were not paid enough to listen to there bit@hin all day long. Sometimes I want to give them a quater and tell them to call someone who cares.
Then why don't you quit your job in the public sector and find the same type of job in the private sector? Then, you don't have to listen to the same people...and if you do, at least you'll be getting paid more (same wage, no reduction for union wages).
Quoted from 335
You people in private jobs sit in your offices and watch your stock prices. WE work for our living
Yeah, that's exactly what we do. We go to an office and instead of doing actual work, we sit around and watch our stock prices...that would be the stock in the 401(k) that the bottom has dropped out of since Dear Leader took power just 35 days ago.
Quoted from 335
Most union people are two nice to say this publicly. But, since you don't no me, I can speak the truth
No, most union people know that if they say this publicly, they'll be drawn on the carpet and shown the door. They're not too nice to say it, they're too afraid to act on their First Amendment rights to tell you what they really think. They need to make sure they're kissing up to the boss.
who sir are you? what do you know about it? do you belong to a union or dont you work for a living?
My name is on every post that I put on here. I used to belong to a union...until I was laid off due to dropping workload...then, I went out and found another, non-union job which offered me better benefits. I work upwards of 50 hours a week at times. I don't need some union boss speaking up for me, I let my work ethic speak for itself.
I hear you sir. Good GOOD GOOD!!!! TELL THE REPUBS AND THE MILLIONARES OVER THERE IN THE ELDORADO ESTATES TELL THEM!
Who the hell lives there???? I cant afford that and I dont belong to a union......folks in the unions should be angry they signed up to be the 'buffer' between the politicos and the CEO's.....your union bosses are just in it for the name.......and you pay them too.... as for making a stable and equal workforce---joke joke joke....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
The union leaders surely get their lion's share of the money. I wonder if organizations, such as the multi-million dollar unions, will get that 'tax the wealthy' increase that obama wants to put in place.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
New York’s public employees need to take a look around
Re Feb. 20 letter, “Public employees must sacrifice like rest of us”: Jerry Moore’s stance that public employees must make sacrifices hit the mark. When private-sector businesses face tough fi - nancial times, among the first things they do is consolidate, outsource or eliminate parts of their operation; reduce the size of the workforce; freeze or cut wages; and either eliminate benefits or require employees to make greater contributions to cover the cost. So why do so many state public employees, including both government and school employees, feel they should be exempt from such actions when the state is facing an estimated $14 billion budget deficit and school districts will try to close huge budget gaps as a result of the proposed $700 million cut in state aid? It has long been known that the benefits public employees receive far exceed those the majority of their private-sector counterparts get — especially with regard to paid time off, health insurance, pensions and job security. During this economic crisis, the disparity is growing even wider. Public employees are one of the few remaining groups that still have defi ned benefit pension plans, to which they have contributed little or nothing. Even Tier IV state employees (the newest hires) contribute only 3 percent of their salary for the first 10 years. When those plans lose money, as they currently have, the rates taxpayers have to pay into the funds increase to make up for the losses. The pensioners see no change in their benefits. In the private sector, most employees must now fund their own retirement through 401(k) plans, to which they need to contribute every year. Those accounts have lost billions as the stock market has fallen and companies discontinue contributions. Since there will be no taxpayer-funded bailout of those accounts, many will now have to work longer or go back to work to try to recoup some of the losses — or just survive. Being able to retire with full benefits at age 55 after 30 years of service, as public employees can, is no longer an option for most in the private sector, as are those guaranteed cost-of-living pension adjustments that public employees enjoy. Millions of Americans, even those who have a job, have no health coverage, and the figure will continue to rise as more lose their jobs. Those lucky enough to retain their coverage are now paying on average of 25-30 percent of their premiums, which of course increase every year, as well as higher co-pays. By contrast, we have teachers who have never contributed to their health care. Even now, employees of the Schalmont school district are only paying 5 percent of their health care premiums, and state retirees are paying only 10 percent. Once again, the taxpayers, many of whom have no health care themselves, are saddled with paying the rest. Every day, there are announcements of companies slashing their work forces, many by double-digit percentages, yet the governor proposes reducing the state workforce by only 3,100 positions out of over 200,000. Since all but about 525 of these positions will be by attrition, the actual number of jobs lost will be a mere fraction of 1 percent. Of course the unions (CSEA, PEF, NYSUT) are mounting a full media blitz against any reductions. States such as California, Maryland and South Carolina are forcing public employees to take unpaid leave to cut costs. Our state public employees, however, still maintain that there should not be any adjustments in their raises, nor should they have to go on a lag payroll system. Certainly these actions would create a hardship for many, but isn’t that a better solution than more layoffs or unpaid leave? The current state budget crisis is not a just result of the Wall Street meltdown and mortgage fiasco. It also stems from decades of overspending by both government and school officials. This has included, but is not limited to, continually awarding very generous contacts and benefits to our public employees and then saddling the taxpayers with the cost, even though the taxpayers have had no say in these contracts. This practice has continued while hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have struggled with the stress and hardships associated with job loss, pay and benefit reductions, and even the total loss of health care and pensions, Public employees need to face reality. The time to make adjustments to their numbers, compensation, and benefits has arrived and is long overdue. Taxpayers have had enough.
I usually try not to get involved in personal opinions, but after reading several letters recently about public employees I feel compelled to strike back. Jerry Moore’s Feb. 20 letter [“Public employees must sacrifice like rest of us”] and Barb Paepke’s March 1 letter [“New York’s public employees need to take a look asround”] seem to be targeting public employees for not doing their fair share in rough economic times. I have worked in a state facility now for 27 years. I was hired in Tier III, and the benefits I received were an agreement between the state and the union at the time, and I realized this when I was hired. I have planned my retirement around these benefits and have no intention of giving up anything I don’t have to. I do not make a big salary, as many in the private sector do. It is not my fault that the state and country as a whole are in [tough] shape, and I agree we all have to make sacrifices, whether it is at the gas pump, grocery store, income taxes or whatever. Everyone should be made to do their fair share, but through a system where we all have to pay and not single out certain groups. I do not know what the answer is, but then again that’s not up to me to figure out. I do have to say that I feel sorry for anyone who has lost their job and is struggling to keep their homes and lives in order, but expecting public employees to give up what they have worked for all these years is not the answer. I would think maybe a new tier being started, with new employees being hired with [reduced benefits] may be a start. Maybe reductions, through attrition, could work in some areas. However, for the public employees who are working every day now to keep your schools, universities, hospitals, roads and any other public institutions safe and efficient, I do not feel they should have to sacrifice. Let me suggest to Jerry Moore, Barb Paepke and anyone else who thinks that the mess this country is in is the fault of public employees being too greedy: Better concentrate your efforts on a fairer solution, where we all pay equally.
The cause of the drop in popularity of Gov. Paterson, I agree with a previous writer, are the ads on TV paid for by CSEA [March 1 Gazette]. I think, as he did, that the gullible public will believe that anything put on TV is bound to be the truth. The publicity on TV is paid for, eventually, by the general public of New York state. It is only in self- interest the union pays for them, because they want to be sure that they get the lion’s share of the pot. They forget that they work for the general public. I remember that, do you?
I think Mr.Severns is taking it personally....well, guess what it isn't your job to 'figure it out'....but, everytime you pay your union dues(or dont you) you have made a choice and have 'figured it out'.......dont worry we got your back and future......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I am responding to the whole “state workers won’t even consider giving anything up” attitude. As a former state employee for 19 years, let me tell you, this should read: “State employee unions won’t even consider giving anything up.” For example, when Gov. Paterson explained the state’s fiscal situation to CSEA, he suggested the union defer their scheduled 3 percent pay raise to avoid layoffs. The response was a selfserving ad campaign, funded at member expense. These ads do not represent the opinions of all state employees. I am sure many CSEA members are willing to “share the burden” since they are not only employees but taxpayers as well. Most entry-level CSEA employees (those who would be subject to layoffs) are “working stiffs” with mortgages, car payments, orthodontist bills (a hefty portion of which aren’t covered by our dental “benefits”) and kids who grow out of their clothes and shoes every six months. Given a choice between delaying your raise and seeing fellow employees lose their jobs, what would you choose? But no one asks the members.
State workers’ unions have to be more realistic, less greedy
I am in complete agreement with Judy Stockman’s March 13 letter regarding the public service unions’ self-serving ads about the terrible sacrifices Gov. Patterson is asking of state employees. The letter mentions only CSEA, but the Public Employees Federation [PEF], the Union of University Professors and the hospital workers’ unions have all spent thousands of dollars in media ads trying to influence public opinion against the governor’s proposal to defer the unions’ upcoming 3 percent pay raise and to institute a lag payroll to avoid layoffs of fellow employees. I am a retiree from 20 years of state service. During those years, we suffered through deferred raises (no raises) and the lag payroll. We survived. During the good years, we also got some really good raises and things like employees no longer having to contribute to their retirement fund, and COLAs for retirees. The majority of state workers have spouses, children, friends and relatives directly affected by the current recession. They would accept the deferred raise and even lag payroll to stay employed. It would cost the unions less to lose a few thousand fee payers than to lose the increase in revenues resulting from the 3 percent raise. And when a member is laid off, he/she no longer exists for the union; they just strive to organize another group of workers to grow their revenue. I just received a letter from my union exhorting me to contact my legislators to protest the proposed changes. The letter states that it has spent over half a million dollars in ads, and now it is up to me to carry on the protest. The letter warns that my retiree benefits are at risk. The governor proposes to make me pay part of my Medicare premiums which are currently reimbursed each month by the state. Big deal. Right now I have it really, really good. I pay a smallish amount each month for very good health insurance plus Medicare, and the state reimburses me the $90-some-odd taken out of my Social Security benefit each month. Would I give it back? Not a chance. But I would willingly accept a reduction in my benefits at this time because other people not as lucky as I are hurting . I am sure the majority of state workers would consider this also, if given a voice. The unions are working for themselves. And they spend a lot of member money for ads and other ways to achieve the desired results. I did call my legislator — to support the proposed changes if the Legislature has the courage.
Gov. David Paterson’s announcement of plans to lay off nearly 9,000 state workers this summer will probably make him even less popular politically than he already was, but it’s hard not to admire him at least a little for sticking to his guns on the state budget. Paterson’s popularity ratings are in the dumper, to be sure — even lower than Eliot Spitzer’s at his nadir. And no doubt part of the reason has been his hard line on the state budget deficit, which, thanks to the rotten economy, has swelled by another $2 billion, to $16 billion, for next year. New York hasn’t faced this kind of fiscal crunch in decades, and the governor’s budget tried to address it in earnest. Unfortunately, legislators (and the state workers’ unions) have refused to cooperate. Lawmakers have already killed or are likely to kill such revenue-producing plans as the obesity tax, the sales tax on theater tickets, golf fees and massages, the cap on tax payments to towns with forest preserve land, etc. And state workers have essentially mocked the governor for suggesting that they forgo previously negotiated pay raises or defer their paychecks a week, buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of television commercials to protest the proposed cuts. What choice does Paterson have but to impose layoffs? The state cannot legally run deficits the way the federal government can, borrowing to close the gap — as has been done in the past — would be ruinous, and there’s just no way to use gimmicks or smoke and mirrors with this much money. While adding thousands to the unemployment rolls in a deep recession is ill advised, cruel even, there appears to be no other choice — unless the unions relent on givebacks and the Legislature softens on cuts. The state simply can’t get by with a business-as-usual budget this year.
When Gov. Paterson started, I was proud of the way he stood up to say we had a budget problem and we had to face it. That was before I realized that, when he said “we had to face it,” he meant everyone except him and his friends. Now he has gone from bad to worse with this latest fiasco. He lost the debate with his rivals [at] CSEA and PEF, and his true cowardly self has come out. He is trying to manipulate the unions by threatening the workers. Bully! Paterson knows that he and his wealthy friends can hold out forever, but working-class people depend on every dollar they make. C’mon, governor, be a man. Stand up and fight someone your own size. Negotiate with the union. They have good ideas, if you would just get over your stubborn streak!
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