Nonprofits Caught in Pension Crossfire Between Foundation, Unions: Well-Known Nonprofits in Middle of Tussle Between Billionaire Donor John Arnold and Labor Groups

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation, created by a Texas billionaire and his wife, has made a name for itself since 2011 by funding research on the fiscal health of public pensions.

Now, irate public-employee unions are pressing nonprofits such as public television, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Brookings Institution to stop taking money from the Houston-based organization. The unions argue that the Arnold Foundation is trying to sway public opinion to support replacing public pensions—which give workers including police, firefighters and teachers guaranteed benefits at retirement—with defined-benefit accounts similar to 401(k)s, or hybrid approaches.

The funding woes of several high-profile pension systems, including those for city workers in Detroit and Chicago, have some municipalities and states worried they won't be able to fund other areas of government.

In an interview, Mr. Arnold, 40 years old, a former Enron Corp. trader who later created an energy hedge fund, called the union allegations "an organized smear campaign" against him and his foundation to avoid discussing solutions to pension-funding problems.

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