New Center for Excellence Issue Brief, "Unions and Public Pension Benefits"

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for State and Local Government Excellence has issued a new issue brief, Unions and Public Pension Benefits.  Written by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, Josh Hurwitz, and Laura Quinby of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the brief probes the question of what role union power has had in the public pension benefit levels.  Key findings are:

• Union strength appears to have no impact on the level or growth of benefits. Because pensions are legislated, not bargained, lobbying expertise may be more important than union size. .
• In contrast, union strength does seem to raise employees' wages. Because wages are determined through collective bargaining, union numbers appear to matter. .
• Union strength appears to reduce the relative size of the public workforce. This finding is difficult to explain.  

Read the full brief at http://tinyurl.com/unions-pensionbenefits

Find all the Center's publications on public sector pensions and retiree health care at www.slge.org.

About the Center for State and Local Government Excellence

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence helps state and local governments become knowledgeable and competitive employers so they can attract and retain a talented and committed workforce. The Center identifies best practices and conducts research on competitive employment practices, workforce development, pensions, retiree health security, and financial planning. The Center also brings state and local leaders together with respected researchers and features the latest demographic data on the aging workforce, research studies, and news on health care, recruitment, and succession planning on its website, www.slge.org.

SOURCE Center for State and Local Government Excellence