Posted on 01/01/2011 8:29:26 PM PST by Immerito
FLEMINGTON, N.J. — Ever since Marie Corfield’s confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie this fall over the state’s education cuts became a YouTube classic, she has received a stream of vituperative e-mails and Facebook postings.
“People I don’t even know are calling me horrible names,” said Ms. Corfield, an art teacher who had pleaded the case of struggling teachers. “The mantra is that the problem is the unions, the unions, the unions.”
Across the nation, a rising irritation with public employee unions is palpable, as a wounded economy has blown gaping holes in state, city and town budgets, and revealed that some public pension funds dangle perilously close to bankruptcy. In California, New York, Michigan and New Jersey, states where public unions wield much power and the culture historically tends to be pro-labor, even longtime liberal political leaders have demanded concessions — wage freezes, benefit cuts and tougher work rules.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
“What part of the Federal, State, and Local governments are BROKE do the PUBLIC workers don’t understand? Who payes their salaries? These public worker clowns are FOOLS.”
They literally couldn’t care less; they’ve been indoctrinated not to. I know a teacher in an urban district in NJ; big bucks they earn (”combat pay”). She is retiring now (well over 65), and has ALWAYS been disgusted at how much money was spent by districts least able to afford it. She is also disgusted about how many of her co-workers literally see the schools as being established simply to employ them, rather than to teach children.
“A city’s most valuable asset is its citizens.”
That’s right; Detroit had an infrastructure. It lost its productive citizens.
“NJ teachers union last year collected $120 million in dues. FUNDED BY THE TAX PAYERS!!!!”
That’s right, and a large part of that was spent on strengthening their chokehold on the NJ taxpayer, with no improvement in education. All they can do to justify these exenditures is water down grades, and when that doesn’t work, to simply give the children the answers beforehand. Anyone with a child in public school in NJ need only spend a little time with them doing their homework, and they’ll realize the glowing report cards are an absolute hoax; the children aren’t nearly as smart as indicated, and are lacking in some very basic skills.
“I’ve seen too many people using a very broad brush when blaming public workers for the financial woes of the cities and states. I would be the first to say some of it is justified, but much of it is not. I do get upset when comments are made that ‘all public employees’ are crooks.”
I don’t think you realize how much of your department’s woes are caused by other public employee unions that have sweeter deals; the teachers union is #1; they’ll practically shut down the water & sewer division before laying off a single teacher. Police & fire are in a heated race for #2; here in NJ (particulary Newark & Jersey City), it appears Fire got #2 (the layoffs hit Police, trailing at #3). These 3 groups are competing with each other for the tax revenues raised, and beyond that the senior members in each group are basically shutting out any new blood by refusing concessions to permit hiring to cover retirements. As these municipal budgets tighten, you can see the established pecking order: “town hall” administrative workers are booted quickly, as are other non-unionized workers across the spectrum. Public works seems pretty low on the totem pole as well.
The public sector employees that aren’t bleeding the taxpayers dry like teachers are being prevented by the teachers from doing so. The salary you earn must be closer to a market rate than what the others are looting from us; if it wasn’t you’d be in the private sector (where things are bad enough). At this point in NJ, a public school teacher is earning twice what a private school teacher brings home (which would be the market rate for 180 days of work, from 8:30 - 3:00 with an hour lunch).
Why will they never mention the number of days worked for teachers compared to the private sector? Given 260 work days in a year and allowing two weeks of vacation and 10 paid holidays (many, many people don't get anywhere that much), the average private employee works 240 days a year. A teacher works about 190 days a year. IOW, the private worker has to go to work about 25% more days to earn the same salary. Add in lack of job security and personal health care costs and it's not even a horserace!
Same situation in our city. Pay cuts, hiring freezes, layoffs and the work load is the same or greater, but not for the unions.
In our city, all employees took a 3 percent pay cut...EXCEPT the unionized police and fire. They wanted a raise and didn’t want to negotiate. I think they came away with a pay freeze instead. Point is, they expected different treatment than other municipal workers.
indeed congress should be forced to see it.
assets are owned........
Later
sorry....got it wrong...assets are both owned or valuable resources (as defined by Webster)
I wonder how much the NYC snow plow drivers and their union bosses make, including bennies? We at least know they made double overtime for Sunday work. I’m sure that thrills people like nurses and police who do that all the time...
While I am not a state employee, I am a contractor working for the state. The new governor is about to take office on a platform of killing the state worker unions, reducing the number of state workers, reducing or eliminating the retirement benefits of the state employees, and "creating jobs". We'll see.
The state has, since mid-November had more than four times the number of retirements it normally does. No surprise there. And of course, no new hires.
All that said, it is going to be interesting to hear how the "public" responds to reduced or eliminated services in the near future.
Here's an idea....cancel all - repeat all - private/commercial business benefits. No more health insurance, no more vacations, no more "sick days", no more anything! If you don't work, you don't get paid. Buy your own medical/dental/vision coverage for yourself and your family. You want a vacation? Fine...take one, but pay for it yourself. Job security? Sure...as long as your contract lasts.
I'll bet I don't get any takers!
Great!!! I didn’t know that. Well, Reagan took it away from the air traffic controllers. If he did it, then I don’t know why we can’t demand it. Government unions should have never been and they should be ended today.
Ya know, MOST people here say Public sector Union employees.
We know the difference.
So I guess she's used to people she does know calling her horrible names.
“the problem is the unions, the unions, the unions”
It looks more like the problem is the unions cohabiting with the President.
The FACT is that the problem is the unions. But not just the unions.
It should be interesting to note that the federal wage freeze will not effect unions that are under contract - the contracts will be honored.
I'm glad that you said that. We, myself included, do tend to paint with too wide a brush sometimes.
I think that there's a LOT of room for scrutiny, but it needs to be pinpointed and aimed at areas where it is deserved.
That being said, if given the right via EO, it can be revoked via EO or a Congress with backbone.
Add up the JFK Federal worker unionization EO and Fat Ted's Immigration Act of 1965 and you have two pieces of sh*t that have been far, far more destructive on this country than the Civil War ever was.
So glad the Kennedys love the USA and are America's “royalty”...
Dear Ms. Corfield,
Who signs your paycheck?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.