Posted on 11/14/2014 5:09:18 PM PST by mdittmar
The incoming chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has been outspoken about his plans to cut federal employees’ pay and pensions. Besides his previous proposal, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin spoke with the Washington Post this week and discussed what he wants to do when he takes over the committee in January. On his chopping block are federal employees’ pay, health insurance, pensions, and the right to join a union.
“I think it’s unrealistic for public-service employees to believe they are immune from modifications to their pay and benefit packages,” said Sen. Johnson, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. He went on to say “those things in the private sector have been modified dramatically.”
It’s important to note that a pension is delayed payment for work already done, a condition for taking a job. It’s the employee’s money withheld and invested by the employer to be paid at the employee’s retirement when he/she can no longer work. If the employer cuts the employee’s pension, that means the employer has either embezzled or misspent the employee’s money. The employer is engaging in theft. The same is true for health care.
Obviously inspired by Walmart, Johnson also takes aim at federal employees’ worker protections and the freedom of association. He told the Post, “I really don’t think that the public-sector employees should be unionized.” So the senator wants federal employees to take whatever compensation their employer offers, most likely with ever changing work schedules, no guaranteed overtime pay, and little or no medical care and pension. He appears to oppose the idea of fairness, justice, equality, opportunity, and prosperity. Without a union, employees are basically slaves to their employer.
Meanwhile, Johnson supports massive tax giveaways for corporations and blocked a bill that would end tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas. But he voted against a bill that would end the government shutdown, blocked a bill that would help veterans find good jobs and get the health care they need, voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, voted against a bill that would provide employment protections to gay and transgender workers, and voted to repeal the healthcare law that provides coverage to the uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions.
It has changed a lot. It is still much better than most private employment, but no where as good as it was.
Now it is 1% of pay for every year of employment, you can still can save up to 2 months of annual leave, health care is no longer subsidized, it will contribute up to 5% of you pay in your 401 if you also contribute the same.
I have two jobs.
One working for the taxpayers and the other working for a non-government employer.
There are differences and its obvious that the government pay and benefits are more generous than the non-government pay and benefits.
Its time to government employees to “give back” but its also time for government as a whole to be downsized to save taxpayers money.
The Republicans need to think beyond the pay and benefits of existing government employees to the notion that there should be fewer government employees because departments and programs should be shut down.
The GOPe that’s in charge of Congress now has the notion of better managed big government, but not the notion of smaller government doing less.
I have heard this before. ‘It is not a pension it is deferred compensation’ how can ‘deferred compensation’ pay more than the average yearly income of a worker?
Why should public employees be exempt from what Obama, via Gruber, is calmly doing to the entire private sector?
In this instance the taxpayer gets screwed twice. They get to foot the bill as both the employer and as the Payer of the "insurance" premiums for the public employee health care premiums (inflated by the new "tax" on the entity providing the "insurance." Unless the public employees' insurance is exempt from the new rules and new 40% tax.
Who are these clown trying to fool?
The jig is up, guys!
Or, public servants living like the public???
Actually, he raised a lawsuit over it. Unfortunately, a judge tossed it out.
>> This isn’t collective bargaining, it’s collusion
The process is a form of extortion given the taxpayer doesn’t have any practical options.
“It’s important to note that a pension is delayed payment for work already done, a condition for taking a job.”
Um, what?
You’re such a liar!
Members of the military are federal employees too. Should they feel the heat?
He's not that far off.
ding ding ding ! Even the Great Socialist knew it was wrong.
Just look at the charts - the excess largesse given to the one truly protected class, federal govt. workers, is staggering. How these govt. workers expect the rest of the working public to feel sorry for them is a manifestation of their hubris.
At root, unions were just assemblies of people advocating for their common interest. Unions became official organizations with legal status, protective legislation, and seats in the halls of power.
The first, assemblies of people advocating for a common cause, is a natural right of any group, so long as they are peaceable.
Senator Jeff Sessions has strongly advocated for middle class workers in his efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from taking American jobs, and especially during a time of historically low numbers in the work force.
If government workers peaceably assemble and petition their government for better pay, then I see nothing wrong with it. If they manipulate their positions in the halls of power to feather their own nests, then such a lack of concern for the nation should be rejected.
This is the biggest lie repeated incessantly by democrats, yet not one single alleged tax break is ever mentioned. That's because there are no tax breaks for allegedly "sending jobs overseas". When will someone in the media confront these liars and ask one of these liars for specifics.
Walmart,tax giveaways for corporations,fairness, justice, equality, opportunity, and prosperity,slaves,government shutdown,veterans,Violence Against Women,gay and transgender workers,healthcare law.
His masters didn't libsplain how the Koch Brothers were behind it all.
“...Without a union, employees are basically slaves to their employer...”
That’s better than US being THEIR slaves to keep them fat and covered for life.
Not one of us, out here in the private sector, is immune to the laws of the marketplace, job performance, and/or the vagaries of working life. None of us are immune to being fired or layoffs.
They shouldn’t be either.
lol
The propaganda starts.
...has been outspoken about his plans to cut federal employees’ pay and pensions. Besides his previous proposal, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin ...federal employees’ pay, health insurance, pensions, and the right to join a union. “I think it’s unrealistic for public-service employees to believe they are immune from modifications to their pay and benefit packages,” said Sen. Johnson, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.
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