Posts Tagged ‘Unions’

Followups to two recent posts

Posted by ameister on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

In my post entitled A coalition focused on moving Baltimore elections to 2014 I said that the Baltimore Election Change Coalition (BECC) needed to do a better marketing job. It turns out that they did send out a press release. A woman from the ACLU forwarded me the informative press release today and you can read it below. It looks like they are reading this blog.

A few people thought my idea to cut every single city employee’s pay by 10% was harsh.  Why should someone making $50,000 a year suddenly make $45,000 a year. In reality if the city was run efficiently and our politicians were not in bed with the unions such a drastic move would not have to be made. Instead of having three people doing the work of one we would only have one person doing the work of one person. Pension/insurance reform should have happened a long time ago.  We did not take our medicine ten years ago so now it is going to hurt much more than it would have then. Even though this all seems harsh, it is better than what is happening in the private sector.  Some people with manufacturing jobs were fired and were out of work for long periods of time. After months to years of no job these people were hired at similar jobs for 75% or less of their former pay. They gladly took these jobs.

I strongly feel that the middle to upper managers in the city bureaucracy who have gamed the system and now earn over $80,000 a year should feel the pain (fired or major salary cut) before the custodian who actually works hard and does his low paying job efficiently.

I will leave you with this reader comment from a Washington Post article about the proposed Metro fare hike:

“Where’s the 5% drop in crazy pension entitlements then?
Seriously, publicize your P&L and let the taxpayers decide if you are running a transportation company or a customer-funded retirement scheme. FYI, there IS a problem when over one-third+++ of your costs are retiree entitlements!“

MEDIA ADVISORY

New Baltimore Coalition to Hold Press Conference Calling for Moving City Elections to Match Gubernatorial Cycle

ADVISORY FOR                                  CONTACT:

January 9, 2012                                 Millie Tyssowski, LWV, milliety@earthlink.net, 410-448-2650

BALTIMORE, MD – On Monday, January 9, a newly-formed group, the Baltimore Election Change Coalition (BECC), will hold a press conference to build support and discuss its goal of changing the year of city elections to coincide with the gubernatorial cycle. Members of the coalition include the League of Women Voters of Baltimore City, American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP, Citizens Planning and Housing Association, National Action Network of Greater Baltimore, Baltimore’s Safe and Sound Campaign, and Teaching Our Own Understanding and Responsibility.
In 2011, voter participation in the Baltimore City primary and general elections was at an all time low. Less than 12% of eligible voters participated in the primary; only 22% of registered voters voted. General election turnout was even worse. The BECC believes that having our City officials selected by so few voters with the expenditure of monies that the City needs in the current budget crisis calls for action now.
The BECC proposes that Baltimore City join all other major jurisdictions in the State and hold its elections at the same time as the gubernatorial election – beginning with the gubernatorial election of 2014. With more officials and issues on the ballot, more voters will turn out and democracy in Baltimore City will be strengthened. In addition, the City could potentially save several million dollars.
WHAT: Press conference to announce the Baltimore Election Change Coalition and discuss the benefits of changing the year of city elections to coincide with the gubernatorial cycle.
WHO: Representatives of the Coalition and Maryland General Assembly Legislators
WHEN: Monday, January 9, 2012 at 10 AM
WHERE: 417 E. Fayette St., Baltimore, MD

###

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

MD/DC State Council SEIU endorses Nick Mosby

Posted by ameister on Thursday, August 18th, 2011

The bad news just keeps piling up for disgraced councilwoman Belinda Conaway. Yesterday the City Paper came out with this 7th district article that truly embarrassed Belinda. Below is a great Nick Mosby quote from the article:

“She filed a ridiculous and bogus lawsuit to tie up the courts,” says 32-year-old Nick Mosby (right), an electrical engineer for Verizon who lives with his family in the home they own in Reservoir Hill, “and now she’s admitting to not reading false or inaccurate documents that she signed on several occasions—documents that gave her tax credits, which she benefited from for quite some time. The sitting delegate, the sitting councilwoman, and the sitting clerk of the court do not all live and reside in that house [on Liberty Heights Avenue]—nobody actually believes that. Ultimately, her bringing that lawsuit was the reason I jumped in the race.”

Today I received the following email:

“Attached you will find a press release submitted on behalf of Nick Mosby, candidate for 7th District City Council. He has been endorsed by the MD/DC State Council SEIU. It is made up of 40,000 security officers, healthcare workers, educators, childcare providers, caregivers and public employees. This announcement comes just weeks after he received an endorsement from the Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO.
While other candidates in the 7th District race have been receiving negative attention in the media,
Nick Mosby’s positive vision for Baltimore has continued to resonate. It is clear that he has positioned himself as the best choice to represent the district where he has chosen to raise his family and build his future. Our Home … Our City… Our Future is more than just a campaign slogan to him.
Thank You
Tanya Sanders
Friends to Elect Nick Mosby, Baltimore City Council, 7th District
www.electnickmosby.com
Our HOME…Our CITY…Our FUTURE
Click to find Elect Nick Mosby on: Facebook Twitter“
THANKS AGAIN FOR FRIVOLOUSLY SUING ME!

“Ultimately, her bringing that lawsuit was the reason I jumped in the race”


Tags: , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

AFL-CIO endorsements

Posted by ameister on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

On Thursday the AFL-CIO handed out its local political endorsements.  The mainstream media did not cover this event. I wonder if the lack of coverage represents lack of manpower on the part of the mainstream media or union irrelevancy amongst most voters? I contacted the AFL-CIO on Friday and asked for a full list of who they endorsed, but they never wrote me back. I can not find a simple full list anywhere.  Hassan Giordano did cover the endorsements here.  Hassan does mention that the AFL-CIO endorsed Nick Mosby in the 7th District, no candidate in the 13th, and all the incumbents in the other districts (and for mayor). There is no incumbent in the 2nd District, but I found out on Twitter that the AFL-CIO endorsed former Stephanie Rawlings-Blake employee Brandon Scott. Scott might as well be an incumbent though, watch this video where all sorts of establishment leaders endorse him .

Establishment organizations like the AFL-CIO only endorse people they think are going to win so this is an encouraging sign for those who received endorsements.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Government spending at every level is unsustainable

Posted by ameister on Monday, December 27th, 2010

The truth is slowly filtering into the mainstream media. Watch this 60 Minutes piece from last week.

Municipalities all across the USA will have to declare bankruptcy in the next year if the federal government does not come up with a bailout plan to save them. Many citizens are tired of bailouts so I hope that no bailout (printing of money that devalues the dollar) takes place.

If municipalities want to avoid insolvency then they need to start to cut expenses drastically. The 60 Minutes piece touches on some of the things that need to be cut. Public unions have wrangled incredible pension plans for their members out of our leaders. While many private sector employees have no pensions they (as tax payers) have to fund the benefits of public sector employees. The time has come to eliminate tax payer funded pensions for public employees at every level of government.

While the truth (impending municipal bankruptcies) lurks in the background, our thieving leaders try to distract us and say that we can afford to build a billion dollar arena in Baltimore. This is like saying that an unemployed mother of six can afford to purchase a Lamborghini.

Here is a tweet from a new State Senator Bill Ferguson that shows the unsustainable situation that we are in:

“MD Secretary of Transportation says MD will need to increase tolls soon to have any chance at funding transportation effectively”

Even if we foolishly continue to increase taxes and fees this problem is not going to be solved. The state and city need to stop spending like drunken sailors. Do you want higher taxes or the end of extravagant pensions and benefits for public servants?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The Charm City Circulator embodies some necessary deflationary changes

Posted by ameister on Friday, December 10th, 2010

This month’s Urbanite has an interesting article about the Charm City Circulator in it. Here is a quote from the article that reveals one aspect of running a successful public transportation system in the current economy:

“In fact, in Baltimore, Veolia’s Circulator operators earn considerably less than city-employed drivers and lack the pension benefits that city-employed operators enjoy. Neither Veolia nor the Teamsters, which represents some of the Circulator drivers, would offer details on salaries, but Veolia’s human resources office, which was recruiting new drivers, said a Veolia driver in training earns $10 an hour. An MTA driver in training earns more than $15 an hour. First-year Veolia operators earned about $12 an hour, with 50-cents-per-hour increase per annum. The top salary for an MTA operator is currently $22.57 an hour.”

A nonunion Circulator driver admits:
“…that driving the Circulator’s relatively calm route through downtown was “the gravy train.”

The Circulator is far from perfect. It needs to expand its hours to take advantage of the barhopping crowd. If this is truly not in the budget then they should charge riders a dollar during the expanded service time period. If you took it to your destination for free I am sure you would be willing to pay a dollar to get back home instead of paying for a cab.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Remington Walmart living wage campaign

Posted by ameister on Monday, November 29th, 2010

The Remington Walmart was approved by the city council last Monday despite the mysterious, annoying, and wasteful anti-walmart robocalls.  Councilman Carl Stokes took the easy way out and abstained while all the other councilpeople voted in favor of the project.

In this video you can see the rally that took place in front of City Hall before the vote. Councilman Bill Henry talks about the living wage and jobs in the middle of the video. Henry says that if developments receive tax payer funds then they should have to provide citizens of Baltimore with jobs. I am not opposed to this since in theory if we are paying for it then we should have the opportunity to work there. I doubt that many of the people who would apply for such jobs pay taxes though.

I do have a major problem with forcing large chain stores to pay a living wage. I would think that it would be illegal to discriminate against large chain stores in such a way. The market should dictate how much people are paid.

YouTube Preview Image

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Expect legalized Las Vegas style gambling in Maryland soon

Posted by ameister on Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

The budget shortfall rumors are circulating and the racetracks are predicting their own deaths. The scene has been set, and soon the Governor will say that the only way to avoid higher taxes, slashed services, and to “save the children” is for Marylanders to vote on a constitutional amendment that will allow Las Vegas style gambling to come to Pimlico, Laurel, PG County, a new Western MD location, and other locations in Maryland. The voters of Maryland will approve this amendment and the developers, casino owners, and the teachers union will benefit. Notice how I did not say that children will benefit from gambling. In the long run children will be hurt by legalized gambling once many of them grow up to be gambling and drug addicts. The teachers union does not care about children though, they care about their own salaries. Remember that when you see the “Teachers support gambling” signs in the future.

Political leaders will say: “We already have slots so why not expand gambling?” This kind of logic was predicted by slots opponents before the original slots referendum. Las Vegas style gambling in Maryland has been the master plan of many leaders for years.

I think this is a horrible way to close a budget shortfall because in the long run the social services costs caused by gambling will be staggering and too many private entities (casino owners, etc…) will get cuts of the profit and leave the state left with much less than our leaders predict. If they can approve gambling then they should also be willing to allow expanded drinking hours (3AM and 4AM) last calls in certain areas of Baltimore and other jurisdictions. The big corporations should not be the only ones who profit from significant law changes in Maryland.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Baltimore City Salary Database is a great tool

Posted by ameister on Friday, July 2nd, 2010

The Baltimore Sun has put together a Baltimore City Salary Database. It is not perfect and you can not look up people by name, but if used correctly it can reveal a lot.  The Baltimore Sun needs to be commended in regards to this development.

I plan to spend some time playing around on this site. I have been busy the last few days, but I did find some time to do some Reservoir Hill related research. I will not name names, but through the database I was able to find out that the officer who is assigned to be the community relations officer (desk job) for my neighborhood and others nearby was paid $80,432 in 2009 and has been a member of the police department since 01-26-1973 (three years before my birth).

Last month the police union vigorously protested against a cutback in their benefits. This desk job “community relations officer” makes $80,432 a year for whatever he does in Baltimore City. The police union would rather see out property taxes raised instead of letting go of behind the desk cops who have (at best) nebulous jobs like this. I take no pity on them. They should be ashamed.

This is not the only do-little/nothing $80k a year job in Baltimore’s bureaucracy. Baltimore has a 15,000-employee municipal government!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Fire all the entitled Baltimore police

Posted by ameister on Saturday, June 5th, 2010

I am tired of the police union trying to squeeze this this city for even more money! Check out an older article of mine where I list police salaries from 2006! Compared to the average Baltimore citizen they are paid like kings! Yes kings! These so called “public servants” are mostly comprised of lazy fat men sitting behind desks or sitting in their cars trying to do the least possible work until they can collect their big retirement checks. Now they cry and SUE because our bankrupt city can no longer afford to pay them the ridiculous pensions they were promised by our corrupt politicians who they own!

There are plenty of good cops out there but there are also plenty of ones who take bribes from drug dealers! These “public servants” hide behind the “Bravery/putting our lives on the line” shield, well it’s YOUR FREAKING JOB!!! YOU DID NOT HAVE TO BE A COP IN A CRIME FILLED CITY! DO YOUR JOB RIGHT! If you don’t want to do your job then you should be fired and you should receive no salary and no pension. Try getting a job in the real world today at that point you spoiled public employee leach!

The first politician who rightfully calls these bums out and tells the city to fire them all will receive an immediate boost to their political career. Citizens of Baltimore are tired of dealing with these mostly incompetent and lazy blood suckers. If the mayor announced that every single police employee was fired today then the governor would be forced to call in the national guard to maintain order. A call for new police hires could be made immediately. There would be a cap on salary, no overtime, and no more BS politics. PLENTY of people would apply. People need jobs and they don’t give a darn about what their pension will be in a few years. Plenty of the old cops are qualified for nothing else in life so they would come groveling back for their old jobs at greatly reduced salaries.

These ideas may sound radical, but live a few years in a neighborhood like Reservoir Hill and see how the police “operate” and then decide what is really “radical”.  The current system is rotten to the core at so many levels that it needs to be nuked and rebuilt from the ground up again. Why in the world do we need $70K a year community relations officers who can barely speak a coherent sentence and appear to be suffering from brain damage?  A total revamp of the system does not  only  apply to the police department. Every department in local bureaucracy needs to be reevaluated and rid of the public union parasite. No person should be beyond firing. If there is no fear of losing ones job then there is no incentive to do ones job at even minimum output levels.

ALL OF YOU ARE REPLACEABLE! Public unions are parasites.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Scare tactic police union website

Posted by ameister on Monday, May 24th, 2010

I found this scare tactic website from the police and fire unions on Twitter.

Here is a quote from the site:

“Their pension equals our safety.”

Don’t let the unions fool you, if they cut the lucrative pensions and benefits of the police and firefighters then 911 will STILL WORK. Their pensions DO NOT EQUAL our safety!

The site has the following whois registration:

Admin Name:Edward Wagner
Admin Organization:Edward Wagner
Admin Street1:3920 Buena Vista Ave
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Baltimore
Admin State/Province:MD
Admin Postal Code:21211
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.4102439141

The Fraternal Order of Police Baltimore City Lodge is located at 3920 Buena Vista Ave.

The Baltimore FOP twitter feed has been sending out a lot of pro-union propaganda lately:

http://twitter.com/FOP3/status/14590724335

“Tell City Hall not to cut Police and Fire pensions. They work to protect our children. Protect their pension. Go to www.contactcityhall.org“

HA! Classic political tactic of bringing up “the children”. So children are in danger today because in 20 years you will be sitting in York Pennsylvania with a smaller pension check then you were expecting?

http://twitter.com/FOP3/status/14576008448

http://twitter.com/FOP3/status/14554572670

Tags: ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »