Workers’ suit aims to undo portion of Atlanta pension overhaul | www.myajc.com

Members of the unions that represent Atlanta firefighters, police officers and other city employees have filed a lawsuit to undo a significant piece of an overhaul to the city’s pensions that largely defined Mayor Kasim Reed’s first term.

Stephen Borders, president of the Atlanta Professional Firefighters union, said the lawsuit’s aim of rolling back the increased employee contribution to the pensions required by the 2011 overhaul — currently a 5 percent increase and possibly another 5 percent later for workers who were employed by the city then — is a matter of fairness and law.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court says the increase in the contribution is an unconstitutional breach in the city’s contractual obligations to employees and takes money out of employees’ pockets.

“It is something we felt was wrong from the moment we heard about it, but we haven’t had an avenue to attack it,” Borders said. “Our situation has been made worse because they have completely thrown out our pay structure and raises. Now any raise in your career is at the will of the City Council.”

Plaintiffs are hoping to gain class-action status for the suit, which says that through the increase in the contribution, employees will ultimately pay “over 50 percent more to purchase the same amount of retirement benefits to which they already were entitled.”

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