Posted on 07/13/2010 8:58:09 PM PDT by SmithL
Oakland laid-off 80 police officers today after negotiations between city officials and union leaders failed on one simple matter: job security.
The police union demanded that the city guarantee that its officers would not be laid off for three years in exchange for giving up some pension benefits that would have eased the city's budget problems.
City leaders, however, said it would have been irresponsible of them to agree to protect police jobs for more than one year because the city's budget problems are likely to worsen.
The layoffs - which come days after a riot broke out in Oakland - are the first for Oakland police officers in at least three decades. Oakland officers warned that the city, which has the state's highest violent crime rate, will not be as safe.
"Every time you lay us off, there's a gun to the citizen's head as well," said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association.
He compared four officers slain in the line of duty in March 2009 to Tuesday's layoffs, saying the 80 were released "not by the hand of a gun, but by the hand of a pen."
At a news conference this afternoon, Officer Gordon Dorham, a 27-year-old Oakland native who is one of the 80 officers laid off, said Oakland residents "will pay the ultimate price" for the layoffs because the streets will not be the same.
He made a reference to warning his own family about being safe in Oakland: Notifying them that the streets of Oakland tomorrow will be unsafe - let's be honest - that's hard. There's an answer for that. And I'm one of the answers. And 79 other officers are the answers."
Oakland council president Jane Brunner said the city had little choice but to order the layoffs.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
What a chunk of public union PUKE this guy is, using his slain colleagues' memory in this tawdry manner.
This is the beginning of dozens of these cut-backs. Every town...every county...and even at the state-level....things are going to start getting tough.
Those who want to negotiate and hope for permanent terms where nobody ever gets fired, can pretty much forget about this strategy. Every single level is in serious financial trouble. The minute they agreed to expanding pension levels back two and three decades ago...they created pension deals today where a guy at age 54 could retire and collect $200k. There are over 12k individuals in California with a pension over $100k.
So if you live in California...God bless you for your guts to stay there, and maybe in ten years after the smoke has cleared...and things are back to a level playing field.
Gotta start calling bluffs here. THe pensions of many city workers are killing communities. They need to pay the same kinds of percentages for their health insurance and retirement everyone else does, they are public servants, not nobility. People get rich on public service jobs and this is one area where bloated government begins. They don’t want to face reality at all and recognize the taxpayers aren’t just paying a lot for their own healthcare and retirement, but we’re paying for theirs too when they contribute nothing or next to nothing. That just ain’t right.
There is also mounting evidence that several members of the Oakland City Counsel which implemented the layoffs were part of the crowd obstructing the police during the riot.
Cloward/Piven would be proud.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
True. I left the private sector 30 years ago, and am still amazed that some of my colleagues do not understand how well they have it.
But really, after “public service employees “ unionised, did anyone really expect anything else?
There was some study that came out not long ago that said government employees make about 45% more than private sector employees.
To Protect and To Serve (my union brothers)
‘”Every time you lay us off, there’s a gun to the citizen’s head as well,” said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association.’
With as many guns being purchased since the best firearms salesman in the world was hired as the imposter POTUS, I would tend to say that there is more of a possibility of a gun being at the the criminal’s head instead of the other way around.
More Municipalities have to do the same thing.The Tax Payers of these communities cannot continue paying large retirements for young People who retire after twenty years with full health care coverage as well.
The Private sector doesn’t get those Bennies so the Public sector should suffer the same way.
Logic only a cop can understand, I guess...
Our small Texas town has kept the same number of paid city PD an County Deputies for decades with an unpaid commissioned reserve force. All academy graduates. Add to that a large consevative base of citizens that have concealed carry licenses an our costs for a police force has been very stable over the years.
Unions are criminal enterprises that blackmail a membership of poor an ignorant these days IMO .
Time for em to go away forever.
Point I promote is community service by volunteers is not limited to a litter collection project or helping at a local library...mm
Before anyone suggests that volunteers are not reliable during hard times I proudly remember on 9-11 that all but 1 member if our reserve force showed up without being called out. The one who did not show was in the hospital.
Love of community an a lifetime obligation to family an friends keeps small communities the place to be. Hard times or not.....
My opinion....
This is true but you forgot the federal cash support that will not come anymore. Many may never get back into the retirement gravy train.
What is the financial impact of retirement programs? Looking at GMC, we have the answer - GMC was a welfare program attached to a company. It went broke, TWICE in a generation, because it was supporting a population 3 or more times greater than those working on the production making money fore everyone. Sounds like the Social Security System, don't it?
Lets run some numbers.
Lets say Oakland needs 200 officers working the beat. The age of this 200 man force is spread evenly over a 34 year life cycle. Every year you retire 6 officers (3%) of the active force.
Year 1 (1950) - 200 people
Year 2 (1951) - 206 people - 200 walkers and 6 retirees.
Year 10 (1960) - 260 people
Year 20 (1970) - 320 people
Year 30 (1980) - 380 people
year 33 (1983ish) - 400 people. Your first retiree is only 55; his life expectancy is another 30 years.
Year 63 (2013ish) - 600 people.
Supporting 600 people is the absolute minimum number. In reality you end supporting closer to 700 people when you factor in early retirements due to disabling injuries and support the widows of officers slain on active duty.
Your official force size is 200 but you have to fund 700.
If a politician has to chose between my job and his who do you think is going to collecting unemployment?
Yes, the unions are killing any chance of the cities getting back to even a financial break-even point.. They are fast becoming the target of normal (read non-union) folks...and they deserve it!
Tough decisions are required to correct egregious errors of the past. While the citizens of Oakland maybe even less safe than before, and that’s would be hard to accomplish, the future of Oakland looks better.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the one send an executive order requiring the officers to be rehired.
Article on SFgate couple of days ago stated Oakland pays 188,000$ in pay and benefits for every officer.
Thats an average...
They are no longer ‘public servants’....they are thieves, pigs feeding at the trough while holding a gun to the head of the public.
We have allowed the government to become our enemy.
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