Government Employee Unions

[Terry Penrod]

.

As I'm sure most of my fellow U.S. citizens know, there is a bitter fight being waged right now between the governor of Wisconsin and state employees (particularly the teachers union) over collective bargaining rights.

Believe it or not, I side with the governor on this issue. That's because teachers unions and numerous other government-employee organizations have a stranglehold on far too many things that affect quality of education and quality of public services in general. They all want guaranteed jobs for life with better-than-aveage pay and a huge list of tax-paid benefits - plus most of them are very resistant to actual accountability standards / requirements.

In the private sector, there is much less job security and most pay raises, benefits, etc. are based on performance. So private-sector worker unions are still necessary to keep things fair. But many government employees these days make more than their private-sector counterparts and it's waaaaay too hard to weed out the real screw-offs, especially those with any senority at all.

In effect, they are double-dipping on the backs of already strapped taxpayers in the private sector and they always want more, more, more. I suppose that would be okay if they actually produced more, more, more or simply improved their performance at a reasonable pace. But most don't. Instead they slide by for years on mediocre performance at best and I think it has to stop.

As a footnote: I don't buy into most panicky slippery-slope theories. This battle is only about government-worker unions. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the private sector and those who are screaming bloody murder the loudest are trying to sell a pack of lies about this being some sort of dark, nefarious, national plot by greedy corporations, bankers, etc. in league with corrupt lobbyists and politicians to break all unions in America. That's just a big, stinking load of BS and we average voters / workers / taxpayers shouldn't fall for it.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

Agreed Terry.
I believe that any worker who is paid by the taxpayers should have no pension at all and they should pay their own insurance premiums. If they want retirement benefits they can get an IRA or a 401k like the rest of us. How can I afford retirement if I have to pay for theirs?

Here in Austin recently there was a big stink about some city and county employees who retired and then took another city/county job. That's fine for the private sector but not public employees.
There was a time when unions were necessary unions but it has passed. GM when broke imo because of the costs associated with it.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Actually Mikell, GM went broke for several reasons. One of them most certainly was high labor costs. But far higher overall foreign competition plus very shortsighted strategic decisions aimed at pleasing investors, not consumers combined to seal the company's fate. Remember that Ford had the same basic things to deal with as GM and Chysler, but simply did a much better job of adjusting to changes in the domestic and global markets.

I agree though that labor unions are also a problem in terms of strapping U.S. companies from competing with far cheaper foreign workers. However, it's just not possible for skilled American workers to survive on the same ultra-low pay. So we will have a big problem in that area no matter what happens with the auto-manufacturing or other industrial unions.

Cheers, Terry

[Rafal Dudek]

I agree with the governor too. This whole thing is stupid.

[Impresario]

Agreed Terry.
I believe that any worker who is paid by the taxpayers should have no pension at all and they should pay their own insurance premiums. If they want retirement benefits they can get an IRA or a 401k like the rest of us. How can I afford retirement if I have to pay for theirs?


There's a big difference between restructuring state pension benefits for future employees vs. current employees. Generally, state pension benefits are an inviolable contract and in some circumstances protected by both state constitution and statute. Unless you are willing to give up the rule of law those obligations are not discretionary.

Additionally, state pension funds hold in trust their employee contributions. Individual employees are not allowed to manage their funds. When the state fails to allocate those contributions to properly fund their pension systems and instead write IOU’s to those funds and allot those monies to other budgetary expenses, it is the state's mismanagement and not the employees. Furthermore, state governors have become comfortable with the nasty habit of lining the pockets of high dollar campaign contributors by giving them contracts to provide investment advice to the state pensions and kickbacks are going all over the place. A simple Google search provides a wealth of information on this corruption. The employees are powerless while the politicians and their business cronies mismanage these funds through fraudulent practices.

If you want to restructure defined benefit systems for future employees and offer something similar to a 401K it is foreseeable that the state will be required to provide an employee match just like in the private sector. Keep in mind that current vested individual employees have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to their own retirement pensions but do not get to actively manage those portfolios. If an employee, earning $50,000 has contributed 5% over 30 years with an expected rate of return of 7% they have built up a healthy balance. That is their money and they are entitled to it, same as any person w/ a retirement account. The only difference is that they are participating in a defined benefit plan.

As for pension abuse--the most obvious change that I see is eliminating padding via overtime. It’s an abuse when a worker gets to inflate their average salary by running up huge amounts of overtime in their last years to promote a higher pension return. That needs to go ASAP.

[Terry Penrod]

.

I agree that the main problem with pension plans is not related to taxpayer costs, but mismangement and outright corruption / thievery. That holds true for most government and private-sector funds.

Those programs need MUCH better oversight and TOTAL transparency on a state and national scale. Pension-fund and other mutual-account money managers need to be watched like a hawk and if they so much as bend a rule, they should be fired immediately if not prosecuted.

While we can not effectively oversee all individual or joint private investment / retirement / savings funds to that same degree, we also need far stricter oversight of Wall Street and banks in general. Many of them are NOT trustworthy and some should be treated as what they are - ruthless con artists and vicious thieves of the highest order.

On that last point, why the hell do these thieves get to package junk bonds, toxic assets, poisoned derivatives and other economically ruinous garbage in the first place?

IMO, they should be restricted to a MUCH narrower set of legitimate investment instruments. Free-market capitalism does NOT mean you get to sell non-existent assets to witless or greedy investors and use the system to run ponzi schemes or other con games.

100% of that crap should outlawed at ALL banks, investment firms, brokerages, portfolio management groups and other financial concerns worldwide. The second one of them even hints at breaking the rules, they should be sent straight to prison.

Cheers, Terry

[Impresario]

Terry, pay to play has been rampant and it's disgusting. This dirtbag went down a few days ago and I'm not shedding any tears.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/hevesi-adviser-is-sentenced-in-pension-scandal/
.
On that last point, why the hell do these thieves get to package junk bonds, toxic assets, poisoned derivatives and other economically ruinous garbage in the first place?

Those ^ risky instruments are directly related to the pension kickback schemes and it's nauseating. If you wonder why these pensions are underfunded, follow the greed and corruption trail. Detroit is the latest city where public pension corruption is being investigated.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110217/NEWS01/102170541/Detroit-pension-probe-grows-more-than-150-investments-eyed-by-investigators

The truth is rarely pure and never simple seems an apt phrase here.

[Terry Penrod]

.

In related news today, this same sort of scenario is playing out in several other states where government-employee unions have already broken the backs of private-sector taxpayers and are on the verge of causing bankruptcy.

Cheers, Terry


FROM: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599205325500

What Wisconsin Has Wrought: Labor Unrest Spreads

By ADAM SORENSON Adam Sorenson – Wed Feb 23, 4:10 am ET


On Tuesday afternoon, the 12 members of Ohio's Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee convened in a corner room on the second floor of the state senate building in Columbus. No vote or amendment was on the agenda, just a hearing on what is simply called Senate Bill 5. Outside the door, hundreds of protesters pressed into the halls and stairwells of the capitol as thousands more crowded the surrounding streets. They all wanted to testify.

SB5, introduced by Republican state Senator Shannon Jones and backed by Governor John Kasich, would abolish collective bargaining rights for some 42,000 state workers and scale back those of roughly 300,000 local government employees in Ohio, including teachers, firefighters and police. It was those workers and allies of the unions that represent them that swarmed the statehouse Tuesday, chanting "This is our house, let us in." (See TIME's top 10 'mad as hell'

As demonstrations in Wisconsin over Governor Scott Walker's efforts to limit collective bargaining for many state employees entered a second week and national media swarmed Madison, similar protests swelled in state capitals across the nation. Though the various pieces of legislation and their respective impacts on labor unions private and public differ, the conflicts all pit Republican governors or their statehouse allies against a labor movement clamoring to be heard and eager to hinder their GOP opponents.

Democratic legislators in Indiana, mirroring their Wisconsin counterparts' desperation, fled the state and its police jurisdiction Tuesday in order to deny Republican lawmakers the quorum necessary to proceed on a "right to work" bill, legislation that would prevent employers and unions from signing contracts that require non-members to pay fees for representation. "There's a line in the sand for us," said Dan Parker, the chairman of Indiana's Democratic Party. "When something so much violates your principles... you use your last resort."

Although Republican Governor Mitch Daniels supports the "right to work" philosophy, he has urged his party not to pursue the legislation since late last year. "I thought there was a better time and place to have this very important and legitimate issue raised," Daniels, ever the pragmatist, told reporters Tuesday. His concerns are practical. While key legislative deadlines loom, his ambitious agenda has been grounded by the political weight of a single bill.

In Michigan, a few hundred picketers weathered the Lansing frost Tuesday to voice opposition to a small collection of proposals they see as a threat to unions. Newly elected Republican Governor Rick Snyder's budget calls for pensions to be taxed and he backs empowering emergency financial managers, brought in when a school or city is foundering, to cut union contracts. But when asked if there were any parallels to Wisconsin, Snyder insisted he remains committed to bargaining with labor rather than forcing his position. "It's not confrontational with the unions," he said. "It's about how we do collective bargaining to achieve a mutual outcome where we all benefit."

Florida is already a "right to work state" and Republican state Senator John Thrasher has introduced legislation to politically declaw unions there. As in Wisconsin, his bill would bar labor groups from using salary deductions for candidate donations or electioneering. But Rick Scott, who might just be the most brazen Republican governor of the 2011 class - he sent back $2.4 billion in federal transportation funds last week and proposed to lay off 6,700 state workers in his first budget proposal - appears wary of a larger standoff with unions. "My belief is as long as people know what they're doing, collective bargaining is fine," he told Tallahassee's WFLA Radio on Tuesday.

In Ohio, the power of the unions hasn't given Governor Kasich pause. He is willing to weather confrontation. And Democratic legislators lack the numbers in the statehouse to delay action with a walkout. Republicans have an 8-4 majority on that Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, not to mention a 23-10 majority in the senate overall. SB5 is likely to face a full vote next week. "Procedurally there are very few options," says Ohio Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro, already looking past the vote to a possible referendum on the issue. "If this passes and ultimately becomes law, we do have the ability to bring it to the ballot."

In many ways, the intensity of these debates reflects a larger struggle for public opinion. Protest organizers in Ohio and Indiana are upset that, in their view, Republicans didn't run on a platform of reining in labor, and that their legislation hasn't yet received ample sunlight. Democrats ultimately lack the votes in their statehouses - and allies in the governor's mansions - to defeat many of these bills. Labor's hope is that by attracting attention and stymying Republican agendas, they can claim the mantle of popular support.

A recent Gallup poll that asked if Americans would "favor or oppose a law... taking away some collective bargaining rights of most public unions, including the state teachers union," found that 61% said they would oppose it. But now is a difficult time for labor. American manufacturing is in decline, the recession has wreaked terrific damage on state budgets, which are often balanced only by deferring payments on massive pension liabilities, and it's the first time in decades politicians of either party in the midwest and northeast are challenging union benefits and bargaining powers.

In Indiana, Parker calls this "assaulting middle class Hoosier workers." Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who called for public employees to pony up a greater share of their health care premiums in his second budget address Tuesday in Trenton, frames it like this: "The promises of the past are too expensive, and the prospects of the future are too important to stay on the old, failed course."

Madison may be the battlefront for that debate, but the skirmishes are spreading. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is scheduled to lead a rally Friday in Trenton. Jesse Jackson is on his way to Columbus. "We're seeing thousands of people come here," says Ohio's Senator Cafaro. "It's no different than other places, like Wisconsin."

[Terry Penrod]

.

Terry, pay to play has been rampant and it's disgusting. This dirtbag went down a few days ago and I'm not shedding any tears.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/hevesi-adviser-is-sentenced-in-pension-scandal/

Those ^ risky instruments are directly related to the pension kickback schemes and it's nauseating. If you wonder why these pensions are underfunded, follow the greed and corruption trail. Detroit is the latest city where public pension corruption is being investigated.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110217/NEWS01/102170541/Detroit-pension-probe-grows-more-than-150-investments-eyed-by-investigators

The truth is rarely pure and never simple seems an apt phrase here.

One and a third to four years (probably in a cushy country-club "prison")? Hank Morris deserves at least five years of hard time.

As for the Detroit probe, I hope the SEC nails every single one of those sleazebags to the wall. I also hope the investigations expand nationally and globally to root out and punish all the outrageously greedy bankers, con-artist finaciers, pension-fund crooks, strong-arm union bullies, scumsucking lobbyists and corrupt politicians who have been raping honest workers and retirees for years.

It's time we swept the world clean of those money-grubbing, white-collar miscreants.

Cheers, Terry

[Gary V.]

As a teacher, I haven't gotten a pay raise which amounted to anything in years. What are we supposed to do, bend over and take it? In Texas, apparently we do. 2% raise every year for years. In the meantime we have more pressure to do more. Raise test scores with classes full of special ed kids who don't speak English at home.

[Mikell]

I'm making $3 an hour less now than I was making a year ago. Be glad you still have a job and join the club.


TEA layoffs begin
http://www.kfdm.com/news/tea-41613-agency-says.html

[Gary V.]

So teachers should just take whatever comes. It's absurd to think anyone in any profession should meekly accept wages, working conditions, etc. You think I should not be in a union and just be happy to have a job because you make $3 less per hour. Sorry, but I'm out for me and my family first. I will take all the pay I can get, and if it means supporting a union, so be it. I'm also a taxpayer. Maybe teachers shouldn't have to pay taxes. In essence, we are paying our own salaries.

Now tell me about your jobs and I'll think of all the lousy and overpaid people involved.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Like I said Gary, I have no problem at all using tax dollars to pay public-school teachers a good wage and a reasonable set of benefits. However I believe we need to break the stanglehold of ALL government-worker unions on dictating terms of continued, individual employment / tenure. I also mentioned that individual teacher performance should be gauged fairly on a case-by-case basis in a way that takes into account specific, variable conditions. It simply shouldn't be so hard to fire really bad teachers and replace them with better ones.

As for teachers paying their own salaries and benefits through taxes, nonsense. They don't even come close. Moreover, teachers and all other tax-paid / government employees reap the same general benefits as any other group of taxpaying citizens in the form of police and firefighter protection, national security, roads, airports, public parks, garbage pick-up, public utility investments, etc., etc. - not to mention all costs related to the public schools the work in and their own kids attend.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Impresario]

My mom has been teaching in the NYC public school system for ages. She's 70-years-old and does it b/c she still enjoys teaching. She's real old school and gets results out of the kids. The most frustrating part for her are the kids that have no parental support. They perform the worst, usually come from a single parent home and that parent often doesn't even show up for parent/teacher conferences. When she sends notes or emails the parent that the kid isn't doing their homework and is performing below grade level she gets no response from that parent.

Even good teachers are very much dependent upon a functional invested family structure. The students in a teacher’s class will vary each year. Some years you have better students from better homes and other years not so much. Standardizing teacher performance is very difficult when the quality of a child's family life is so variable. I really think we need to link teacher performance to mandatory parental involvement. If the parent doesn't appear at the parent/teacher conference and refuses to monitor the child's schoolwork, they should be required to take some form of remedial parenting class offered by the school district or some other agency.

[pcfreak]

Even good teachers are very much dependent upon a functional invested family structure. The students in a teacher’s class will vary each year. Some years you have better students from better homes and other years not so much. Standardizing teacher performance is very difficult when the quality of a child's family life is so variable. I really think we need to link teacher performance to mandatory parental involvement. If the parent doesn't appear at the parent/teacher conference and refuses to monitor the child's schoolwork, they should be required to take some form of remedial parenting class offered by the school district or some other agency.

We have exactly this problem here in the UK too. It's not just single parent or less well off kids that suffer either. I know many middle class families, where little time is spent as a family group just spending time together. I think this is one of the biggest problems we now face in modern society, the breakdown of the family unit.

[Terry Penrod]

.

My mom has been teaching in the NYC public school system for ages. She's 70-years-old and does it b/c she still enjoys teaching. She's real old school and gets results out of the kids. The most frustrating part for her are the kids that have no parental support. They perform the worst, usually come from a single parent home and that parent often doesn't even show up for parent/teacher conferences. When she sends notes or emails the parent that the kid isn't doing their homework and is performing below grade level she gets no response from that parent.

Even good teachers are very much dependent upon a functional invested family structure. The students in a teacher’s class will vary each year. Some years you have better students from better homes and other years not so much. Standardizing teacher performance is very difficult when the quality of a child's family life is so variable. I really think we need to link teacher performance to mandatory parental involvement. If the parent doesn't appear at the parent/teacher conference and refuses to monitor the child's schoolwork, they should be required to take some form of remedial parenting class offered by the school district or some other agency.

Couldn't agree more, Impresario and it sounds like your mom is one of the many truly dedicated, good teachers we still have in our public schools.

I wonder how she feels about the restrictions that goverment-worker unions have placed on hiring / firing practices in general. Not just regarding bad teachers, but all tax-paid employees who fail to meet reasonable performance expectations yet still collect good salaries and a ton of benefits for years and years on end.

As I've already stressed several times in this thread, the issue goes WAY beyond just public-school teachers and the state of Wisconsin. It is a mammoth budget and quality-of-service concern that reaches across all local municipalities, all counties, all states, and throughout all federal agencies.

Cheers, Terry

[Impresario]

.
I wonder how she feels about the restrictions that goverment-worker unions have placed on hiring / firing practices in general. Not just regarding bad teachers, but all tax-paid employees who fail to meet reasonable performance expectations yet still collect good salaries and a ton of benefits for years and years on end.
Cheers, Terry
Terry, my mom hates slackers whether they're teachers or in any other line of work, but bureaucracy more often than not is an anathema to meritocracy. I'll give you an example. Over the years, the normal amount of homework that she would regularly assign has diminished due to parental complaints. Too much homework--parents complaining that they had to spend too much time reviewing it with their kids. Subsequently, the parents complain to the administration and the principal orders her to lighten the load or else. Basically, she was told don't rock the boat because your expectations are too high for today’s students The problems w/ schools have less to do with the individual teachers and more to do with bloated, complacent school administrators.

[Terry Penrod]

.

In looking over the current federal budget proposals from the White House and both sides of Congress - one massive, short-term, cost-saving item that doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight is a freeze on all government salaries and benefits for the remainder of 2011.

Now, Social Security recipients will have to go without any cost-of-living increase for yet another year and many millions of private-sector workers have already had to absorb pay decreases and loss of benefits while many millions more have simply lost their jobs in recent years.

I say it's time for all tax-paid government employees from top to bottom to stop getting automatic cost-of-living pay raises and other salary / perk bumps for a while. The savings would be quite substantial and there would be zero hidden costs involved.

If we could simultaneously make it easier to fire bad government workers and hold the rest to a higher yet fair standard of performace in general, we could improve quality of service across the board without wasting a single dime of tax money.

On an even larger scale, we need to really attack waste / fraud / corruption throughout the healthcare industry - starting with Medicare and Medicaid.

Look, almost everyone in America is hurting economically these days and we all need to make sacrifices if our nation is ever going to get back on track.

Of that top five to ten percent who make many times more now than ever before compared to average workers (estimated at quadruple what it was less than 20 years ago), I think it's long past time we closed a ton of tax loopholes and force them to pay a truly fair percentage of their huge incomes.

At the bottom to middle, we have millions of "double-dipping" government employees getting higher-than-average pay and a boatload of benefits PLUS near-total job security with poor performance standards. We also have far too many welfare cheats and other loafers that need to be weeded out.

At the very top end, we have Wall Street crooks and corporate raiders making mega millions if not billions along with thousands of pampered sports stars, actors, singers and other super-rich human fluff that produce little more than momentary thrills for the masses. That's fine, but most of them use every trick in the book to avoid paying a fair percentage of income taxes. It's time to edit the living hell out of that book.

For decades now, many of us moderate conservatives have been calling for a total revamping / simplification of the U.S. tax code to get rid of all loopholes that allow people to pay a small fraction of their actual tax obligation. NOBODY should be able to get way with that crap period.

Having just barely emerged from a complete economic meltdown, America must take a long, hard look at every single source of inequity, inefficiency, laziness, waste, corruption and fraud.

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of listening to whiners from the welfare ranks AND the top ten percent of all earners. One group pays zero income tax and the other pays as little as possible using armies of sleazy accountants, lawyers and lobbyists.

All the while, the entire middle class keeps getting screwed harder and harder.

Yes, we all must make sacrificies for a while. But that simply must include EVERYONE, not just unionized government employees and private-sector workers. It means everone from retired folks who are already getting zero cost-of-living increases and the average worker who is already toiling longer / harder for less to the highest earners in every category - every single one without exception.

Cheers, Terry

[Terry Penrod]

Terry, my mom hates slackers whether they're teachers or in any other line of work, but bureaucracy more often than not is an anathema to meritocracy. I'll give you an example. Over the years, the normal amount of homework that she would regularly assign has diminished due to parental complaints. Too much homework--parents complaining that they had to spend too much time reviewing it with their kids. Subsequently, the parents complain to the administration and the principal orders her to lighten the load or else. Basically, she was told don't rock the boat because your expectations are too high for today’s students The problems w/ schools have less to do with the individual teachers and more to do with bloated, complacent school administrators.

Again we agree and in recent years, I have written endless forum posts, blogs, articles, case studies, website content, etc. on the topic of education reform in America - especially at the school-board / superintendent level.

Getting those last two key groups together on a unified page that spells-out core beliefs, realistic goals and separation of responsibiltiies / authority is actually working in America's 100 largest urban school districts as we speak. But those reforms take time to yield significant results and the job has just begun.

That aside, we also need better overall standards for teachers and school administrators as well as much better communication with constituents and involvement on their part throughout each local district / community.

This is a huge, complex issue and no one solution will ever fix all the problems of America's public schools. However, we must try and I guarantee you that meaningful positive changes are already being made on several levels. We just need to keep working diligently on those fronts while we also attack specific problems at their sources.

IMO, unless we fix our sagging system of public education soon, America's doom will be sealed.

Cheers, Terry

[Mighty Pirate]

It seems to me that America wants/needs a thorough shake up and that’s fine – just don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Australia smashed the stranglehold the unions had over the workforce in this country by simply making membership voluntary. By cutting off the financial lifeline they slew the dragon that it had become.

But the ramifications of independent bargaining soon became apparent to anyone watching. Real wages for the working class went down but for the manger/director level, they went up. ‘Downsizing’ and ‘efficiency’ became the new buzz words. Pay rises could only be achieved for ‘increased efficiency’ – which often translated to less staff wages. Of course, service delivery was no longer included in the efficiency calculations, merely profit and expense. So a lot of public servants were sacked (like me) and replaced with automated telephone systems.

A lot of skilled employees suddenly found themselves reclassified as independent contract workers – with the subsequent loss of sick/holiday leave, overtime and fixed hours. Compulsory superannuation was introduced so a levy is taken from everyone’s salary at source and put into managed funds for their retirement. Health insurance has always been a private expense in this country.

In the private sector, contracts became the norm, sacking staff became easier and national wages were no longer set: each firm negotiated independently with their staff often stripping them of benefits and working conditions that had been in place for decades.

So even though unions can get out of control, it’s necessary to have the workers’ rights protected. A struggle is better for everyone than an unequal power balance.

Education is especially difficult as a successful outcome requires a partnership between school, pupil and parent. This is not something that can be blamed on the teachers or solved by them.

[Mikell]

So teachers should just take whatever comes. It's absurd to think anyone in any profession should meekly accept wages, working conditions, etc. You think I should not be in a union and just be happy to have a job because you make $3 less per hour. Sorry, but I'm out for me and my family first. I will take all the pay I can get, and if it means supporting a union, so be it. I'm also a taxpayer. Maybe teachers shouldn't have to pay taxes. In essence, we are paying our own salaries.

Now tell me about your jobs and I'll think of all the lousy and overpaid people involved.

I never said you were overpaid but you are whining about no pay increase when a lot of people, myself included would take a pay cut over losing their job.

If you do get laid-off, be sure and walk into your next prospective employer's office and DEMAND the wages and benefits you think you are owed.
Good luck with that.:rolleyes:

The reason for pay cuts, pay freezes and lay-offs are so the company can stay in business. Sometimes a few get sacrificed for the good of many more.
I'm not bitter, that's the way the system works.
Btw, Everyone wants all the pay they can get and are out for themselves and family first.


Edit:

AISD teacher layoff notices issued
Not a good light at the end of this tunnel

Updated: Thursday, 17 Feb 2011, 6:38 PM CST
Published : Thursday, 17 Feb 2011, 5:51 PM CST

* David Scott

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Central Texas teachers see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's an oncoming train. The layoff train.

Because of major budget shortfalls, official job termination notices have begun for hundreds of Austin Independent School District teachers and surrounding districts are not far behind.
AISD's shortfall is estimated at at least $94 million, and perhaps more.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/education/AISD-teacher-layoff-notices-issued

[Terry Penrod]

.

I still support unions for numerous private-sector industries, but also support third-party arbitration in most all cases.

Unions for government workers are also okay with me as long as they play fair with the taxpayer's money and are willing to accept some major trade-offs like higher pay + benefits OR higher job security, NOT both.

In all cases, reasonable standards for job performance simply MUST be part of the equation and it MUST be easier to fire truly bad employees than it is right now with many U.S. government-worker unions. NO free rides on the taxpayer's dime period.

Regarding individual promotions, pay raises, bonuses, extra benefits and other perks - I think those things should all be merit based for all employees at all levels whether they work for the government or in the private sector and whether or not they are unionized.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

.
Regarding individual promotions, pay raises, bonuses, extra benefits and other perks - I think those things should all be merit based for all employees at all levels whether they work for the government or in the private sector and whether or not they are unionized.
Cheers, Terry

Merit based or not, as far as public employees and teachers go, the money just isn't there for the perks you mentioned. I don't think Gary gets that fact.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Merit based or not, as far as public employees and teachers go, the money just isn't there for the perks you mentioned. I don't think Gary gets that fact.

I didn't list any specific perks or salary levels, Mikell.

But there are certain high-level government jobs that demand top talent and in order to compete with the private sector, we taxpayers have to offer top dollar and good benefits to attract the best and brightest. In addition to those elite positions, excellent performance over a long period of time should merit reasonable promotions, pay raises, etc. no matter where a person works.

However, we have caps on pretty much all government pay scales. So if someone maxes out after years of outstanding public service, there must be a way to offer them at least some incentive to stay on rather than go to the private sector where large signing bonuses, stock options, etc. are available. This can be done with extra paid vacation time or other benefits.

What we can not forget is that public school teachers, FDA medical professionals, top government analysts and many other tax-paid employees perform vital services and some of those jobs are extremely difficult. If we want really good, dedicated, honest people to commit to public service over the long haul, we can't force them into a suffocating financial corner.

That said, there is waste in every government agency and we need to systematically weed it out from top to bottom. However, as Caroline said, it would be stupid for us to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So we can't just start blindly firing everybody who works for the government or slashing their pay/benefits across the board without weighing all the risks and options.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

.
I didn't list any specific perks or salary levels, Mikell.
Cheers, Terry

Actually you did Terry.
.
Regarding individual promotions, pay raises, bonuses, extra benefits and other perks -
Cheers, Terry

These are all "perks" and at this time with the state of our economy, they are unwarranted.
Considering the lost and reduced tax revenue because of joblessness and pay cuts, the public sector will have to tighten it's belt
just as the private sector has. Again, the money just isn't there and I will vote against ANY tax increase to pay for it.
When teachers are standing in the unemployment line like I did, they will vote against it as well.

[Impresario]

I never said you were overpaid but you are whining about no pay increase when a lot of people, myself included would take a pay cut over losing their job.

If you do get laid-off, be sure and walk into your next prospective employer's office and DEMAND the wages and benefits you think you are owed.
Good luck with that.:rolleyes:

The reason for pay cuts, pay freezes and lay-offs are so the company can stay in business. Sometimes a few get sacrificed for the good of many more.
I'm not bitter, that's the way the system works.
Btw, Everyone wants all the pay they can get and are out for themselves and family first.

Mikell, I hear what you're saying but isn't it sad when a race to the bottom has become the status quo. The aspirational elements of this country are in the dumpster. The great American experiment has now translated into if you have a job be thankful and if that job is way below your educational training and expected pay rate still be thankful. We've devolved into a society where we rationalize the state of affairs by saying "other have it worse." The fact that so many do have it worse is nothing to feel proud about. It's a barometer gauging how far we've sunk.

I remember when I was a kid and we first landed on the moon. I was on a trip in Canada when that happened. Canadian people were coming up to my family and congratulating us on the landing. I was too little to understand exactly what was going on but I remember feeling pride that my country could achieve something that awed the world and offered people hope.

From WWII on it's been the middle-class that has been the engine of this country. The plutocrats have systematically beaten them into submission and the results couldn't be clearer. From a country where men working in steel mills were able to raise children that went on to college and find careers, to a country where students now graduate college with massive life-long loans and live in their parent's basement--and still we the people bicker and stay distracted over partisan nonsense while the conglomerates that control USA INC. enjoy their plenty.

[Terry Penrod]

Actually you did Terry.

These are all "perks" and at this time with the state of our economy, they are unwarranted.

Considering the lost and reduced tax revenue because of joblessness and pay cuts, the public sector will have to tighten it's belt just as the private sector has. Again, the money just isn't there and I will vote against ANY tax increase to pay for it.

When teachers are standing in the unemployment line like I did, they will vote against it as well.

Merit-based pay raises and performance bonuses are not considered to be perks, Mikell. They are part of basic compensation packages that accompany earned promotions or reward outstanding service in the same position.

Perks are all the added benefits employers provide like health insurance, paid vacation or maternity leave above what is legally mandated, free lease cars, free club memberships, free trips, etc. - which I did not specifiy.

Not that it matters because I agree with you for the most part. Taxpayers can not keep paying for so many perks in addition to higher-than-average salaries for millions of government workers. Equally important is the need for higher (measureable) individual performance standards and an easier path to firing truly bad employees.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

I understand what you're saying Terry and a year ago I would have agreed with you but you have to remember the context of the statement I made,
"at this time with the state of our economy". At this time, imo, pay raises, bonuses and extra benefits are perks.

Mikell, I hear what you're saying but isn't it sad when a race to the bottom has become the status quo. The aspirational elements of this country are in the dumpster. The great American experiment has now translated into if you have a job be thankful and if that job is way below your educational training and expected pay rate still be thankful. We've devolved into a society where we rationalize the state of affairs by saying "other have it worse." The fact that so many do have it worse is nothing to feel proud about. It's a barometer gauging how far we've sunk.

I remember when I was a kid and we first landed on the moon. I was on a trip in Canada when that happened. Canadian people were coming up to my family and congratulating us on the landing. I was too little to understand exactly what was going on but I remember feeling pride that my country could achieve something that awed the world and offered people hope.

From WWII on it's been the middle-class that has been the engine of this country. The plutocrats have systematically beaten them into submission and the results couldn't be clearer. From a country where men working in steel mills were able to raise children that went on to college and find careers, to a country where students now graduate college with massive life-long loans and live in their parent's basement--and still we the people bicker and stay distracted over partisan nonsense while the conglomerates that control USA INC. enjoy their plenty.

I wholeheartedly agree with you Impresario. I have held a full time job for nearly thirty years, have never been fired and was laid-off for the first time last year. I really feel for the middle-class Americans who did nothing wrong but have to pay the piper for those who did. You're right, the middle class are still the engine of this country and if they disappear God help us.

As a side note, today was payday at my company and when we picked up our checks, the boss asked us all to not cash our paychecks until tomorrow or Monday. Not exactly encouraging. :(: All workers deserve an occasional
pay raise, at least enough to keep up with the cost of living but until things get better, I will be happy to have a job. I speak only for myself.




Ronald Reagan once said "a recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours."



Outrage, anxiety after Providence mayor 'fires' almost 2,000 teachers

(CNN) -- Termination notices have been sent to every teacher in the Providence public school system, setting off a wave of anxiety and anger in the Rhode Island city and prompting a union leader to accuse the mayor of anti-union maneuvering.

The teachers will remain at work as the school year continues, though the notices sent out this week mean any of them now could lose their jobs at municipal officials' discretion.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/25/rhode.island.teachers.fired/index.html

[Terry Penrod]

.

The problem in most states right now isn't just about asking government workers to temporarily forgo automatic pay raises and reducing a few perks. It's also about the ability of governors to lower the total number of tax-paid workers when budget shortfalls threaten to bankrupt the entire system over the long haul and the ability in general to fire truly bad employees more easily so they can be replaced with better ones.

Circumstances vary widely from state to state and government employees have no collective bargaining rights in a number of states. So Wisconsin can not serve as a model for all 50. But it will set a precedent for other states with strong civil-service unions and serious financial problems that can't be solved if governors can't trim payrolls when necessary.

This is a very tough call because there are lots of hard-working government workers who have served the public faithfully and well for a long time. We WANT to keep as many of them as possible - especially in our schools. But we must also define what is and is not possible under poor economic conditions like this. We have to plan ahead for future economic downturns too.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Gary V.]

The thing about this economy is people who were making a killing aren't anymore. Teachers and government employees have never made much money, even in a booming economy. One of the perks of teaching was supposed to be job security. So we lose our jobs, and definitely don't have much put away because it's a struggle to make it to the end of the month.

I don't think teachers should make much more than we do. We get too many days off to justify making the same pay as other professionals who work more and make money for their employers.

Mikell, I don't know where you're getting off about me walking in and demanding more pay.

Education is gonna be GREAT with 40 kids per class and all the special ed kids thrown in for good measure.


This affects me worse than some others. While I'm not in danger, my fiance was told she won't be rehired in her current position. Last in, first out rule. I just bought a house for when we get married in April. Now we may be in trouble. She's a damn good teacher, but we can't relocate to find other jobs because if I leave the county my ex-wife gets custody. So we're stuck. Therefore, flippant comments about teachers' jobs make me wish I could reach through my computer and choke some people.

[Terry Penrod]

.

The thing about this economy is people who were making a killing aren't anymore. Teachers and government employees have never made much money, even in a booming economy. One of the perks of teaching was supposed to be job security. So we lose our jobs, and definitely don't have much put away because it's a struggle to make it to the end of the month.

I don't think teachers should make much more than we do. We get too many days off to justify making the same pay as other professionals who work more and make money for their employers.

Mikell, I don't know where you're getting off about me walking in and demanding more pay.

Education is gonna be GREAT with 40 kids per class and all the special ed kids thrown in for good measure.

This affects me worse than some others. While I'm not in danger, my fiance was told she won't be rehired in her current position. Last in, first out rule. I just bought a house for when we get married in April. Now we may be in trouble. She's a damn good teacher, but we can't relocate to find other jobs because if I leave the county my ex-wife gets custody. So we're stuck. Therefore, flippant comments about teachers' jobs make me wish I could reach through my computer and choke some people.

You're right, Gary, There is very little fat left in most American public school budgets as many teachers unions have already compromised on pay raises / benefits and all the large urban districts have been on an overall budget-cutting frenzy over the past several years.

However, as said before, the problem goes much farther than just teacher compensation. It is in every department and agency at all levels of government in virtually all 50 states.

With our total tax revenues slashed across-the-board and so much extended deficit spending by local, county, state and federal government, in a word, we're broke.

I'll tell you what though, the economy has managed to stabilize and general conditions have improved measurably in the last year. If that trend keeps up, we will see a easing of financial panic and a better environment for workers of all kinds.

In the meantime, I can't begin to tell you how sympathetic I am when it comes to our public school system. Not just in terms of brutal layoffs, etc., but also in the way we have fallen behind so badly in every important academic category. The increased violence in schools also bothers the hell out of me and I wish there was an easy answer.

On a personal note, are there any teaching jobs at private schools or charter / magnet schools, academies or tutoring agencies in your area? Is there anything else out there in your part of the state where your fiance could apply her talents / training?

Cheers, Terry

[OldsterHolster]

From WWII on it's been the middle-class that has been the engine of this country. The plutocrats have systematically beaten them into submission and the results couldn't be clearer. From a country where men working in steel mills were able to raise children that went on to college and find careers, to a country where students now graduate college with massive life-long loans and live in their parent's basement--and still we the people bicker and stay distracted over partisan nonsense while the conglomerates that control USA INC. enjoy their plenty.

Well said, and exactly what has happened. Now what? There should be enough money/power for everyone to enjoy a good life, but greed has bled from the 95% until, now, the top 5% have reached a truly obscene level. They have all the money/power, so they can use it to perpetuate their lofty position in life, but even a fool knows you don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg, and that's exactly what is happening.

Would I feel differently if I were part of the 5%? If you're part of the "chosen few," especially if you are just lucky to be there, how do you ever learn to properly wield the power you have. Your "conglomerates" is a perfect word to describe how, and they are pulling the puppet strings on the whole show. They have the money/power to make and enforce the rules that determine the very essence of right and wrong, and they feel no guilt.

The upper crust and successful have always been there in our society, and we use to admire their efforts and dedication to hard work, honesty, etc., that got them there, but boy have things changed. At some point, the masses stop aspiring to reach the top, not only because it has been made impossible for virtually everyone on the outside, but because they realize how used they have been. They begin to hate the group at the top. Our Kadafi's and Mubarak's are hidden in our corporate structures, but people are starting to have the same feelings as the Egyptian citizens about what has to change. It's going to take a lot more than changing a few rules and laws, and these things always seem to get ugly.

They say we are in the time frame for another switch of the whole magnetic field in the earth. I guess every great once in a while, the poles actually swap ends, and nobody really knows what that involves. I have felt for quite some time that the human situation on this planet was due for a worldwide change, too. We're all getting connected with technology, now, and knowing "how good it could be" is no longer a secret. We need basic, core, changes to how we rule and govern ourselves, and who is allowed to wield power. Is the freedom of "every man for himself" compatible with "one for all, and all for one," and how do we divvy up the loot fairly? Things ARE going to change, and we'd damned well better start thinking of what's best for the species before simple greed does us all in. Edward.

[Gary V.]

Thanks, Terry. Sadly, private schools don't pay enough to cover the expense of daycare. I expect I will have to get a night job. Come home, shovel food, go to work until 10 or 11. Say hi to the new wife, sleep, start the 13 hour workday all over again.

I will have 3 extra mouths to feed and a daughter headed to college. At least my new wife will appreciate me and not leave for someone else(hopefully).:lol:

[Terry Penrod]

.

How about private tutoring or some other way she can work mostly from home, Gary?

Even part-time would be a big help.

Cheers, Terry

[Gary V.]

Mikell

My "whining" is in reference to having 16 years in teaching and the fact that I make just a few thousand more than a 22 year old straight out of college. When the economy was good, we didn't get pay raises which amounted to anything. Now that the economy is poor, we suffer along with all the people with high risk/high salary jobs.

And just getting out and doing something else isn't too easy when you have kids entrenched in the community and are basically stuck due to divorce and custody. Besides, all I've ever been trained to do is coach, shoot an M16, and teach a little. I'm 43 and slightly disabled from time in the military. I can't use my right hand for long periods of time. Luckily, I'm left-handed.[insert joke about Rosy Palm].

[Terry Penrod]

.

Gary, what I think you ahould do is start a new sports league for English-challenged people that combines football and shooting.

All training, coaching, playcalling, cheering and announcing would be done in proper English and the game would be just like American Football, but with extra padding / eye protection and the added excitement of M16's uisng semi-soft rubber bullets.

The cheerleaders and waterboys would also serve as spotters and ammo runners-loaders for a designated sideline team of sharpshooters who would try to disrupt gameplay by annoying the living hell out of players on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

The kicking game would be akin to skeet shooting and unruly fans would be fair game for one and all.

And what better place to establish such a league than the great state of Texas where we have a LOT of non-English-speaking folks who wouldn't mind trading in their mops, brooms and paint brushes for M16s and better wages.

Plus, it might be good for them to learn to love football instead of soccer while also being tutored in English, so they can integrate better into mainstream American society.

I suggest a semi-pro adult league to avoid child-abuse laws and to encourage commercial sponsors.

As league president and inventor, you would of course receive a percentage of the take from every franchise and if you also wanted to act as a manager or head coach, you would get a top salary plus plenty of perks.

My suggestion for a working name is the MMFL or Muy Macho Footlball League (all rights reserved, trademark pending).

Cheers, Terry

.

[Mikell]

Mikell, I don't know where you're getting off about me walking in and demanding more pay.

This affects me worse than some others. While I'm not in danger, my fiance was told she won't be rehired in her current position. Last in, first out rule. I just bought a house for when we get married in April. Now we may be in trouble. She's a damn good teacher, but we can't relocate to find other jobs because if I leave the county my ex-wife gets custody. So we're stuck. Therefore, flippant comments about teachers' jobs make me wish I could reach through my computer and choke some people.

As for the first point, reread post #12.
The second part? Yes I agree my comment was flippant. Precisely because your lack of humility and sense of entitlement irritated me. I'm sorry your fiancee' lost her job, I really am but a lot of the taxpayers who pay her salary are without jobs too. Funny how things can change in a week.
I consider teachers as necessary as police or firemen but unless you prefer deficit spending, there is no other choice. Most will keep their jobs.

Mikell
My "whining" is in reference to having 16 years in teaching and the fact that I make just a few thousand more than a 22 year old straight out of college. When the economy was good, we didn't get pay raises which amounted to anything. Now that the economy is poor, we suffer along with all the people with high risk/high salary jobs.

My "whining" is in reference to 25 years in my industry and losing 3$ an hour sends me back 7 years. I feel the pain as well and I am not in a high risk/high salary job.

[Gary V.]

Funny stuff, Terry. It would actually work, if not for the death issue. Rubber bullets! And the losing team gets shipped back to Mexico!

Mikell, how is it entitlement to stand up for yourself? People don't like teachers; they think we have it easy and summers off. In ways, we do! But I'm still gonna support my union because nobody supports me.

[Impresario]

There should be enough money/power for everyone to enjoy a good life, but greed has bled from the 95% until, now, the top 5% have reached a truly obscene level. They have all the money/power, so they can use it to perpetuate their lofty position in life, but even a fool knows you don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg, and that's exactly what is happening.


Edward, take a look at the numbers in this article. That goose is on life support.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

[Terry Penrod]

.

Edward, take a look at the numbers in this article. That goose is on life support.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

It's even more disgusting when you really examine the top one to ten percent and find thousands upon thousands of grossly overpaid, outrageously pampered sports stars, movie stars and pop music stars along with many Wall Street crooks, corporate raiders and get-rich-quick con artists - not to mention countless unscrupulous tax attorneys and lobbyists that serve as "creative accountants", bagmen and yesmen for the greediest, richest amongst us who buy and sell corrupt politicians like street pimps.

That said, there are some honest, generous, wealthy Americans who have contributed a lot to our country and the world at large. But most all of them got there on the backs of average people working long, hard hours for relatively meager pay while an army of hired guns (a.k.a. managerment) cracked the whip and reaped most of the rewards.

Otherwise as a nation, we over-idolize rich and famous people - in most cases for simply being beautiful, athletic, entertaining or incredibly smart at working the system to squeeze every last dime out of the working class.

In short, our priorities are totally backassward.

We should idolize truly great thinkers, scientists, doctors, educators, creative innovators and other rare individuals that actually help improve the human condition by focusing less on financial profit and boosting their own egos and more on meaningful, lasting things.

A brilliant scientist or medical researcher that pioneers our path into the next century or discovers cures for deadly diseases should be MUCH more famous and "idolizied" than whoever the hell wins American Idol this season, or throws the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, or wiggles their butt on reality TV.

IMO, they should also get paid more than ANY related corporate CEO, investment banker, legal eagle or lobbyist.

As for all the rest of us (from the lowest laborer to the highest professional) who actually do 99% of all the real work, we need to bear some responsibility too. If so many of us weren't so greedy, selfish, status conscious, materialistic and false-idol worshipping, it would be a helluva lot harder for the elite to take advantage of and manipulate us.

Cheers, Terry

[Impresario]

.

If so many of us weren't so greedy, selfish, status conscious, materialistic and false-idol worshipping, it would be a helluva lot harder for the elite to take advantage of and manipulate us.


And/or weren't so exhausted from the required two income grind or single parent scramble that contributes to being dependent upon fast food and mind-mushing entertainment, perhaps we would be less apathetic.

It's sort of like keeping people in a sustained state of trauma. A low voltage perpetual version of this:

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

[Terry Penrod]

.

And/or weren't so exhausted from the required two income grind or single parent scramble that contributes to being dependent upon fast food and mind-mushing entertainment, perhaps we would be less apathetic.

It's sort of like keeping people in a sustained state of trauma. A low voltage perpetual version of this:

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

Yep, it's a pretty vicious cycle isn't it?

But one sure-fire way to break it is stop allowing ourselves and our children to keep idolizing unworthy heroes, seeking status through shallow, materialistic means and wasting what little free time we have on meaningless, short-term pursuits.

I know bad habits are hard to break, but instant gratification has become epidemic in America and we are really failing to keep up with several major competitors in most all areas of education. That sad fact along with rampant obesity and a complete range of addictions are sapping our nation's strength at every level.

Japan has totally kicked our auto industry's butt and China is simply outworkng and out investing us in every way. India has also syphoned off countless IT jobs from our country and our ravenous appetite for OPEC oil has made the Middle East a critical factor in our survival.

We need to change our ways as individuals and as a society if we are ever to be prosperous again - let alone dominant.

Step one is to clean-up the unbridled corruption, graft and greed that has recently threatened to topple our entire economy and start coming to grips with just how far we have fallen. A few brilliant technological innovations aren't going to cut it if we don't also adopt a healthier way of living and a higher, more honest set of standards.

Cheers, Terry

[Impresario]

.



Yep, it's a pretty vicious cycle isn't it?

But one sure-fire way to break it is stop allowing ourselves and our children to keep idolizing unworthy heroes, seeking status through shallow, materialistic means and wasting what little free time we have on meaningless, short-term pursuits.

I know bad habits are hard to break, but instant gratification has become epidemic in America and we are really failing to keep up with several major competitors in most all areas of education. That sad fact along with rampant obesity and a complete range of addictions are sapping our nation's strength at every level.

Japan has totally kicked our auto industry's butt and China is simply outworkng and out investing us in every way. India has also syphoned off countless IT jobs from our country and our ravenous appetite for OPEC oil has made the Middle East a critical factor in our survival.

We need to change our ways as individuals and as a society if we are ever to be prosperous again - let alone dominant.

Step one is to clean-up the unbridled corruption, graft and greed that has recently threatened to topple our entire economy and start coming to grips with just how far we have fallen. A few brilliant technological innovations aren't going to cut it if we don't also adopt a healthier way of living and a higher, more honest set of standards.

Cheers, Terry

Well, I agree with all that but when great swatches of this country are literally populated by meth-toothed Jerry Springer type rejects atavistically pumping their fists in the air chanting OOH ESS AY as "dueling banjos" plays in the background--my confidence in our citizenry is not at its zenith. I really do try to remain optimistic but have you actually gone to a local Super Walmart recently and taken a good look at what passes as the body politic. It's literally a walking advertisement for gastric bypass clad in pastel sweats.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Well, at least pastels are back in fashion.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

Well, I agree with all that but when great swatches of this country are literally populated by meth-toothed Jerry Springer type rejects atavistically pumping their fists in the air chanting OOH ESS AY as "dueling banjos" plays in the background--my confidence in our citizenry is not at its zenith. I really do try to remain optimistic but have you actually gone to a local Super Walmart recently and taken a good look at what passes as the body politic. It's literally a walking advertisement for gastric bypass clad in pastel sweats.

What are you talking about?!! Americans are smarterer than ever before!


MrA7qFYU84A

[Terry Penrod]

.

The following article from Time.com exposes some truths about the fight to perpetuate public-sector unions, which are bankrupting many states across America right now.

Cheers, Terry


FROM: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599205663700

The Real Stakes in Wisconsin

By Mike Murphy – Thu Mar 3, 11:20 am

Walker's war on the public unions could change the game across the U.S. in 2012 If you don't look too closely, the battle lines between Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, and his state's public employees' unions seem to be clearly drawn. Walker wants public employees to pay more toward their health care and retirement benefits, while teachers and public workers howl that Walker's plan to curb most collective bargaining is a malicious plot to bust up their unions.

Of course neither side wants to discuss what is really at stake in this battle: the public-sector unions are fighting for their shady ability to take millions of dollars from their members' dues money without really asking, and the governor is not really owning up to his ambition to smash the political power of public employees' unions to smithereens. (See TIME's photo-essay "Showdown in Wisconsin.")

The stakes are rising because, if Walker succeeds, other swing states with newly elected Republican governors, such as Ohio and Michigan, could follow. A growing movement by cash-strapped states to limit the political clout of public-sector unions would bring disastrous results, not only for the unions but for every Democratic candidate eyeing the 2012 ballot, from local officials all the way up to Barack Obama.

Walker has a strong case on the fiscal merits. The cost of state employees' benefits has skyrocketed in tandem with the rising power of public employees' unions. It has become a perverse and semicorrupt arrangement: the unions raise millions from dues, which are then used to elect labor-friendly politicians who cave at the contract-negotiating table, especially on long-term employment deals, whose cost really begins to crush the state or city budget in the years after the agreeable politician has left office. This is where public-sector unions lack the moral authority of their private-sector brethren. When the United Steelworkers negotiate with a steel company, they don't also control the company's board of directors. (Who's to blame in Wisconsin?)

Few Americans understand how the public-employee-union money machine works. Many unionized state and local public workers have their dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. On average, a teacher in Wisconsin pays more than $1,000 per year to the union (from an average salary of $51,264). A decent chunk of this money is used to fund political activities. That doesn't mean just making contributions. It also means running lavish independent ad campaigns in support of their chosen candidates and against their opponents. Even Democratic candidates who oppose union priorities can face massively funded negative campaigns targeting them in primaries. Engaging in such well-funded political activity is the unions' right, of course, but their immense financial power means they are bringing a machine gun to a fistfight.

Can rank-and-file employees opt out of their unions' political spending? They can, but they have to ask for that exemption, and few do. The system is set up to allow the unions' political barons to easily skim big money from dues with very little member involvement. Under Walker's proposal, employees have to opt into their union and its dues every year; nothing is automatic. Union leaders fear that few rank-and-file members would do so, and their political machines would quickly grind to a halt. And if Walker wins his battle in Wisconsin, it could become a game changer for the GOP as other states follow suit. (See how to fix teacher tenure without the pass-fail grade.)

This brutal battle of political realpolitik is why both sides in Madison are dug in deep, hanging from the rafters of the Wisconsin state capitol and vowing to fight to the death. National labor and interest groups are funding TV ads trying to push public opinion in Wisconsin to one side or the other. (Disclosure: I work with a communications firm doing some of the pro-Walker ads. I also belong to a union affiliated with the AFL-CIO.) Both sides have polls showing they are winning, but the ground truth is murkier. Walker is prevailing in the argument over the budget. But the unions have cleverly begun to defend what they call the right of collective bargaining. That move is as politically effective as it is factually dubious. Collective bargaining for public employees didn't begin to gain strength until the 1960s, when growing union power (and Democratic statehouses) conspired to adopt it. Two generations later, only 26 states allow collective bargaining for most public employees, and this "right" has largely not been extended to federal workers.

Like all political battles, the Wisconsin fight will come down to numbers. I'm betting on Walker. He has the votes.

Murphy is a Republican political consultant.

.

[Mikell]

Paul Greenberg

Oh, to Be a Teacher in Milwaukee!

Workers in the private sector collect an average of 24.3 cents in various benefits for every dollar they make in wages, but those in Milwaukee's public school district collect 74.2 cents in benefits -- or about three times as much.

How can that be? Well, start with Social Security and Medicare, which all workers collect, and to which their employers contribute 7.65 percent of their wages. But in Milwaukee, the state's largest school district, teachers also belong to the state pension plan, which requires a contribution of 6.8 percent of wages from their employer plus 6.2 percent from the employee. Except that in Milwaukee, the public pays the teachers' share, too.

In that city's school district, teachers get another, supplemental pension funded by the school district, which puts up 4.2 percent of their salaries to pay for it. The teachers pay nothing.
http://townhall.com/columnists/paulgreenberg/2011/03/02/oh,_to_be_a_teacher_in_milwaukee!/page/2

[Impresario]

The most recent pigs accused of raping the pension funds held in trust for the members.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-calpers-probe-20110315,0,126433.story?page=1

[Mikell]

Ban government employee unions

There was a time in America when the typical union member was a blue-collar guy sweating in a Pittsburgh steel mill, screwing together Chevies in Detroit or loading and unloading ships on the San Francisco docks. But things are radically different today because Joe Lunchpail has been replaced by white-collar Todd and Margo Yuppiecrat processing Social Security checks in Baltimore, conducting environmental audits in Denver or keeping the lines moving at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The breakdown of union membership make this change clear: Only 7.3 percent of all private sector employees are union members, while 37.6 percent of all government workers are unionized. Fifty-one percent of all union members are government workers.

As the Heritage Foundation's James Sherk points out, these numbers ought to be red flags for taxpayers because "government employees don't strike to get higher wages from a private business -- they strike to get higher wages from you."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/ban-government-employee-unions#ixzz1GoxtIny1


And why did this happen?

The Wagner Act of 1935 did not apply to the public sector.
http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/wagner_act.html


Government workers were making good salaries in 1962 when President Kennedy lifted, by executive order (so much for democracy), the federal ban on government unions. Civil-service regulations and similar laws had guaranteed good working conditions for generations.

The argument for public unionization wasn’t moral, economic, or intellectual. It was rankly political.

Traditional organized labor, the backbone of the Democratic party, was beginning to lose ground. As Daniel DiSalvo wrote in “The Trouble with Public Sector Unions,” in the fall issue of National Affairs, JFK saw how in states such as New York and Wisconsin, where public unions were already in place, local liberal pols benefited politically and financially. He took the idea national.

The plan worked perfectly — too perfectly. Public-union membership skyrocketed, and government-union support for the party of government skyrocketed with it. From 1989 to 2004, AFSCME — the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees — gave nearly $40 million to candidates in federal elections, with 98.5 percent going to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/23/time-to-abolish-public-employee-unions/

[Terry Penrod]

.

Good stuff, Mikell.

Government employee unions - especially at the federal level - have never been necessary because we taxpayers have always footed the bill for decent salaries and benefits.

There has always been significantly higher-than-normal job security for most tax-paid workers too and I see no reason why it should be so hard to fire individual bad apples or a bloated workforce that wastes so many resources meeting arbitrary quotas for no other reason than to use alloted budgets in order to assure equal or larger ones the following year.

When program extensions exist mostly to justify continued expenditures at the same or higher level with no real, added benefits to the country, they need to be stopped and the employees need to either be reassigned where they might do more good or simply let go.

We have so many overlapping pencil-pusher government jobs in America, it makes me sick. They continuously generate additional new rules, regulations and procedures with endlessly redundant forms, manuals and fees that do nothing other than add even more cost to the already expensive, convoluted process of running public agencies.

For every group of government workers that actually deliver real services to the people (like school teachers, street cops, firefighters and sanitation engineers), there is an army of directors, adminstrators, supervisors, managers, inspectors, accountants and sundry other white-collar staffers getting paid even higher salaries.

On top of all that bureaucratic tax-paid fat, the unions themselves spend a fortune perpetuating their power to dictate terms and in many cases, while robbing everyone blind.

This nation needs more teachers and cops NOT more union officials and overseerers. We need fewer rules, regulations, forms and other red-tape crap and a MUCH more streamlined, efficient, result-oriented system of delivering basic services to our population.

If we could reform that huge, tangled mess at ALL levels of government and outlaw ALL forms of pork-barrel spending, we could save mega-billions every year. It would also reduce the number of opportunities for crooked lobbyists, politicians and union manipulators to syphon-off tax dollars to line their own pockets.

Cheers, Terry

[Mikell]

Agreed Terry. I find it interesting that the Governor of Wisconsin did not seek to abolish all collective bargaining as the unions say.

"Walker’s proposal in Wisconsin approaches this key problem in a moderate manner. It does not ban PEUs, as the unions claim, or even collective bargaining. It does, however, limit the collective bargaining to wages only, and it also takes the state out of the business of collecting union dues. Walker’s bill would end the requirement of state workers to join the unions at all, making the public sector in Wisconsin (but not the private sector) a “right to work arena,” which it should have been all along."

I think taxpayers have the right to limit the "perks". After all we're paying for them.