Local 535 Members
Can Vote for Secure Retirement

September 2002

This fall union members in local governments across the state have the unique opportunity to elect pro-working family representatives to the California Public Employees Retirement Board (CalPERS), which oversees health care and retirement benefits for many members of our union.

The CalPERS board members make critical decisions about making retirement more secure, improving benefits, investing to protect public jobs, securing affordable and quality health care, and fighting corporate greed. Because these board members run the country's largest and most powerful pension fund, of more than $150 billion, it is important that they act to support working families.

The California unions in the SEIU State Council have endorsed Dennis Kaczor, a senior electronic tech with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, to represent more than 250,000 local government employees on this powerful board.

Kaczor is a member of SEIU Local 790 and has been a public employee for more than 26 years. He has led his contract bargaining team, been president and a steward of his union chapter, and fought for better retirement benefits for all public employees. He was a strong voice in lobbying for AB 616, giving local government agencies the right to bargain for better retirement benefits, and will work to secure and improve our benefits if he is elected.

We also need to keep CalPERS in mind in the regular general election this fall. Three candidates in the November election have a major voice at CalPERS: Governor Gray Davis has influence over three of the appointments to the board; Treasurer Phil Angelides, who has been a strong voice for workers, sits on the board; and Steve Westly, who will sit on the board as controller if he is elected. They have pledged to work for workers’ issues on the CalPERS board. The ballots for the CalPERS election are scheduled to be mailed to the homes of eligible voters on October 10. If you are covered by the CalPERS system, be sure to vote, and vote for Dennis Kaczor. For more information members should contact political directors James Johnson 626 796-0051 and Jerry Fillingim 510 893-8766.