The head of New York’s largest government-workers union is eligible to receive three separate pensions totaling more than $130,000, The Post has learned.
Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue qualifies to cash in on a tax-free state government pension, a full union pension plus a separate, union-backed “special” annuity, sources said.
Union insiders estimated the three pensions combined top $130,000.
Donohue has been CSEA president for 18 years and a union officer for more than 30 years. Before that, he worked at a state-run psychiatric center and as a truck driver.
CSEA spokesman Steve Madarasz defended Donohue’s pension benefits. “This is a nonissue,” he said.
Donohue earns $185,000 a year in compensation. The union boss continues to qualify for government-pension benefits because the CSEA has reimbursed the state for the value of his public-employee salary since he joined the union.
Madarasz said Donohue’s compensation is lower than other labor leaders’ despite representing more people.
But the pension deal raised eyebrows as Donohue campaigns for the presidency of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the nation’s largest public-employee union. The CSEA is a local affiliate of the AFSCME.