Posted on 04/01/2010 7:36:41 AM PDT by reaganaut1
LOS ANGELES—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa once organized for a teacher's union here, and later ran a branch of the American Federation of Government Employees. That makes him an unlikely advocate for cutting the benefits of the city's workers.
The Union Delegate Conference in Los Angeles. But with the city facing a budget deficit that could drain its reserves by summer, Mayor Villaraigosa wants to re-open contract talks with 45,000 cops, firefighters, librarians and other city employees in hopes of persuading them to contribute more to their pensions and health-care costs. His deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, puts it bluntly: "Unions have priced themselves out of a job."
Nationwide, politicians looking for budget cuts are confronting politically powerful unions that represent state and local government employees—15% of U.S. workers and organized labor's biggest stronghold.
In Memphis, the city's health-care committee recently recommended raising current and retired employees' health-insurance premiums by as much as 15%. And Toledo's city council last week wrung $3.1 million in concessions from its firefighters' union as part of a measure to close its budget gap.
Similar things are happening at the state level. Over the past two years, 17 states have cut benefits for employees or increased the amount that individuals must contribute to their pension plans. Three of those states—Kentucky, Texas and Vermont—did both, according to the Pew Center on the States, a public-policy think tank.
At the heart of this fight is an unbalanced equation: The economy is shrinking cities' and states' tax income as their pension and health-care costs have soared. As a result, some governments are diverting money from services to cover benefits, or raising taxes and fees. That doesn't sit well with some taxpayers—many frustrated at seeing their own benefits being cut by private-sector employers.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Euro style strikes to be Union Thugs next move.
He’s not the Mayor of anything. He’s the Mexican Alcalde, “elected” with the votes of illegal aliens.
We used you. You gave us political power. Now we have to take back some of what you thought you gained by supporting corrupt hacks like us.
Democrats and Union Thugs are a perfect match.
Meanwhile back here in “people who care about right and wrong land” — wouldn’t it just make more sense to support what is just and right to start with so that we all are better off?
The unions have finally strangled the goose that laid the golden egg and the dems have started to turn on them. Where is my lifetime supply of popcorn when I need it?
Where is Zorro now that we need him?
Well, nobody is going to pay them to do the right thing ;)
Don’t know about zorro, but zero is busing padding the union jobs in the federal government. This won’t end well.
or he could be busy padding the union jobs in the federal government.
I think they were able to get away with this, on a local level, when Bush was President and the GOP ran Congress because we actually had an economy back then.
Socialism does fine as long as there is wealth creation happening. The host has plenty of blood to spare.
Without capitalism to feed on, the idea of socialism would have been relegated to the dustbin.
The very unions that are dependant on capitalism are destroying capatilism by pushing socialism. Then after they get their way, they raise hell.
They got what they wished for.
I despise the unions, however, let us not forget that there are two parties at the bargaining table. Unions gained their power because it was given to them. Taking a favored toy away from a spoiled rotten child always results in a temper tantrum
And really, government unions? They hardly have specialized skills. What are government officials afraid of...a strike? Let them strike and be replaced with another pool of unskilled labor thats non-union.
And that’s one of the biggest reasons socialism, by definition, is a failure. And has failed everywhere it’s been tried.
Not just in the Federal government. Most of the bogus “stimulus” was a direct transfer to state and local governments, who used it to pay salaries and benefits of existing and new (”created”) employees. State fiscal relief and supplemental Medicaid payments accounted for about 2/3 of stimulus spending. The medicaid payments are to recipients who obtain medical services provided by largely unionized workers.
In other words, Obama’s stimulus was a direct transfer of money to his NEA, SEIU and other unionized government workers. A payoff to his voting base, that he is attempting to grow (healthcare “reform” continues this effort, and so will “cap and trade.”)
The fools in the city governments have no one to blame but themselves. You willingly climbed into a sleeping bag filled with these rattlesnakes what did you expect.
“You willingly climbed into a sleeping bag filled with these rattlesnakes what did you expect.”
Couldn’t agree more!!!!
Governments take on government unions? lol...
Government unions are the worst. Worse than those that collect welfare benefits.
The housing boom kept an ever increasing flow of tax dollars flowing into most communities coffers. They had years and years of more revenues than last year.
They had to work to fine new and creative ways to make sure it all got spent so that they wouldn’t be embarrassed by having such a large surplus. Why then they would be forced to return the money. We can’t have that!
These government unions are packed full of Democrats and Republicans....All sucking on the government welfare teet.
Fact is, in the U.S., these government unions and their millions of government employee rank and file members, are gang raping the private sector tax payers in America.
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