Public Employee Press

Protesters blast Florida’s pension purchase of school privatizing firm

Imagine your broker advising you to invest hard-earned money in a company that has reported just one profitable quarter during its entire 12-year history. That’s what Florida governor Jeb Bush — the president’s brother — would like to do with $180 million of public employee pension funds.

Bush, his chief financial officer and his attorney general oversee the Florida Retirement System, which is planning to buy out Edison Schools through the Liberty Partners investment firm.

Edison is a private firm that has tried to privatize public schools in St. Louis, Philadelphia and New York. New York parents rejected the firm after Dept. of Education Employees Local 372 and community allies campaigned against the firm.

As Edison shareholders met on the plan Nov. 12 at Manhattan’s exclusive Harvard Club, labor activists from AFSCME, the UFT and SEIU demonstrated against the deal.

“We will not tolerate the use of our pension funds to support the privatization of our jobs,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “We also want to send a message to Wall Street that failing CEO’s should not be rewarded with sweetheart pay packages at the expense of shareholders and public employees,” said Veronica Montgomery-Costa, president of DC 37 and Local 372.

Union members, retirees and teachers like Christina Brownlow came from Florida to join the protest. “We’re outraged that our teachers didn’t have any input into this,” said Brownlow, a member of the United Teachers of Dade County. “We want to have our union sisters and brothers sitting on the board. I want a vote over our pension system.”

If the deal goes through, the $180 million in pension funds will be gambled on a company that by Sept. 12 had lost over $350 million this year.