Recently, a member of another public employee union asked the following question to Council 93 member:

Q. Why do I pay 8% of my check for THE SAME STATE PENSION that AFSCME Council 93 members get for just a 1.5% contribution?

A. The extremely low rate paid by AFSCME members is due to the skill and vision of AFSCME negotiators during contract talks in the late 1980s. While other unions were accepting a 6.5% increase in their retirement contribution, AFSCME’s team shifted the deduction for a pension off their members’ shoulders and onto the state. And, since a 1.5% increase was required of every state worker in the 1990s, AFSCME members ended up with a total contribution of just 1.5%, while other union members saw their contribution rate climb to the present day 8%.