It’s one thing to wake up, drink coffee and turn to the daily fish-wrap, but it’s quite another to do that and see your fellow OB Rag bloggster on the goddamn front page of the Local News! But there she was – our own Anna Daniels – featured in an article about how hundreds of city employees are retiring to make the higher pension rates.
Here’s the front of today’s article from SignOnSanDiego:
608 workers retire to lock in benefits
By Helen Gao / Union-Tribune / June 29, 2009
SAN DIEGO – More than 600 city employees have put in for retirement this year, triple the number from last year, an uptick unions attribute to city cuts in benefits that go into effect in July.
One of them is the San Diego Central Library’s own Ms. Information.
Anna Daniels has been helping people with questions for 24 years at the information desk on the first floor.
“I thought I would be working until I drop dead,” said Daniels, 59.
Her retirement plans changed as she watched the city roll back pension and retiree medical benefits with a new round of labor contracts in April.
The reductions have prompted many city workers to move up retirement so they can lock in better pension payouts and health care coverage.
Daniels is among 608 city workers who submitted retirement paperwork in the past six months. In comparison, 185 workers retired in the first half of 2008 and 156 in the first half of 2008 and 156 in the first half of 2007.
For the remainder of the article, go here.
What was left out of the story was my comment that “I wouldn’t be leaving a job I love if we had Universal Health Care.” That would have provided a different slant to the article. I left because of potential reductions to my retiree health care. Health care as we provide it (or don’t provide it) is obscenely costly. Imagine the savings to the City if this one portion of employee benefits were removed from their obligation to City workers.
The irony of course is that I don’t see our municipal governments lobbying for this kind of reform. And the Taxpayers Association will come out swinging against it. So much for reform.
Dear Anna,
THIS MUST BE YOU!!!
Red hair, short, your type of jewelry………
And this is Ullie who never forgot you, however had to struggle through life in Germany.
Please get in touch with me, i cannot findet your privat email anywhere.
Ulrike.horstmann@lsi-berlin.de
I’d be so happy to get bak in touch with you and Richard.
Ours
Ulrike
Let’s just make it official: It’s the Anna Daniels issue of the OB Rag.
Wow!!!! And Thanks!!!! You made my day.
Sweeet! Here’s the cover picture!!!
http://obrag.org/?attachment_id=9255
Anna, It’s a long time since Key West Florida. Let Jeff and I know what you have been up to. Hope to hear from you.
Blossom
Hey Blossom, Jeff and the spirit of Fudge, the amazing cat- I will respond.