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Monday, May 10, 2010 | 2:30 p.m.
Gov. Jim Gibbons
Sun Coverage
Sun Coverage
- Mayor: Firefighters, city staff reach ‘agreement in principle’ (5-6-2010)
- Analyst: Don’t cut Las Vegas city jobs (5-5-2010)
- Mayor: City job losses could double earlier estimates (4-22-2010)
- Mayor: City to move forward on employee job cuts (4-21-2010)
- Mayor: Time short for 141 Las Vegas city jobs to be saved (4-15-2010)
Gov. Jim Gibbons launched an initiative petition today that would require local governments to negotiate with unions in public.
The proposal, which conservatives have pushed for as public employee salaries have come under the spotlight, would go to the Legislature in 2011 if Gibbons and the Open Public Employee Negotiations Government Initiative collect 97,000 signatures by Nov. 9. If the Legislature doesn't pass the law, it would go in front of voters in 2012.
Gibbons said current local government budget shortfalls and the prospect of layoffs because some unions have refused to make concessions made the issue timely.
"Negotiations should be open to the public," Gibbons said. "This is about adding sunshine to the negotiation process."
Gibbons said he has been pushing for this since January -- he had actually proposed to eliminate collective bargaining entirely -- but said legislators refused to introduce a bill during February's special session, which Gibbons called to close the state's budget gap.
Gibbons' initiative would have no effect on the state's budget woes or state employees. The Legislature has never granted collective bargaining rights to state workers, despite extending them to state, county and school board employees.
Bruce Snyder, attorney for the Las Vegas City Employees Association, said "From what you told me, it sounds like Gov. Gibbons is taking a stab in the dark for his re-election."
Snyder said he doesn't believe either management or the unions would want negotiations open to the public. That would either lead to grandstanding and pandering to the audience or a stifled negotiation "where neither side would say anything."
"You're not going to have true and honest negotiations back and forth," Snyder said.
Gibbons began a news conference by noting that this will be his third initiative. The first time was in the 1990s, when voters approved a constitutional amendment to require that tax increases pass by a two-thirds majority of the Legislature. His second was to require that the Legislature fund education before the other parts of the state budget. Both of those initiatives were approved by voters, and, it's believed, helped Gibbons' political career.
This issue would not be on the ballot with Gibbons.
Gibbons faces an uphill primary fight against former federal judge Brian Sandoval, trailing both in the polls and with campaign cash. He has scored points with conservative voters by fighting health care and proposing dramatic education reforms.
Gibbons said no state resources would be used, even though his state office put out a press release announcing the initiative and he was flanked by his senior administration staff during the press conference in the state Capitol Building.
The steering committee will be led by Gibbons and include former state Sen. Mark Amodei, former Sen. Bob Beers and Republican Party Executive Director Cory Adair. Gibbons said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman "said it sounds like a great idea." Gibbons said he would discuss it with the city manager.
A city spokesman said that Goodman will review the initiative.
Oh noes. The unions are going to be pissed off about an informed public.
Eliminating collective bargining for the public sector would be best, but this is a step in the right direction, even if it was propsed by Gibbons. :)
Rory will automatically be against it (and it's his signature on all the County contracts) and Sandoval can easily support this. I don't see how this will affect the primary at all.
It won't. Rory is buying time. An old Reid ploy.
Does this meas the governor will finally give state employees collective bargaining? No, I didn't think so. Just more Republican jockeying for the Republican governor's primary race.
Lets bust up the last couple of unions we have left!!!!! How about taxing some corporations and goldmines instead of taking food out of kids mouths. Their parents are the only ones working. The unions are the "only people" informing the public, the corporate media isn't.
2/3 majority for taxes was the Governor's best idea? I believe this is a fascist tactic in which the wealthy hijack our government. Is it constitutional for the Minority to rule ? What kind of twisted crap is that ? We've been hearing this filibuster stuff for a year I'm sick of it. We keep getting smarter and smarter people in power and we everyday folk remain unemployed and on the verge of foreclosure and homelessness. That cut taxes deregulation mantra doesn't cut it anymore!
What a great Governor. After Guinn, it sure is refreshing to have one that actually does things productive for the good of the people. This would be good for the people.
Where do I sign.
Can we have access to all of the daily secret briefings as the elected officials of the cities and counties prepare for their meetings, now that would be interesting!!!!!
What a desperate political move by our future ex governor
"2/3 majority for taxes was the Governor's best idea?"
He certainly thinks so. He said after the last legislative emergency session that the state of NV still has a "spending problem". Really? We're already last (or next to last) in education funding, we're closing prisons, state employees take furlough days, DMV lines are 2-3 hours, etc. Unless he has a fleet of robots to take over for humans that he can pay next to nothing for, the state cant cut much more.
Gym Gibbons is a clown.
Every move he makes is 100% politically motivated in an effort to position himself for the campaign he's about to lose.
As such, anything he says or does is suspect.
Workers have every right to representation.
You anti-tax folks should remember this;
Imagine a LOWER LEVEL OF SERVICE than you get now.
Bearing in mind you are already have the lowest NUMBER OF WORKERS PER-CAPITA, you now start PAYING PEOPLE THE LOWEST WAGES...
What, exactly, do you expect that combination to buy you?
gmag, go blow your union horn elsewhere.
The Unions have disemboweled our Society. They are so powerful now they sway elections (SEIU)
The Unions clamor for a raise in the minimum wage was because it's for "the lesser of us", more Union hogwash...... they wanted an increase in the minimum wage because ALL union wages are based on the minimum wage.
I know this isn't about the minimum wage but these union hooligans (gmag, Teamster, Homer, et al) will use every trick in the book to burden taxpayers even more.
I was at the DMV the other day registering a new vehicle and after waiting for two hours, magically, as the clock approached 5:00pm, the speed of the technicians increased and productivity went through the roof.
Enroll a person in a Union and you enslave them for a lifetime!
Another desperate attempt by Gibbons to get free press coverage for his broke re-election campaign.
"Open Government," huh? The Gov is finally going to release his text messages to one girlfriend, the information about traveling with another girlfriend in a state vehicle, how he selects his appointments, or what it costs to keep the gov's estranged wife on the grounds of the Governors' Mansion.
Right, because it was the unions that caused the U.S. economy to collapse. How about we open Wall Street's and Goldman Sach's books, all sports teams' books and negotiations, and all Hollywood and television books and negotiations and STOP BLAMING UNIONS AND TEACHERS!!! This country has its head up its collective A$$!
Comment removed by moderator. Name calling.
Can we or the Sun make it possible for Gibbons to go away, to leave already. His ignorance and feeble attempts to try to make it look like he's doing something worthwhile and meaningful, has long been tiresome.
No wonder things in Nevada have not been good for a good while.
Too little too late, Gibby. Conservatives know you're trying to pander to the unions. We'll vote for Sandoval, thank you.... Have a nice lame duck term....
"Unions are mean. wah! Wah! Wah!"
Get a life!
In the 1920 30-40s Unions where needed they are not needed now.They are the problem to most of the Country's trouble with labor and unemployment.all they want is you are in the union now where our dues. if Las Vegas had NO UNIONS we would be back on are feet in no time.
That's "our feet," not "are feet." Maybe if we quit picking on educators, bloggers would be able to spell.
Pandering and grandstanding are the obvious friends of our Gov.
This seems to be just another ditch in the fall from power never deserved, from the limelight so bright that the shadowy and seedier sides of his pilotness have been exposed, and his last moments of grabbing ass, attention or relevance 'in public'
Pathetic how wasted and worthless vagrants shout out into the neighborhoods of peaceful, law-abiding citizens just to know the sound of their voice was disturbing.
Assurer of the disturbed,
Disturber of the assured,
a hound on a scent, a drunk in a midnight choir
bye gym
This is a step in the right direction. Too bad Gibbons waited to advance such a good idea until now. Now it simply looks like an opportune political move rather than an issue that Gibbons is truly behind. Since this announcement comes on the heels of Gibbons' disturbing and scattershot attacks on Sandoval, it is hard to believe that Gibbons truly backs this plan. He had years to put this plan into place; why wait until now?
Seperate the labor costs from the budget of each department.
Make this a seperate budget item that must be approved on its own.
If this kind of analysis was done, the true long term cost of any capitol expenditure could be assesed.
Retirement liabilites needs to be addressed as well.
The budget shortfalls come from retirement benefits being too liberal for gubment employees.
Since the return on retired employee benefits is negative, the answer is simple, if you work for the gubment (any job that is supported by the taxpayers) you don't get to retire.
Gives new meaning to "lifetime" public servant huh?!?
Idle hand are the devil's workshop.
sounds like a good idea to me now that i am a retired state employee..