Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Target Wall Street Greed, Not Public Employees



Too often when economic times get tough, scapegoats are found in the wrong places.Wall Street greed and double-dealing sparked much of the nation’s recent near-financial collapse, yet many in the chattering classes instead are attacking public employees for this rolling recession.
Economist Dean Baker puts the situation in perspective:
Fifteen million people are not out of work because of generous public employee pensions. Nor is this the reason that millions of homeowners are underwater in their mortgages and facing the loss of their home. In fact, if we cut all public employee pensions in half tomorrow, it would not create a single job or save anyone’s house. The reason that millions of people are suffering is a combination of Wall Street greed and incredible economic mismanagement.
Even as a consensus is emerging among economists that the United States should put job growth ahead of deficit cuts, a new study focused on New England finds that the region no longer can afford to spend scarce resources on tax credits and other business giveaways. Instead, it needs to channel economic development efforts to rebuilding neglected infrastructure and improving education for people at all levels. Prioritizing Approaches to Economic Development in New England” provides
ample evidence that infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, energy transmission systems, drinking water, and the like) and education are effective approaches for creating jobs and generating economic growth.
The study, by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, finds the New England states have too long viewed funding for public services and economic development as competing interests—and that’s a false dichotomy. Sounds like the study can apply to the rest of the country as well.
Demonizing the public sector harms the U.S. middle class, writes Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) Research Director Amy Traub, who reminds us how fundamental the jobs they do are to our everyday lives:
It’s easy to lose sight of the other ways that a strong public sector supports our economy. Middle-class Americans and the businesses they work for rely on good schools, clean and safe streets, and high quality public services and infrastructure. In so doing, they depend on the dedicated teachers, police, firefighters, librarians, sanitation workers, parks employees, and support staff that keep states and cities running.
States and cities face very real fiscal challenges, but the cause is falling tax revenue due to the deepest recession in decades—not excessive spending or lavish compensation for public workers.
Further, Traub has a recommendation for Congress, some Democrats included:
Trashing our middle class in an effort to cut costs is short sighted. Downgrading the middle-class pay and benefits of public workers only speeds their erosion in the private sector, undermining everyone who works for a living….Rather than attacking public pensions that afford retirees a middle-class standard of living, [lawmakers] should be thinking about how to increase retirement security for millions of private-sector employees with meager savings.
As Progressive States Network points out, extremist anti-worker organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council have been trying to gut public employee pensions for years—and they are using the recession as a public relations platform.
There is no crisis in most state retirement systems, even according to the numbers of the researchers demanding state leaders take unneeded action to cut the incomes of retirees.  And despite the hype from a few carefully selected anecdotes of retirees gaming pension systems, the reality is that the overwhelming number of public employees receive pretty bare-bones benefits, in some cases not enough even to keep them out of poverty.
Corporate backed anti-worker groups are the winners when the public taps into public-employee blame game. Wall Street is another big winner. The CEOs of Big Banks and the financial industry are happy to see the finger pointed at public employees. It means America’s workers are fighting each other and not united in targeting the real culprit of our economic misfortunes.

Tula Connell - I got my first union card while I worked my way through college as a banquet bartender for the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee (we were represented by a hotel and restaurant local union—the names of the national unions were different then than they are now). With a background in journalism—covering bull roping in Texas and school boards in Virginia—I started working in the labor movement in 1991. Beginning as a writer for SEIU (and OPEIU member), I now blog under the title of AFL-CIO managing editor.

View all posts by Tula Connell.Contact Tula Connell at: blognews@aflcio.org

Monday, August 30, 2010

A Negotiations Update/Mobilization Meeting

(photos by Bess Watts and Ove Overmyer)

 Find out the latest on the current negotiations Between 
CSEA Unit 7400 and Monroe County.

Also learn how the rank and file union member 
(YOU) can become part of  an effective support system for the Negotiation Process!
The Meeting will be 7pm - 9pm -- September 30, 2010,  at the Diplomat Banquet Center, Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606 (Unit 7400 Members Only) Refreshments will be provided.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

CSEA and FSW members walk the walk in front of the Monroe County Office Building on August 10 to show support for their negotiation teams.

County CSEA Members and members of FSW let the county know “WE NEED A CONTRACT” and we “NEED IT NOW”.


NEGOTIATION UPDATE: While negotiations are ongoing, Your CSEA Negotiation Team needs the support of the members if we are going to get a new contract. The County has moved away from the previous Tentative Agreements and now is looking for bigger concessions than ever from the union. CSEA understands and is willing to work with the County to cut costs however, the sacrifices the County is now demanding is unacceptable to the CSEA Represented County Employees.

Despite the current economic climate, CSEA remains eager to work with the County to cut cost and get a fair agreement. It is now incumbent on the County to enter into realistic discussions with the Union Negotiation Team.

The parties have agreed to meet in September, please check this site for further negotiation updates. Remember, together we can get a good agreement!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

ATTENTION MONROE COUNTY CSEA MEMBERS

(photos by Bess Watts and Ove Overmyer)

Join your union brothers and sisters from the Federation of Social Workers for a rally in front of
the County Office Building. Together we will demand fair contracts for county employees.
Together we will send a message that “We want justice now.”

WHAT: Rally for Justice in Monroe County
WHEN: 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10.
Stay for the County Legislature meeting if you can.
WHERE: County Office Building, 39 West Main St., Rochester

 St. Patrick's Day Parade - March 16, 2024 For more Information Please contact Local 828 President Mike Irving at (585) 732-1850        ...