Report: Spitzer Cancels Speech To Teachers Union He’s Probing
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ALBANY – A state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, canceled his speech to the state’s largest teachers’ union because he is investigating its leadership, union officials said yesterday.
Mr. Spitzer, a Democratic candidate for governor, had been scheduled to address the New York State United Teachers in Rochester on Friday. Had Mr. Spitzer made the appearance, the union would have issued its endorsement of him at the time, a NYSUT spokesman, Dennis Tompkins, said.
The union will now endorse a candidate in the race for governor in August, when it typically makes endorsements in statewide races, Mr. Tompkins said.
“In light of the ongoing review, both the attorney general and NYSUT felt it would be inappropriate for him to speak at this time,” he said.
Mr. Spitzer’s running mate, Democratic Senate leader, David Patterson, spoke in his place, Mr. Tompkins said.
Mr. Spitzer is investigating the union’s practice of accepting cash from an investment company that is then allowed to try to sell retirement plans to union members. The New York Post on Saturday was the first to report Mr. Spitzer’s decision not to address the union.
A Spitzer spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.
NYSUT gets $3 million a year from ING, a Dutch investment company, for recommending its members enroll in retirement plans with high fees that often eat into returns.
The deal between NYSUT and ING is among several such arrangements nationwide between unions and investment companies, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. NYSUT has 525,000 members.
The Times quoted Middletown, N.Y., teacher Art Dawe as saying that NYSUT’s endorsement was the most important thing he considered when he opted in. The account has returned just 1.6% a year since 1990, compared to an overall growth rate of 8.4% for all American mutual funds.
“I could have fared better with Atlantic City slots,” Mr. Dawe told the newspaper.
Mr. Spitzer’s spokesman, Darren Dopp, told the Post that it “wouldn’t have been appropriate for the attorney general and the union to meet at this time because of an ongoing matter” but refused to provide additional details.
