Pension Meeting Dec

Chicago Teachers Pension Fund Meeting December, 2021

By Jim Vail

The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund got back down to work for its monthly December meeting to discuss the fund's business since the appointment of the new CTPF Executive Director on August 2, 2021.

The meeting began with public participation and only John Butterfield from RTAC - the Retired Teachers Assoc. - spoke on countering the bill which was passed earlier this year, waiving payback for overpayments from retired members. 

CTPF President Jeffery Blackwell and Principal Trustee Jerry Travlos were not present at the Thursday, Dec. 16 pension meeting.

CTPF Director Carlton Lenoir told Teacher Trustee and Investment Chair Phil Weiss that they were addressing his concern about missing several report card pickup days due to the board meetings being held on Thursdays when the high schools meet parents which upset his principal.

The next topic on the agenda entailed approval to amend the Employee Handbook. The trustees asked questions about the grievance procedure vs. whistleblower complaints. The fund was rocked by numerous whistleblower complaints against trustees and other employees over the last year but the validity of many were called into question. 

Retired Teacher Trustee Lois Nelson asked what is the process when a complaint is made and an employee complains about not being treated fairly by a manager. The fund's attorney Daniel Hurtado said the employee complaint first goes to the HR Director (the fund is currently searching for a new HR Dir.), they talk to the employee, write it up, read the complaint and sign off on it, then conduct an investigation before making a recommendation to remedy the complaint. He said the employee handbook spells it out clearly.

However, if the employee is not satisfied with the outcome they can escalate their concern to the Executive Director and then to the Executive Board that was formed in the wake of Blackwell's letter who accused the fund of racism and misogyny. The Executive Board is comprised of 4 trustees - Pres. Blackwell, VP Mary Sharon Reilly, Recording Sec. Jacqueline Price-Ward and Investment Chair Phil Weiss. The lawyer added that an employee who files sex harassment charges, for example, can also go to the EEOC or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. CPS Board Trustee Dwayne Truss said he was concerned about employees filing frivolous cases that were more about personality issues rather than legitimate concerns.   

The next interesting question concerns the fund's nearly 125 employees and the issues of raises. Trustee Maria Rodriguez said she is concerned that they were not following a uniform policy of giving employees raises, which can create an unpleasant atmosphere given that the 5.9% raise will be given to everyone in January 2022.

The board's attorney said that that the raises are not really raises because it is stated the maximum amount they can earn. Hurtado said it is tough to attract employees due to the pandemic and they need to make salaries competitive. There have been complaints that some employees are not getting raises.

The concern about pay raises raises the question of unionization. The fund's employees are not members of a union, ironically enough, even though the fund is for the Chicago Teachers Union members. CTU Employees are members of a union and the Field Reps who file grievances are members of the Teamsters.

There was a mention of forming a union for CTPF employees over 10 years ago during the dark days of Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind that were designed to attack unions. The funds' employees were subjected to merit pay, where raises were tied to performance. The teachers had successfully fought off merit pay where it became very subjective based on test scores and other questionable measurements that in turn created an unhealthy competition between teachers. CTPF employee merit pay ended in 2019.

The board said that trustees who wish to attend conferences that involved costs exceeding a $250 registration fee need to seek approval in advance. Trustees enjoy attending investment conferences in exotic places which critics argue can be a way to buy off their votes for those who sponsor the conferences.

A presentation was then made concerning the Trustees fiduciary responsibilities when overseeing a $13.3 billion teachers pension fund. The presenters said there have been a lot of lawsuits filed against 401ks and 403bs. There have been many suits filed against 403b retirement accounts at universities, including a current lawsuit against Northwestern University and its 403b supplemental retirement accounts that is being heard at the U.S. Supreme Court level with a ruling expected next summer.

The concerns are there are too many investment options which leads to investment paralysis, locked in investments which favor certain vendors, and excessive fees.

There have been concerns when the Chicago Public Schools turned over all its 403b supplemental retirement accounts to AIG Finance. While it appears there are no concerns among activists who have been writing about the changes here on the Chicago teachers facebook pages, AIG is no stranger when it comes to corruption. Their executives were notorious for collecting pay raises after the 2008 subprime financial meltdown in which they needed a government handout to stay afloat after backing toxic investments from Goldman Sachs and other investment funds that ultimately bankrupted some municipalities.