Always Consider the Source!

By Frank Miramontes, President, Local 18 

Recently, you may have seen a couple of really ridiculous articles circulating around the JFB.

One is from a throw-away “newspaper” that quotes completely unsubstantiated allegations from a few disgruntled and unproductive DWP employees.

Another is from the Foleys. You probably know them: Dolores is president of the Retirement Employees Association, someone who was being paid by the same insurancecompany that the retired employees had no choice but to use.

If those two articles were not silly enough, now comes an e-mail from Vincent Foley that states his “concern” regarding some comments made in the Los Angeles Mayor’s race. Foley says that Brother Antonio Villaraigosa, our candidate for mayor, has suggested that various retirement funds should consider investing here in Los Angeles; as if this is something bad.

Let’s set the record perfectly straight: first, our Retirement Board allows only financiallysound investments of any kind. Second, if there are good investments to be made in the City of Los Angeles, what is wrong with doing that? After all, this is where we work and serve the public.

The only truths in Vincent Foley’s e-mail are, he does not live in the City of Los Angeles and he does want to try to influence the outcome of our mayoral race.

So, this question must be asked: where were the Foleys when DWP’s General Manager appointed a retirement fund manager with absolutely no retirement or accounting experience? This temporary retirement board manager was signing multi-million-dollar agreements and making retirement-fund decisions based on things that she knew virtually nothing about—yet there was not even a murmur of concern or protest from the Foleys.

We hard-working public employees are being attacked every day by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, specifically concerning our various retirement systems. And, guess what, have we heard anything from the Foleys? You guessed it—not a word.

So, whenever you read any nonsense from a throw-away “newspaper” or compromised people like the Foleys, remember: always consider the source!

In unity,

Frank Miramontes

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