News: Do'ers Profile
Max Bochmann

• Name and profession: Max Bochmann, school bus mechanic

• NEA Local affiliate: Naperville (Illinois) Unit Maintenance Association

• Position: Newly elected employee trustee of the 150,000-member Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)

• Latest accomplishment: With strong support from his NEA state affiliate and another union, AFSCME, Bochmann defeated three "finance manager types" for a spot on the Fund's Board of Trustees. In his grassroots campaign, Bochmann convinced members of the $15 billion Fund that classified school employees "deserve a place at the table."

  Bochmann and six other elected Fund trustees are responsible for asset allocation and setting benchmarks for money managers "to make as much money for the Fund as we can safely make." The trustees also hire the firms that provide the Fund investment advice and actuarial expertise.

  "My goal," says Bochmann, "is to ensure that Fund participants have the information they need on a timely basis to make their own decisions."

  Bochmann is also on guard against any plan to convert IMRF from a "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan--a move that would shift financial risk to employees and ends the "guaranteed lifetime" aspect of the annuity.

• Words of wisdom: "ESP are in every electoral district in the state. If we want something, we can do it!" (You can reach Bochmann at MBOC@aol.com. For more on his Fund, go to www.imrf.org.)