Public Unions Put On Notice

by | Dec 3, 2010 | Labor Relations Ink

The chickens are coming home to roost in the government-monopoly union sector. As the disparity of public sector vs. private sector wages has come to light, amidst the struggle for governments at federal, state and local levels to balance their budgets, government leaders are coming down hard on unions, and public sector employees. • Obama announced that the nations 2.7 million civilian public employees will face a wage freeze (Congressional approval required) • Washington Governor Chris Gregoire cancelled several union contracts and sent state employees back to the bargaining table. Gregoire is contending with a forecast budget shortfall of over $6 billion. • Northumberland County commissioners in Pennsylvania, facing an arbitration award in the county’s magistrates office, told the Teamsters, “I’ll see you in court.” While the county’s non-union employees are paying $108 per month for their share of health benefits costs, union employees were to pay only $22.12 (comparisons are for a single-person policy). “Ladies and gentleman, that is unacceptable,” said Commissioner Vinny Clausi. • The North Las Vegas city council wrested concessions from the Teamsters Local 14 that include unpaid furlough days and the suspension of cost-of-living raises for part of this fiscal year and in 2011. The council also rejected a concessions offer by the firefighters union due to a “no-layoff” provision, and sent them back to the table. Thirty three jobs are on the line if an agreement cannot be reached. The city needs to overcome a projected 2011 shortfall of $33.7 million. • At the recent Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego, public unions were derided as a public enemy that must be knocked down. “Frankly,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, “the public employee unions would stick a shiv in all of us if they could.” Public employees are “over-benefited and overpaid,” Pawlenty said. NJ Governor Chris Christie added, “If you don’t take on and solve that problem, you’ll never solve your budget problem.”

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