Judge: Scranton, must pay employees full wages

Yahoo News ^ | Fri, Jul 6, 2012

[DeaconBenjamin]

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A judge has ordered the city of Scranton to pay employees full wages, but the mayor says the cash-strapped government can't afford it.

Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse on Friday granted an injunction to unions challenging Mayor Chris Doherty's decision to impose minimum wages to nearly 400 employees. The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports paychecks containing the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour had already been issued.

Doherty says he can't print money and that City Council has to fulfill the obligations of their budget. City Administrator Ryan McGowan says the city would have only $83,000 available after making a minimum-wage payroll of $311,000.

Union attorney Thomas Jennings says he will again file a motion seeking to hold the mayor in contempt of court if paychecks do not contain full wages.

[Plumberman27]

I disagree. The unions there just negotiated themselves a good deal and now it is time to pay up. They made a deal, live up to it or get out of office. Maybe it is time some politicians take an axe and cut their pay before anyone. These so called public servants negotiated the deal with the union so it is they whom are also quite responsible for the outcome. It could be time that political figures are forced to return their pensions and retirements and also the free health care they get too to fulfill the contracts they signed.

[cherry]

the unions don't want volunteer fire depts....ever notice that its the union firemen who are always behind new 911 gadgetry....or who push the county emt system...they know that if they keep making it harder for volunteer fire depts, then they'll get those jobs....after all....they're the "professionals"....

I read somewhere once that only 6% of fire dept responses were actually for fires....

[cherry]

what the real problem is I suspect, is that the pension costs and costs for health care are eating up whatever money is available to actually pay the present WORKERS....which is the case in every govt entity....the retired are eating up every single penny while they sit on their arses...

[M Kehoe]

Hey Joe! Mr. Bite Me. This is a BFD don't ya think?

Say it ain't so, Joe. Maybe you can't go home again.

5.56mm

[junta]

Another brokerage just did a Corzine on its clients and yet our political class navel gazes at these crooks, IMO we are volcano waiting to erupt.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

"Squeeze harder! There must be blood in there somewhere!"

[reg45]

Declare bankruptcy, dissolve the city’s incorporation, and then no one can be paid.

[razorback-bert]

Oooo, Oooo, call on me, I know the answer!

Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

See, it is simple.

[DaBearOne]

Let the judge order the sheriff to sell the city to the highest bidder!! Hmmmmmmm.

[Spktyr]

Fine. Declare bankruptcy. Hey, look, no more wages for anyone!

[sarasmom]

Prominent on the city website ( http://www.scrantonpa.gov )
is a large, pretty banner:

Pennsylvania's Progressive City

LOL!
No, that rates a full ROTFLMAO!

With a motto like that, how could they possibly lose?

[Graybeard58]

“I did what the judge ordered me to do.”

I read an article recently at F.R., a Judge ordered a battered woman to carry concealed and also ordered her to carry the order with her to show to any LEO who might question her. He has been ordering some women to do this and even paid for the gun and ammo out of his own pocket in some cases, when the woman couldn't afford it.

My kinda judge.

[SgtHooper]

I’d call a meeting of the unions and its workers, hand them $83,000 and say, “Ok, here’s all ya get, you split it up among yourselves!!” Let em kill themselves.

[sargon]

When they say "minimum wage" they mean union minimum, don't they?

[rcrngroup]

Plus also I would LOVE to see Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse’s paycheck garnished and withheld, to help contribute to city of Scranton’s budget shortfall. Can you imagine the judge’s jaw dropping when all of a sudden HIS paycheck is either withheld or he gets only minimum wage as well? Ohhhh I would LOVE it, if somehow that could happen.

[Terry Mross]

That may be why the judge ordered the mayor to pay up. He doesn’t want to see a precedent set.

[JimRed]

Lay ‘em off.

[The Working Man]

So, what is the next thing for the Mayor and the City Council? They can’t pay these guys if there is no money. They can’t declare bankruptcy because of the Legislature blocking that.

Part of me says that’s it’s Popcorn time! Part of me says put a barb-wire fence around the place. It’s finished and we need to keep the infection from spreading further.

[Oztrich Boy]

The good people at Dem You! have a number of immediate solutions

• yes I have plenty of other ideas. Have you ever heard of socialism? What it will do is put the means of production in the hands of the workers. No more billionaires while others are homeless ...
• OK so then the state or federal gov't will have to move some money from a wealthier population to this poorer one. Easy peasy. Problem solved.
• As for Scranton's particular difficulties, situated as it is within a larger capitalist-imperialist economy and political landscape, I could see workers' cooperatives forming volunteer fire, police and health care brigades, but also other cooperatives as well, such as nutritional, educational and even arts.
• Can the state not step in and assist? Maybe help in the short term and help the city with long term financial planning, or perhaps allow these people to claim unemployment?
• Grover Norquist needs to be sentenced to life without parole in prison

So it seems there is really no crisis