Union stops funding pols over pension vote

ALBANY -- Angered by last week's vote to reduce pensions for future workers, the largest state employees union said Monday that it was suspending campaign contributions and candidate endorsements.

"This action is necessary to give our union the opportunity to re-evaluate our political relationships and make judgments about the criteria we use in determining who has earned and deserves our support," Civil Service Employees Association president Danny Donohue said in a statement. "It is also important to consider how our support is valued."

The move by the union, which represents about 66,000 members, was a direct result of the deal between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislators to create a less generous pension plan called Tier VI for future employees, Donohue said.

What impact the suspension will have -- and how long it will last -- remains to be seen. CSEA spokesman Stephen Madarasz said the suspension was "indefinite" but that the union would still be part of the political process.

CSEA gave about $130,000 to candidates in 2011, according to Bill Mahoney, legislative operations and research coordinator of the watchdog organization New York Public Interest Research Group. That made it the 39th largest donor in the state. However, the different public employee unions together played a larger role, contributing $21 million in the 2010 election cycle -- or 8.5 percent of giving.

"By themselves I wouldn't say the CSEA completely changes the way things work, but if it serves as an omen, it might significantly change how 2012 elections look," Mahoney said.

Representatives from two other large unions said that legislators' vote on Tier VI would be considered when they make endorsements but that they weren't joining in a suspension.

"If . . . [political candidates] have received our support in the past, this is going to make it harder for them to get that support in the future, but it won't necessarily make it impossible," said Sherry Halbrook, spokeswoman for the 56,000-member Public Employees Federation.

Carl Korn, a spokesman for 600,000-member New York State United Teachers, similarly said the union would look at a range of issues, including Tier VI, when deciding whom to support in the fall.

Other observers said that if unions withdraw from the election cycle, they risk losing their influence. "It's a double-edged sword," said Democratic political consultant George Arzt.