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Labor Wars
These are tenuous times if you walk around with a State of Michigan
employee ID around your neck. You have every right to believe there
may be something else around your neck sooner than later.
Can you say noose?
The governor-elect is making noises about reducing state government
employee salaries and maybe even benefits.
The current governor and lawmakers have already taken a chunk out
of the "bennies' which is why three labor unions hauled the good
governor into court to block that.
Workers are being forced to kick-in 3% for their health care
costs, but one labor leader complains lawmakers had no right to do that.
"It's a bargaining issue," protests Ed Williams who runs the UAW
Local 6000 with thousands of state bureaucrats in the ranks.
Mr. Williams contends the Granholm folks signed a contract
saying there would not be any more concessions until the new contract
is opened on January one.
"If they needed more concessions or more money from the
employees, they should have come to us. We've pretty much given them
everything they've asked for."
So was this a broken promise?
"Yes, absolutely."
Now comes Mr. Snyder saying he wants to compare the paychecks of
those on the public payroll against those on the private roles which is
code for, brace yourself for another round of cuts across the board.
It's not of a question of "if" it will happen. The only
guessing game is "how" much of a sacrifice will be demanded.
This will be one of the new governor's first tests at his
"Let's-work-together" mantra. He says he wants to talk to the unions
but they probably won't like what they hear.
Fact is, as the new state CEO begins the arduous task of
"re-inventing Michigan," state workers will be the first ones in that
barrel.
Can you also say labor wars?
employee ID around your neck. You have every right to believe there
may be something else around your neck sooner than later.
Can you say noose?
The governor-elect is making noises about reducing state government
employee salaries and maybe even benefits.
The current governor and lawmakers have already taken a chunk out
of the "bennies' which is why three labor unions hauled the good
governor into court to block that.
Workers are being forced to kick-in 3% for their health care
costs, but one labor leader complains lawmakers had no right to do that.
"It's a bargaining issue," protests Ed Williams who runs the UAW
Local 6000 with thousands of state bureaucrats in the ranks.
Mr. Williams contends the Granholm folks signed a contract
saying there would not be any more concessions until the new contract
is opened on January one.
"If they needed more concessions or more money from the
employees, they should have come to us. We've pretty much given them
everything they've asked for."
So was this a broken promise?
"Yes, absolutely."
Now comes Mr. Snyder saying he wants to compare the paychecks of
those on the public payroll against those on the private roles which is
code for, brace yourself for another round of cuts across the board.
It's not of a question of "if" it will happen. The only
guessing game is "how" much of a sacrifice will be demanded.
This will be one of the new governor's first tests at his
"Let's-work-together" mantra. He says he wants to talk to the unions
but they probably won't like what they hear.
Fact is, as the new state CEO begins the arduous task of
"re-inventing Michigan," state workers will be the first ones in that
barrel.
Can you also say labor wars?
posted by Tim Skubick at
5:20 AM
1 Comments:
I'm mystified by the continued--and successful--logical fallacy argument on the Right about private-vs-public sector compensation. The two are unrelated. Totally. Completely.
Now if one wants to argue the state can't afford _____________(whatever), then that's fine. But the public sector isn't "for profit" and it's goal isn't to make money but to provide necessary and vital services. In other words, a teacher is completely unrelated to a greeter at Walmart.
I get the class warfare angle and the pee-pee envy part of promoting such a blatant logical fallacy, but you righties need to at least try to act like you've got critical-thinking skills.
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