I just started a govt job that is heavily unionized, which comes with some great benefits, and at least some of the people want to fight for boundaries, respect and workplace safety. I was hired at X wage with an explicitly laid out offer letter. Everything seemed transparent and honest.
Once I got my first paycheck recently, I saw my wages were gouged noticeably by something called PERA. Nobody told me what this was, it was not once mentioned throughout the whole process, not in the offer letter nor in a month of work. I had to do a lot of research online- it wasn't mentioned almost at all in the employee websites, in the union agreement or on the union website. It seems like people either don't care about this, or deliberately ignore it.
This is what I found. Apparently all govt employees are legally mandated by our state to pay a percentage of their income to a retirement account. I thought subtracting wages from employees without their consent or knowledge was wage theft, and it was an established boundary that employers who force retirement subtractions are literally committing a crime. The idea that this is legally mandated dumbfounds me. And I can't find any info about the union doing anything about this. It's like nobody cares and just ignores it.
I've contacted my union reps to get as much info as I can. I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with PERA in America and how we'd fight this law. I can't tell from legal jargon online if this has any federal law history or is tied to Social Security laws. Considering our precarious financial and ecological future and govts about to default on debt worldwide, some of us want to jump the ship and put our money into REAL investments NOW. I want land, community and skills. I refuse to condone a system of waste and corruption.