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By Dave Toplikar (contact) 
Published Wednesday, April 21, 2010 | 12:12 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, April 21, 2010 | 2:02 p.m.
Sun Coverage
- Mayor: Time short for 141 Las Vegas city jobs to be saved (4-15-2010)
- Mayor: Some Las Vegas city jobs might have to be privatized (4-7-2010)
- Union leader hopeful about reaching agreement with city on salary cuts (3-26-2010)
- City employee union offers to take furloughs, pay cut (3-23-2010)
- Goodman cites ‘gridlock’ in union negotiations (3-18-2010)
- Goodman backs off proposal to fire, rehire city employees (3-15-2010)
- Mayor ‘serious’ about firing/rehiring city employees (3-11-2010)
- Council advances budget that would leave 146 jobless (3-10-2010)
- Council advances budget that would leave 146 jobless (3-10-2010)
- Las Vegas mayor: Salary cuts needed to save 171 city jobs (3-4-2010)
- Goodman: City could save 171 jobs if unions agree to pay cut (2-25-2010)
- Las Vegas Mayor: No agreement yet on city employee contracts (1-28-2010)
- Las Vegas mayor calls on city employee unions to reopen contracts (1-7-2010)
- Las Vegas City Council OKs 8 percent salary, benefits cut (1-6-2010)
After several months of trying, Mayor Oscar Goodman today gave up on his quest to save 141 city employee jobs from layoffs, directing the city manager to go ahead and balance the city's budget.
"We tried. We tried. But the window is closed. And the door is slammed. And now we're going to straighten out our financial situation together," Goodman said in a short statement this afternoon at the Las Vegas City Council meeting.
Council members had just returned from a closed personnel session, where they heard that the Las Vegas City Employees Association, the largest city employee union, had voted Tuesday night not to reopen its contract and give the city any concessions.
For months, the city had asked the four unions to consider taking an 8 percent salary cut for the next two years, plus take no cost of living increase nor any other automatic pay increases this year in order to balance the city's budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The concessions would keep the city from laying off 141 employees and cut programs, as already tentatively approved by the city council in early March.
The LVCEA had been negotiating with the city's staff since that time and had proposed some concessions that amounted to $8.7 million, although the city wanted $16 million in concession from that union's members. However, the union's members met Tuesday night and decided not to give in to any salary concessions — partially because some of them though Goodman had been using "heavy handed tactics," said Don King, LVCEA president.
"The ball is actually in the city's court at this point," King had said this morning prior to the mayor's announcement.
King said he informed City Manager Betsy Fretwell this morning about the union's decision.
"She indicated she was not a happy camper. She said she was going to balance the budget," King said. "I don't know if we're going to have more layoffs done to us now as repercussions."
Goodman said this afternoon that the city council has instructed Fretwell to "further reduce our fiscal year 2011 year budget. We've directed her to aggressively address the shortfall that is growing rapidly as a result of declining revenues and ever-increasing labor costs.
"She's been instructed to look at every corner of the city, sparing no one in contributing to the reduction in the shortfall," Goodman said.
He praised the executive and appointive employees for being the first to step up with a plan to address the shortfall. He said they felt the brunt of most of the labor costs during the last two to three years in their pay structure.
"They haven't received any raises, no COLAs, no steps. And this is not the case with our other employee group. I don't expect them to give any more than they've already addressed to the shortfall," Goodman said.
He said that's consistent with the message that went out to all employees — that all employee groups should be treated equally.
"We've had two labor groups tell us no to reducing our labor costs, and we bear that in mind as well in this process," Goodman said. "As Ms. Fretwell works to identify the additional cuts that will be necessary to begin to balance our budget more quickly, I'll ask her to keep those prior sacrifices in mind.
"As your mayor, and I speak with the council's approval, we do not want to leave this city in a terrible state for the next group of elected officials.
We feel it's our duty, myself, and the duty of the council, to begin to bring our finances in line with what the private sector economy has so that we will have a sustainable city for generations to come. The one we have right now isn't sustainable and we have to do more now to bring things back into balance."
Goodman said the council wanted to communicate that message to all employees and to the leaders of the bargaining units and develop a much more modest Fiscal Year 2011 budget for council consideration in May "as a result of our inability to curtail our labor cost with negotiation and concessions."
The city has until mid-May to submit the budget to the state. Under the tentative plan, employees would lose their jobs on May 12. The council is scheduled to talk about budgets and employee layoffs on May 5.
"The best guess that I have is that the 94 people (in the union) will be laid off," King said.
King had taken a concession offer to the city a few weeks ago that amounted to an $8.7 million concession from his members. The union offered to forego its contract for a 3 percent cost of living increase next year and have each employee take 96 hours of unpaid furlough, which amounts to one day a month.
However, during a meeting last night of the members, 394 of the 565 members who attended, or 69.8 percent, voted to give the city no concessions, King said.
He said there were two reasons the concessions offer was killed.
"Number one, no matter what kind of concession that we gave, the city would give no guarantee that it would save any of our bodies," he said. "One of the other reasons, I had people come to the mic to say they were more than willing to give concessions until Oscar Goodman started his strong-arm tactics.”
King said he was referring to Goodman's effort to have the city attorney look into the legal possibility of firing all city employees, then hire back the ones who would agree to work a reduced work week. Goodman later dropped that idea.
The city's goal is to save roughly $29.7 million and the unions' offers have amounted to $10 million, leaving a $19.7 million difference.
Until Tuesday night, the city and the LVCEA were about $8 million apart in their differences. King said before the vote to grant no concessions Tuesday night, he was poised to give members another alternative that would be closer to what the city said it needed from the union.
That second offer was for a 1 percent cost-of-living increase and members would have gone to a 36-hour work schedule, working four days a week, nine hours a day, King said. That concession would have been for $16.5 million, King said.
He said that second offer came from the mayor's discussion about having employees go to a reduced work week.
He said the plan was to ask members if they wanted to grant concessions, then present both plans to them as alternatives. But the first vote against giving any concessions made it unnecessary to vote on the concessions, he said.
"One of the comments was that a lot of the membership had lost trust in city management, just by the way this has been done," King said.
King said some members took some offense this morning to a Goodman joke during a ceremonial part of the city council meeting.
He referred to Goodman's joke about one of the city employees being one of the first to take the plunge on the new ride at the Stratosphere, which opened to the public today.
"This is the way we're going to fix all of our budget problems. We're going to have all of our employees jump off the Stratosphere. And whoever survives can stay and whoever doesn't we won't miss them, believe me," Goodman said, smiling, before beginning the business part of the council meeting.
"Comments like that drive morale right into the basement," King said. "Oscar needs to stop that. Joking or not, it just gives folks the bad impression about the folks who are trying to provide services."
It was a JOKE. This is a serious issue, but I am confident that Mayor Goodman meant no disrespect. Everyone needs to take a deep breath and step back a little. Emotions are running far too high. You don't make good decisions based on emotions.
What does the union consider its not offering any concessions..I'd say "heavy-handed". I would be quite upset if I was a union employee, and they were bartering with my job.
Apparently their own bottom line is more important than preserving jobs.
Oh well, the less union employees there are employed..the less dues will be paid into the union's coffers.
Hit em where it hurts..
Unfortunately, it will be the laid-off employees hurt the most.
Start the layoffs. Let the contracts expire and then impose new salaries 20 to 30% lower. The public employees can always dump their unions if they disagree with their mob tactics.
what you union haters fail to realize is without representation, the city would cut their pay to minimum wage AND layoff whoever they wanted. they would tell the employees " if you dont like it, hit the road. there are 187000 people that can take your place"
with a union the ones left will retain their current salaries as the COLLECTIVE bargaining agreement states.
if the city wont agree not to lay anyone off, what choice did they have? i think they did the right thing. at least with a union they have a choice.
just fire them. they probably figuring its a 20% chance that any one of them will be fired.
No concessions-start the layoffs. There's plenty of available people who are willing to work these jobs. Once they get laid off for a few months-they'll be begging for their jobs back.
If they fire anyone, there goes MORE on unemployment. I've had my own run in with the State of Nevada DETR in the last week and the BS is unbelievable!! NO WONDER the State is in some deep S&it!!!
kvg2009. You've got to realize that it is NOT the union itself that rejected the offer. It was a majority vote of the members that decided that the Mayor and Manager were not to be trusted. They would not say there would be no layoffs is the concessions were given.
I was an employee of CLV, I was a union member and I was laid off. It's a no win situation. Damned if we do and damned if we don't. Regardless of how the union members had voted, the writing was already on the wall. People are being laid off...period.
paneno,
you do understand that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the City to make that guarantee. They can say that making concessions would help them to not have layoffs, but in no way can they say that 100% no layoffs will happen with concessions. It's just not possible.
And the union knows this. They are just going to play the "We tried to come to the table, but they wouldn't guarantee no layoffs" card once the layoffs happen. The reality is that the senior union members do not want to take a paycut, regardles of if it saved some less senior members job.
The senior union members know that there is no chance of them getting laid off based on senority, SO the only way this effects them is if they take a paycut. They would rather make 100% of their salary then try and save some less senior co-workers job. This same exact thing happened to my neighbor, who used to work at the County last year as well.
Maybe this is a good time for the unions to look at how they spend the member's money. They constantly complain about corporate greed and yet they are willing to spend millions of dollars in campaign donations. Maybe they should use those funds to help the unemployed union members.
The union argument rings hollow. As the fellow above so aptly said there are 187,000 (qualified) people who are champing at the bit for those jobs. And if that's accepted to be true what makes these "union" employees special (nothing)? While I disagree with his unsupported conclusion that the government would reduce the pay to minimum wage the wage should be made to be in line with the private sector. If they don't like it the employees can always take their chances with those of us who work in the private sector and live with that possibility every single day. Why should they be provided more security in their employment than me?
I love Oscar Goodman!
I feel sorry for the ones that are gonna get the axe but if you think for a second that it will end at 141 you are dead wrong. That just balances the budget for next year. The year after that will be worse. These people made up their minds that they would not give concessions so let them lie in the bed they made. We will make the concessions that we need when this contract expires. They wont have a choice then.
Well the union thugs had made up their minds to throw some of their junior members under the bus. Start with the layoff Mayor and a few more rounds of layoffs will wipe out most of their members and "no members means no more unions." Start with the expensive FF and keep on going until you balance the budget. The residents will tighten their belts for the mean time and when economy bounces back, start hiring younger, cheaper, and more productive non-union workers.
Lay them off!!!
trim that fat!
trim that fat!
Big Daddy Cool said "what you union haters fail to realize is without representation, the city would cut their pay to minimum wage AND layoff whoever they wanted. they would tell the employees " if you dont like it, hit the road. there are 187000 people that can take your place"
------------------------------------------
I can rephrase that better for you.....without union representation, the city employees would be TREATED LIKE EVERYONE ELSE....with and costs being reduced to fit what the cities income will be.
Let us not forget that for years salaries and benefits went up.
Cutting pay and paying off is reducing cost. It has to happen in order to have a balanced budget.
Government has long been an entitlement job and no longer is.
Longevity, COLAs, pensions we all put in place to entice government workers to stay with the government because their wages used to lag behind that of the private sector.
Then longevity and pensions became more of an entitlement and general benefit. COLAs were considered as part of the annual raise rather than an increase that went up and down according the the COST OF LIVING.
2000-2007 saw annual wage increase of 6-8% annually for local government workers (not State) while private industry usually saw 2-4%.
the economy went south and companies reduced the raises to 0%, stopped hiring and reduced staff where needed. Local government continued to dig their hole with high wage increases and an ever increasing deficit.
Now comes the piper.
Obviously the people in charge who made the deals were not looking out for the best interest of their constituents, but instead were looking out for the unions. It doesn't take a genius to see that the compensation packages were getting out of hand. Even though times were good, it doesn't mean you can just print money.
The union boss is being thin-skinned about a joke and worries that it might drive their member's morale down. He better wait until his union members get the pink slip and ask them about their morale, get it? Most likely what happened in that meeting was that more of the greedy, older, less productive union employees attended and stabbed their junior coworkers in the back.
In his 2003 book "Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty First Century", the late Dr. Hal Rothman, chairman of UNLV's history department pointed out that Las Vegas had become the country's most unionized town, and that it had become the "Last Detroit", where unskilled and semi-skilled workers made middle class wages due to the unions.
Now it is following Detroit's demise - financial insolvency, rampant crime and as Detroit's mayor recently opined - it will take decades to recover.
I have no opinion on the layoffs. But I am curious as to why you're all okay with your tax money going to a new, expensive city hall. Not a single one of you has complained about that here. If times are so tight, why is this expenditure okay with you?
Unions have long outlived their use usefulness.
Lay them ALL off. Lets get America back to being a productive nation.
Teaser:
Different projects are funded in so many different ways and we can not spend every single penny on salaries alone. The easier way is to balance the budget and not spend more than what we collect. If the economy is so bad and revenue is low, then we can't afford all the workers or services that we used to have during the good old days.
Hey X-Doc, how do you expect the voters to give the best mayor this city has seen in many many years the pink slip when he has reached term limit? Why don't you try actually learning something before posting such comments.
This total "GREED" on the part of the city employees union and now a lot more people will be going on the unemployment line. Just another reason why Unions are outdated.
union and middle class haters are up in arms again. founding fathers fought to start a country- you don't give a crap. your grandparents went off to war to save a world-you don't give a crap. unions have brought you privliges you enjoy today at work-you don't give a crap. union haters are most unamerican people we have. nothing but toilet licking rich lovers.
good-man Goodman. Stick to your guns and don't be bullied. These guys use the excuse they don't like Goodmans tactics so they refused the consessions? Tell that to the guy next to you that will lose his job, and the rest of the city, county and state workers. Don't feel sorry for any of you. Lay them off, $27.9 million dollars worth.
I've seen both sides of this issue first hand. While many would agree that some unions are in need of a " flushing" of certain individuals, mostly those who have been in power way too long, and are making decisions that are not in the best interest of the employee, unions have been instrumental in assuring better wages, safer work conditions, and improved benefit packages.
For anyone to say that your better off not working for a union has obviously not ever worked for a union. Just compare a union company against a non-union company and you'll see the difference. There are many non-union companies who are laying off people, or closed shop completely just as the union shops have, so its not a matter of the unions being greedy or the companies suffering because of being union. Sometimes its just bad decision making on the business owners part. Or greed, which can be the kiss of death to a company in a bad economy.
You tell me that the City of Las Vegas does not have any spending issues within their ranks, your fooling yourself. Has anyone taken a look a the city expense reports? Maybe you should before people lose their jobs!
@ Rwal2222 You beat me to it. I was about to post something on the history of the union and how many of these malcontents that complain about unions are the same ones that enjoy the hard work people have lived and died for. Factories would be sweatshops like in many other countries. We have laws that protect workers from any possible strong arm tactics from management. The list goes on.
The story of unions isn't so black and white of course. Just like any organization, there are good and bad ones. Making a blanket statement that unions are no good, et al. is simply myopic.
Next ?....Firemen and Police...MASSIVE CUTS need to be made there. Those salaries are the HIGHEST in the country....wake up.Deal with these two groups...and your budget problems are over.
I am a city employee.
I am deeply disturbed that so many union members voted in essence to lay-off other members so they may keep their raises (COLA,steps,longevity).
At best, they (the CEA) walked away from the table and disengaged as a partner to fix the budget woes.
More to come in the next year and I'll have no sympathy for those who voted "no concessions" are swept away by deeper labor reductions.
I grew up with the union and even in my adult life, was employed by the union. They have in fact protected the workers in many cases. In a good economy, the union can be an asset, in a bad economy, the union tries to strong arm, which protects their profits, in turn hurts the worker and causes resentment by everyone who is affected by their strong arming. I now work for a state agency not affiliated with any union bargaining. We have had NO layoffs, however we have lost our cola, longevity, revieved furlough, increased healthcare premiums, increased PERS, and no longer get ot.That is a good tradeoff to know we are doing our part to help the states budget, and keep our fellow employees employed.What will p8ss me off is, next session with a bigger debt, we state employees will take yet another hit, because those with union backing that continue to recieve the perks, refuse to make consessions. There will be alot of resentment towards FF, cops and teachers. I see the writing on the wall.
I wonder why Vegasm seems to think that breaking Unions will bring prosperity to Las Vegas. Do you really think that the private sector is all about production? Management in Vegas had it good for a long time.And while it was good they employed their dead wood friends who now enjoy all the benefits of being in the loop.Do these people know how do introduce new business in bad times to keep up profits? No they haven't a clue, all they have done is cut back by laying off,reducing hours and reducing salaries so as to keep up their own standard of living.So keep on about laying off working people and breaking Unions like it's going to be the Saviour of Las Vegas. You are Wrong (and I am no longer a Union member, but employed and doing well).Getting rid of inept overpaid management who hold their jobs because of the old pals act,would be the best start for a LV recovery.
Look around. Read newspapers from around the country. Everyone is being touched by a poor economy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvwrSdMY7...
billykydd, you are so right. the problem is, management will not lose their jobs or take cuts in pay.If we look at the Battalion chief in Vegas, through the transparency.com website, and see the pay this guy gets, $680,000.00 and $40,000.00 in longevity, not including overtime, his 1 position could save 10 people.If the state would get rid of every college president, every battalion chief,(cops have been very low key, they have refused to make any consessions at all)every high paid cop, our state could save alot of working guys jobs, and probably employ new people, and still be ahead.
The union thugs/ supporters are now active on this comment board and still trying to sell their old outdated arguments. Guys, you can second each others posts but most people don't buy your BS anymore. I suggest that you be nice to your younger members and convince your tenured, older, greedy members to have a heart and help save the jobs of your soon-to-be UNEMPLOYED workers!!!
Unions do serve a purpose. But when a union gives no concessions during a deep recession-the members deserve to get axed.
steviem screeches;
"trim that fat!
trim that fat!"
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!!!
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!!!
This is not an overstaffing issue, kid.
I beleive the butcher has already been there.
Here's a hint; it's a dollar amount...
Guys, please remember that the unions were basically directed to take the 8% pay cut each year for the next two years or be prepared to get laid off. The City could not and would not guarantee no layoffs if they took the 16% pay cut. So again, damned if they did and damned if they didn't. Why not go for the whole enchilada? I was laid off by the City. The world continues to function as do I.
Once again, it's time to rewrite the STATE law that requires local governments to accept collective bargaining. Public sector unions are an oxy-moron.
Fasten your seat belts.... Its going to be a bumpy ride......Good luck everyone. Put on a happy face.
The public trough has run dry. Move along, now.
stevem=smarterthanyou=siamese twins
I had the chance to hear Doc Thompson of Ashtabula,OH (fills in for Glenn Beck) talk last week. He made a good point that the rest of the country is NOW starting to deal with what Cle, Detroit,Pittsburgh, Buffalo, ect.. have been dealing with for quite a while. Some blame lies with the Unions, most of it comes from the Government with higher taxes, regulations,etc.
While we in this area have become sort of 'use' to this problem of cutbacks and our industries being downsized/deleted... we are still looking forward. LV is NOT the first to deal with this, so don't give up...yet.
As far as unions, in being a union guy, I understand the frustrations. Even my dad who worked at Ford Motor in BrookPark now understands how the GRAVY he enjoyed from the union has now come back to DESTROY them.
Still, we don't know what the solution is. But giving up is certainly NOT one of them!
You folks that blame the evil union for this problem crack me up.
Collective bargaining IS NOT a one way street.
Are you that stupid?
One side did not hold up the other to get what they have.
The other side demands a 16% pay-cut to avoid lay-offs with NO guarantee of NO lay-offs.
I GET that the public is angry at the salaries of some of the government/public employees.
Why don't you get angry at YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
that hired these nice folks and negotiated the contracts, instead of vilifying the worker who is
simply trying to make ends meet like you & I?
The majority of these employees do not make huge dough. THAT is a FALLACY that you HATERS buy into.
Those of you with jobs should think about this;
If the boss came in to your workspace today and said "HEY! Got a proposition for you; 16% pay cut, more responsibility, take some work home with no pay, and you might keep your job. Otherwise, don't let the door hit you."
How would you respond to such a proposal, and it's presentation?
Having a Ginned-up Oscar the Grouchy McMayor spouting off in the media during these negotiations is completely counter-productive to the process and very inflammatory.
They're not all "overpaid, underworked, teat-sucking trough-feeding leeches", as the moronic element of our city would gladly have you believe.
They are tax-paying, home-owning, loan-taking, grocery-buying, car-leasing, stuff-needing friends, family and neighbors of ours, and they deserve better than to be locked
up in Oscar's stocks down on Freemont Street until they agree to enormous concessions, as the visitors leer and mock them.
Bear in mind the Civilian union (CEA) and the Marshals (PPA) both made concession offers. The fire and jail guard's union flatly said NO to any reductions. Seems odd these are the two groups with the highest use of sick leave of all city employees, by far, while having the highest take home pay of any departments.
LIPTON....tell them.....PEOPLE need to look at this MASSIVE salaries in the fire and police department. OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE. They are totally out of hand,totally.
Union people - wake up.
The cities have no money - they aren't kidding. Property taxes tanked along with property values & sales tax is down. There is no money.
You would seriously rather have people lose their jobs then give back some of the ridiculous pay raises that you got during the boom years -
Unbelieveable.
It is time to stop calling the Mayor, "The Mayor". Oscar Goodman is the Mayor of the city of Las Vegas, which is only a small part of the overall conglamoration of communities, resorts, and who knows what else in the larger area that is collectively known as "Las Vegas".
When people throughout the world refer to Las Vegas, they are not referring to the city of Las Vegas.
So, let's end this fiasco which supports nobody except politians, and let's merge all our communities into one overall "Las Vegas".
If the city were a private company there would be no discussions, negotiations or concessions. They would simply lay off the people they could not afford. Why do city employees think they are entitled to more than the rest of us? Because they are part of a union? Unions are a dead concept in this day and age. There are too many unemployed people willing to take those jobs for less.
The last three statements were very harsh and generalized.
Smarter than You: Your statement was the angriest I've ever seen about people you know absolutely nothing about. What do you mean by your statement?
1ofthesilentmajority: Why are unions a dead concept? Every major city has a union of some form or another, so it's still got some life.
poker_ray: $30 per month won't hurt as much as a $4K a year pay cut?!?!?
Mayor Goodman, your being a responsible Mayor and looking out for the city past your term. Balance the budget, if not with concessions from the bloated greedy unions then with layoffs. The city cannot continue on this same track. I only wish layoffs could be done top down. Remove the most senior, most overpayed, least productive employees first. I'd guarantee that the unions would change there tune in a heartbeat.
You have my support 100% Mayor Goodman. Best Las Vegas Mayor ever!!!!
I have to agree with some of the comments I have been in Las Vegas for 6 months and I have been out looking for work all the time. I bet if you ask anyone they would be happy to have a city job that pays something. Unemployment wont last forever people. I would love to be a city worker and having a income come.
187,000 Qualified people? that's an over statement, take out the qualified word and you would be more accurate. Just because there are 187,000 people out of work doesn't mean that they're all qualified. When it comes time to hire new employees where I work ,it's hard to find someone whos qualified and can pass a drug test and a back ground check. There is a lot of losers out there unemployed for a reason, DRUGS and TROUBLE in thier life. Everyone says there's thousands to take your place , well not exactly.
I agree with the City's decision to layoff employees to balance the budget. What choice do they have? Once the union rejected concessions it was either layoffs or go deeper in debt.
Somebody better send the message to Washington that we need real jobs in this country. Not government funded short term feel good fizzes in the way of temporary jobs that fizzle out and leave us in the same predicament, just deeper in debt.
Until we start making something and sell it on the world market place we are history. Whether its unemployment benefits or welfare, the government cannot support half the population of this country.
Rampant inflation is next unless this country goes to work.
WE needed to fire those teachers. So we could our new city hall. For the our new Mayor. Mrs Goodman.
Government workers are not entitled any more than any other workers. Government jobs are usually extrememly difficult due to the amount and type of work one must perform. A government job is only worth doing because of the pay and benefits. If you think otherwise, run out and get your college degree and apply for a government job, and then write back and tell us how fun it is on Easy Street.
The Sun needs to run a series on the government employee as people just don't get it.
Union workers should keep the level of pay and benefits offered to them upon accepting their positions. Eliminating the union (government or otherwise) will only eliminate the middle class. If there are only minimum wage workers and the rich business owners and managers, everyone will suffer.
You get what you pay for. A minimum wage employee will not be as qualified or work as hard as an employee who has something to strive for (maintaining a decent income). If the boss upsets a minimum wage worker, they can just walk out as there are always plenty of minimum wage jobs available due to this cycle.
Instead of being jealous of union workers, why not support them and work toward more union jobs? Workers MUST HAVE support. Workers MUST be treated fairly.
The depression is not the fault of the union, it is the fault of Wall Street and cooperate greed. What makes anyone think that giving more power to the powerful will help anyone but the powerful?
Do they not realize that the powerful will be more than happy to keep all of the profits while overworking and mistreating their employees all the while paying them as little as possible?
Have to disagree with you Aprilgirl when you say:
for. A minimum wage employee will not be as qualified or work as hard as an employee who has something to strive for (maintaining a decent income). If the boss upsets a minimum wage worker, they can just walk out as there are always plenty of minimum wage jobs available due to this cycle.
The problem with the union worker, particularly in the public/government sector, is that they have a sense of entitlement. Also, they have a lack of motivation to go above and beyond because for the most part, the union makes sure they keep their jobs even though they may not be doing the job. Also, pay and promotions should be given on merit, not on the fact that someone has been in a union for a long time so they should get a raise. Unions served their purpose at one time. They are still a valuable force in the private sector, particularly fields like construction. But for government workers, they are bankrupting the cities they work for.
How long have you worked for the government unsilent? You are wrong. I know from experience that the government workers need and deserve union representation. They are a hardworking group. Their workloads have increased with efforts to minimize hiring new employees. They have to keep up with stats or there are consequences. They want to promote or at least keep the job they have. Whenever the private sector is allowed to contract government employment, service is ALWAYS less and we the people LOSE.
You don't want to hear it but it boils down to pay now or pay later. Why not pay the employees a decent wage now, rather than spend a fortune trying to fix the mistakes made by the barely paid sub-par contracted employees?
The unions are not the problem and we need to support our government employees.
Buy American.
I don't work for the government aprilgirl, thats why I am able to be objective. Obviously you do, or depend on someone who does. The fact is this country is (was) built on capitalism, and for you to try and deny that is absurd. You say "Why not pay the employees a decent wage now?" are you kidding. Its the ridiculous wages that got Vegas into this mess. Union workers seem to have no ability to look to the future. THe older workers close to retirement don't want lay-offs because they are close to retiring and will get their pensions. The younger ones won't because the unions will have bankrupted the city long before they will be able to collect.
I'm sorry unsilent_majority but you seem to be generalizing. Please don't lump ALL government workers into one box. It's unfair, biased and ignorant.