TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips was a featured speaker at an Albany Workshop on how employee pension funds are investing their dollars. On the same day – Saturday, February 16 – Political Action Director Marvin Holland talked about the impact of fair elections on communities of color. The two workshops took place at the annual convention of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, which is attended by many of the state’s most influential legislators, lobbyists, and union officials. In his remarks, Phillips, who sits as Local 100’s Trustee on the board of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) said that more pension investment dollars should be flowing to local community needs, including affordable housing. He added that pension fund managers should be on notice that stakeholders – the unions who represent employees – will be holding educational forums and tracking investments to create more transparency.
Political Action Director Marvin Holland spoke about the continued importance of public funding for elections, which allow candidates who are community activists but do not have large personal financial resources to have a level playing field against more well-financed candidates.
