In today's NY Times (page A23) there was an Op Ed by NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which was titled "Limit Pay, not Unions."
Mr. Bloomberg was first an extraordinarily successful businessman, and he followed that with a career as what is sometimes called "the second toughest job in America." No politician, from the left or the right or the center, makes everybody happy; but these days we are witnessing a lack of any balance -- if not a lack of any integrity -- by some American governors and legislators, so it is refreshing to see someone who is not shy about identifying the real sources of many of our most severe problems, as well as clearly stating important roles of representation.
One problem which we face in New York is a new tendency for not only Democrats (like Governor Andrew Cuomo), but also Republicans (like many State Senators and State Assemblymen), to try to make it seem as if all of our problems are local problems, and not State-imposed problems.
Mayor Bloomberg lays some zingers on the feckless and deceptive Albany powers when he notes (and think Elwood, or the Town of Huntington, or Suffolk County when Bloomberg says "city") these, as well as other insights:
(1) "...in New York, state government — not the city — has the authority to set pension benefits for city workers, but city taxpayers get stuck with the bill. The mayor cannot directly discuss pension benefits as part of contract negotiations with unions, even though pension benefits could be as much as 80 percent of an employee’s overall compensation. In addition, members of the State Legislature pass pension “sweeteners” for municipal unions that help attract support for their re-election campaigns."
(2) "Pensions are not the only area where we would like to expand our collective bargaining authority in order to modernize government. New York is one of only a dozen or so states with a law requiring layoffs of teachers based strictly on seniority — a policy that’s known as “last in, first out.” In New York City, we are preparing to lay off workers across city agencies, including 4,500 teachers. And the only thing worse than laying off teachers would be laying off the wrong teachers — some of our very best."
The Mayor's Op Ed also takes on those whose clear goal is to destroy unions in the guise of making the personnel costs of services more affordable, and he begins with an important preamble:
"Across the country, taxpayers are providing pensions, benefits and job security protections for public workers that almost no one in the private sector enjoys. Taxpayers simply cannot afford to continue paying these costs, which are growing at rates far outpacing inflation. Yes, public sector workers need a secure retirement. And yes, taxpayers need top-quality police officers, teachers and firefighters. It’s the job of government to balance those competing needs. But for a variety of reasons, the scale has been increasingly tipping away from taxpayers.
Mr. Bloomberg was first an extraordinarily successful businessman, and he followed that with a career as what is sometimes called "the second toughest job in America." No politician, from the left or the right or the center, makes everybody happy; but these days we are witnessing a lack of any balance -- if not a lack of any integrity -- by some American governors and legislators, so it is refreshing to see someone who is not shy about identifying the real sources of many of our most severe problems, as well as clearly stating important roles of representation.
One problem which we face in New York is a new tendency for not only Democrats (like Governor Andrew Cuomo), but also Republicans (like many State Senators and State Assemblymen), to try to make it seem as if all of our problems are local problems, and not State-imposed problems.
Mayor Bloomberg lays some zingers on the feckless and deceptive Albany powers when he notes (and think Elwood, or the Town of Huntington, or Suffolk County when Bloomberg says "city") these, as well as other insights:
(1) "...in New York, state government — not the city — has the authority to set pension benefits for city workers, but city taxpayers get stuck with the bill. The mayor cannot directly discuss pension benefits as part of contract negotiations with unions, even though pension benefits could be as much as 80 percent of an employee’s overall compensation. In addition, members of the State Legislature pass pension “sweeteners” for municipal unions that help attract support for their re-election campaigns."
(2) "Pensions are not the only area where we would like to expand our collective bargaining authority in order to modernize government. New York is one of only a dozen or so states with a law requiring layoffs of teachers based strictly on seniority — a policy that’s known as “last in, first out.” In New York City, we are preparing to lay off workers across city agencies, including 4,500 teachers. And the only thing worse than laying off teachers would be laying off the wrong teachers — some of our very best."
The Mayor's Op Ed also takes on those whose clear goal is to destroy unions in the guise of making the personnel costs of services more affordable, and he begins with an important preamble:
"Across the country, taxpayers are providing pensions, benefits and job security protections for public workers that almost no one in the private sector enjoys. Taxpayers simply cannot afford to continue paying these costs, which are growing at rates far outpacing inflation. Yes, public sector workers need a secure retirement. And yes, taxpayers need top-quality police officers, teachers and firefighters. It’s the job of government to balance those competing needs. But for a variety of reasons, the scale has been increasingly tipping away from taxpayers.
Correcting this imbalance is not easy, but in a growing number of states, budget deficits are being used to justify efforts to scale back not only labor costs, but labor rights. The impulse is understandable; public sector unions all too often stand in the way of reform. But unions also play a vital role in protecting against abuses in the workplace, and in my experience they are integral to training, deploying and managing a professional work force."
Mayor Bloomberg's entire piece is very much worth reading and considering, and anyone (unlike Newsday's website) may access it at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/opinion/28mayor.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bloomberg%20op%20ed&st=cse
