Just Because It’s the Rational Solution Doesn’t Mean I’m Going to Stop Talking About It
AFSCME Council 94’s President, as reported by Katherine Gregg in the Projo, has named his union’s immediate goal in the wake of Judge Patricia’s Hurst’s decision allowing the Governor’s imposition of contract terms to go forward, as least as far as executive branch employees are concerned…
Our number-one goal is to stop the administration from taking money out of the paychecks of the people we represent without negotiations,” Council 94 president J. Michael Downey said.Just keep in mind, if healthcare were decoupled from employment, the administration wouldn’t be able to take money out of anyone’s paycheck without “negotiation” to pay for insurance or most anything else, just like they can’t take money out to make house payments or rent payments or car payments on your behalf.
Andrew,
You are 110% CORRECT!
Give everyone a $12,000 raise tomorrow and from that day forward, the State is out of the Healthcare business.
The employees can take the $12,000 and do as they see fit with it.
If they want to buy healthcare with it, great (they’ll see how expensive it is). If they want to spend it on a few wide screen TVs, so be it. But never again will the State provide them with or negotiate over healthcare.
Once the dependent-minded Union hacks get over the horror of having to make choices on their own (i.e. do I buy healthcare with my $12k or do I blow it on wide-screen TVs), they will be a happier lot for becoming less dependent and more self-reliant.
Also, you’ve got to love Council 94 president J. Michael Downey’s comment: “Our number-one goal is to stop the administration from taking money out of the paychecks of the people we represent without negotiations.”
Hey Mr. Downey, I don’t recall anybody negotiating or asking me if it was OK to continually take more and more money out of MY pocket to fund the ever increasing cost of YOUR member’s healthcare.
So J. Michael, consider Gov. Carceiri’s number one goal to be “the stoppig of Council 94 from taking money out of the Taxpayer’s pockets to fund the rising costs of Union member’s healthcare without negotiating with the Taxpayers.”
Lastly, Andrew, I know how you feel when you say “Just Because It’s the Rational Solution Doesn’t Mean I’m Going to Stop Talking About It”.
It’s OK. Your point is valid and you SHOULD keep talking about it over and over and over again …even if doing so breaks the Andrew’s Rules of Order.
“I don’t recall anybody negotiating or asking me if it was OK to continually take more and more money out of MY pocket to fund the ever increasing cost of YOUR member’s healthcare.”
No question that the contract which Council 94 voted down contained compensation terms superior to those found in the private sector, including specifically premium co-shares.
Four years ago, a friend said to me: in this state, 600,000 people are paying for the excellent wages and bennies of 100,000 people. And when enough of the 600,000 figure it out, that will end.
The best thing Council 94 could have done for themselves was quietly vote in favor of the contract that several other unions signed. Instead, by rejecting the terms, they drew weeks of attention to the advantageous nature of those terms, thereby educating more of the 600,000 as to what their tax dollars are funding and, hopefully, the “party” responsible for arranging and bestowing those terms.