Ground Under TriMet
Cadillac benefits + management = pensions and benefits on layaway
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