Posted by Forbes.com has a story about the supplemental retirement savings program offered to Alabama state employees offered by Nationwide Financial Services (the Nationwide Insurance folks):
How Nationwide got this exclusive deal says a lot about the often cozy, pay-for-play relationships between public employee unions and business.
Nationwide pays $1 million a year to the Alabama State Employee Association for the right to sell its savings plan to state workers. It’s a great deal for the union, which has gained financial and political clout with the money, and a great deal for Nationwide. It’s not so great for workers.
The article comments on deal details that are “poorly disclosed” and adds that “ASEA President Edwin Jean (Mac) McArthur Jr. has used secretive payments like Nationwide’s to generate much of his union’s $3 million in revenue.”
The full story is here.
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TopGun1998 in comment #9, aka MarilynJ in comment #21, aka JoeBar in comment 22, aka Donaldson273 in comments 29 & 30, aka Retired State Employee in comment 44, aka mad state employee in comment 45, aka KarenW in comment 46, aka lawsuit in comment 47,
Please choose one name and post under that name. I do not care for a commenter to use multiple names to make it appear as if more people are participating in a conversation than really are. For example, asking a question in comment 47 and answering it in 49, or asking a question in 45 and answering it in 51, and then answering #51 with #52. There is an integrity issue here.
Thank you,
Danny
48, hubbERT not hubbARD. wow, 9,21,22,29,30,44,45,46,47,49,51,52: you got both an agenda and time. dangerous combo.
Thanks for the reminder, its almost a “Herbert” vs “AY-Bear” thing for me.
Maybe the sock is a runner for the law firm? Who knows.
Danny, thank you for calling on Jarrod to cut it out.
Dito
common danny lay down the law, let’s have an IP address?
Looks like lobbyist Jones and the Mac McArthur support group have been mobilized. It is the same with Mac as any addiction. You have to admit you have a problem first. Has the Massey guy ever been arrested for domestic abuse? Seems someone is trying to turn the focus on someone else rather than where it should be. I don’t know much about the people who were to have worked at the union but I am not aware of them having all the legal issues McArthur has? Where there is smoke there is fire. I know several of the former employees. They all tell a similar tale. Anybody with a brain who might out McArthur is sent packing. Hush money buys him friends.
gj 4golf = Greg Jones = paid lobbyist and mouthpiece for Mac McArthur: Short timer.
McArthur claims to be a strong advocate for the fair treatment of all, especially African Americans. Why in the world then would he have the state employee union allow an insurance firm called National Security Group to offer products to his members? This insurance company was successfully sued by the Beasley Law firm for charging african american policy holders higher rates than white policy holders. The insurance company settled and admitted to the practices. I wonder what type of deal the National Group has agreed to with McArthur? They must have been willing to pay a hell of a commission, business privledge fee, or whatever McArthur calls them to get the union endorsement. The state employee union has a lot of african american members. I wonder how they feel knowing their association director has sold them out. I bet he did not even tell them about the company’s previous special pricing for african american policy holders.
The employee union is about protecting the principles of the state merit system which was passed into law by the legislature many years ago. The union hollers all the time about various governors and supervisors violating the merit system act. They yell loud often to say political appointees are getting special treatment over merit system employees. Yet, when it comes time to get union board members promoted McArthur forgets all about the merit system act and puts the ax to well deserving merit system employees in favor of his union board members. Anyone ever do some research and see what positions most of the union board members held when McArthur took over the union. Now look at what positions they hold today. Some major advancement took place where many of the union board members leap frogged other state employees. Ask around the state agencies. This is no secret.
Funny – I thought the purpose of the State Personnel Department was to protect the merit system and serve state employees. They just came out with that commuting program and an employee discount program, both of which are free to state employees. I just got an email about it last week. They are also the ones that gave the clerical workers a raise this year. Seems like ASEA may have outlived is usefulness, at least under Mac and his cronies. I certainly didn’t continue my membership this year.
Poor Mac. He had gastric bypass surgery. He apparently has had some problems because he is once again almost as big as the big ole house he lives in.
McArthur was formerly a hearing officer who was known to rule against state employees all the time. He changed his tune when he got the fat contract at the employees association and then began talking about how awful and unfair the hearing officers were. Now that is integrity.
Why does McArthur require certain employees at the union to sign confidentiality agreements before they leave and before he will release their final paycheck? Is he concerned a former employee might spill the beans on him? What in the world goes on at that place? Makes you wonder.
Question: Does Nationwide disclose the lobbying and consulting fees they pay to Alabama based lobbyists? These expenses would clearly have to be associated with maintaining their sweetheart deal with the employee union. Are these expenses part of the Nationwide expenses not disclosed to plan participants but which effect their fund returns? I know none of these lobbyists would be paid by Nationwide but instructed by McArthur on a daily basis to carry out specific lobbying for the union. McArthur is way to ethical for that right?
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This comment has been removed. If you have any question about it, you may contact me via the Contact Page in the sidebar.
This comment has been removed. If you have any question about it, you may contact me via the Contact Page in the sidebar.
This comment has been removed. If you have any question about it, you may contact me via the Contact Page in the sidebar.
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My guess as to the removed comments is that Mac did what he always does…threatened to sue. I hope I’m wrong because people deserve to know the truth about his character. Thankfully a large number of people read the comments before they were removed.
No one threatened to sue. I removed some ad hominem comments because I could determine neither their veracity nor their relevance to the topic at hand.