Local 21 Regains a Voice at the Table
We are happy to announce that Al Casciato has been elected to serve on the San Francisco Retirement Board. The Department of Elections results were Al Casciato: 9,871; Herb Meiberger: 6,137.
This is a huge victory, not only because of the margin (62% to 38%), but because this is the largest turnout in a Retirement Board election in the last 10 years. This is the first time in recent history that an incumbent of the Board was defeated in their bid for re-election.
This election was critical for San Francisco city employees because recent disappointing investment results have resulted in a likely 1% increase to pension contributions in the future. Local 21 voted to endorse Al Casciato because Herb Meiberger, the unseated incumbent, was making bad decisions with your investments, costing Local 21 members money.
The newly elected Retirement Board member has a steep hill to climb; Al Casciato’s priority is to stop that negative trend from continuing. Going forward, Al will work to restore sound management practices and ensure a solid return on investments.
Endorsed by Local 21, 11 other city unions, and 2 retirement groups, Al Casciato is a former President and Vice President of the Retirement Board who came out of retirement to run at the request of city workers. As a Retirement Board member backed by Local 21, Al is committed to hearing our concerns and issues, and advocating for the financial well-being of the pension fund.
Al winning the Retirement Board election means Local 21 regaining a seat at the table.
Al has a history of leadership in city employee relations through his union, the SF Labor Council, and working with other unions. He is well known and trusted by workers. As a retiree, he knows how important it is to protect pension benefits. He is genuinely concerned about city workers and is committed to reducing our pension contributions. We can count on him to have our backs.
Asked about his victory, Al said, “The retirement system must move forward. I am looking forward to working with my fellow Board members and staff to make the SF Employee Retirement System a model for other systems.”
Executive Director Bob Muscat commented, “This is a great win for city workers and sends a clear signal that we will not stand by and be inactive when our interests are in jeopardy.”
Ruben Vasquez, Senior Engineer at the PUC said, “We look forward to good things for the future of our pension.”