Rahm Emanuel: Union-Buster?

IBD Editorials ^ | July 27, 2011 | Staff

[Kaslin]

Public Employees: The mayor of Chicago and former White house chief of staff asks for union concessions and work rule changes to balance city coffers. Funny, but when Republicans try that, it's a bad thing.

No, we have not entered one of those parallel universes, but it's more than passing strange to see President Obama's former chief of staff seeing the writing on the fiscal wall in the Chicago mayor's office and recognizing the fiscal problems unions can cause when entwined with government.

Now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking ways to balance the city budget. Faced with the same sort of fiscal insanity GOP governors like Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio face, "Rahmbo" is actually asking unions in Carl Sandburg's "City of the Big Shoulders" for some — dare we say it? — shared sacrifice.

With a budget shortfall of about $30 million that could balloon to nearly $700 million next year, Emanuel has threatened to lay off 625 city union employees unless what he considers unfairly restrictive and costly work rules are revised.

"Before the day starts, somebody should not get time-and-a-half. They get regular time. Your day hasn't even started," Emanuel said. "I also believe, when it comes to overtime, you should get time-and-a-half, not double-time. These are simple reforms."

The clout-heavy International Union of Operating Engineers gets that contractually mandated double-time for its members' overtime work.

A perk that hoisting engineers call "grease time" is a half-hour of overtime pay in each shift for maintaining the heavy equipment union members operate. Emanuel wants to curb this paycheck padding.

[Doc91678]

Rahm like his Buddy Barry will scuttle the unions as quickly as removing a scarf as long as it benefits him and his goals. I have no doubt that he'd sell his mother out like Obama did to his grandmother and his mother too.

[Doc91678]

Rahm like his Buddy Barry will scuttle the unions as quickly as removing a scarf as long as it benefits him and his goals. I have no doubt that he'd sell his mother out like Obama did to his grandmother and his mother too.

[Doc91678]

Rahm like his Buddy Barry will scuttle the unions as quickly as removing a scarf as long as it benefits him and his goals. I have no doubt that he'd sell his mother out like Obama did to his grandmother and his mother too.

[Doc91678]

Rahm like his Buddy Barry will scuttle the unions as quickly as removing a scarf as long as it benefits him and his goals. I have no doubt that he'd sell his mother out like Obama did to his grandmother and his mother too.

[upchuck]

From the article:

We wish Emanuel well but regret he didn't take on union excesses when he had the president's ear in the White House. If he needs some encouragement or help, there's a governor in nearby Wisconsin who could offer some good advice.

LOL!

[chicagolady]

I have said it 10 times on Freerepublic.

Rahm is doing the same DANM thing that Gov Walker is doing in Wisconsin, but where is the outcry and the media slamming Rahm.

It is not happening because he is a Democrat and Liberal as$

[freekitty]

The question is why is he doing this?

[RetiredTexasVet]

I don’t think Rahm is doing it for anything other than money. The darn unions are stealing more than their fair share. The Chicago organization frowns on any group stealing more than their fair share as determine by the thug in charge.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Furthermore, remember that the city of Chicago is an organized crime organization. The entire city and all of its employees are part of the largest organized crime organization in the US.

[blackdog]

Will the city council in Chicago flee to Wisconsin to avoid a vote on Emanuel’s changes to collective bargaining?

[Dick Bachert]

No, no. He's too busy busting other things.

'