Mike Antonucci has been doing rundowns of each state union's finances. Calling NYSUT "Too big to fail" one wonders who will bail them out? Maybe their old pal Cuomo.
You'll notice Richard Iannuzzi is still listed as president because this is last year's report.
Posted: 19 Jan 2015 08:52 AM PSTNew York State United Teachers appears to be too big to fail. Though it raised an additional $1.6 million in revenue, it spent an additional $14 million in staff compensation. The union spent more than 125 percent of its income, contributing to a negative worth of more than $233 million. NYSUT holds more than $305 million in pension and post-retirement health care liabilities for its staff and former employees.
Total membership – 385,566, down 3,781
Total revenue – $133.7 million (88% came from member dues), up $1.6 million
Budget deficit – $34.3 million
Net assets – negative $233.6 million
Total staff – 575
Staff salaries and benefits – $118.6 million
Highest paid employee – Richard Iannuzzi, president, $253,353 base salary
Highest paid contractor – Buchbinder, Tunick & Company, $244,536
NYSUT is already being bailed out. I looked at the financial statement it submits to the US DOL and there is an incestuous flow of grants, loans and funding to and from NYSUT, the UFT and the AFT that keeps NYSUT solvent. In addition, the negative net worth figure is really just the result of an accounting requirement: the pensions and health care obligations to its retirees are considered "liabilities" but because they are "liabilities" held by it own former employees so long as NYSUT continues to pay its retirees what it owes them from current operations nobody will ever "foreclose" on NYSUT in the sense that a bank would if that negative net asset were the result of a bank loan.
ReplyDeleteThe real reason NYSUT is "too big to fail" is that it can raise its dues anytime it needs to if it gets into serious trouble so that every teacher in the state of New York is ultimately on the hook if the UFT or AFT decided to stop funding its deficits.