When was the ConCon held that added this in the first place??? I just went through the NYS Constitution and no where does it have a clause that protects benifits… http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/constitution.htm

“Then, there is the dollar problem. Because the state constitution protects benefits, changes only can be applied to new employees. Thus the money saved in the first few years after changes is relatively small.”

So how do guv, mayor win pension reform?

By
Greg David
on February 7, 2011
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signaled his plans for reforming the lucrative pensions public sector workers in New York receive and in doing so he has left more questions than answers.
In a speech in Westchester on Friday, the governor said that an overhaul of pensions would be tackled after a state budget is passed. (The comment received very little coverage. You can find an AP story with the details at wsj.com and other websites.) He pledged to seek comprehensive reform.

He also allied himself with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who earlier in the week had outlined his own extensive plans for city pensions. He noted that it isn’t just New York City that is burdened by soaring retirement costs and said that he would seek a solution that would be statewide.
So far, so good. The question is what is the political strategy to achieve changes, which in the past have always needed the cooperation of the public-sector unions. Last year, Gov. David Paterson won less expensive pensions plans for new state workers after promising no more layoffs. The mayor failed to win similar changes because city unions balked. Read more: http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/greg_david_on_new_york/2011/02/so-how-do-andrew-and-mike-win-pension-reform.php