California public union OKs strike authorization (Screw em!)

[Soul Crusher]

California public union OKs strike authorization

Sat Aug 1, 2009 7:55pm EDT  Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text

• [/b]
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's largest state employees' union voted on Saturday to approve a strike authorization measure to protest furloughs of state workers and pressure state officials to ratify its labor contract.
  
  A spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 1000 said a strike was not imminent but that the vote authorized union officers to initiate certain job actions, including a strike if necessary.
  
  The SEIU represents about 95,000 state employees, including clerical workers and teachers.
  
  The group's labor contract with the state expired last year, SEIU spokesman Jim Zamora said. The union negotiated a new deal with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration in February, but the contract has not been ratified by the state Legislature.
  
  Earlier this week, the Republican governor signed a bill that closed a more than $24 billion budget gap. Under the legislation, furloughs will continue for state workers for three days a month, cutting their pay by 15 percent.
  
  "We feel that he (Schwarzenegger) really undermined any kind of a contract deal by pushing these furloughs on folks," Zamora said.
  
  The SEIU said the strike authorization was approved by 74 percent of its membership.
  
  (Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Peter Cooney)
  
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  Government workers really suck.  They should never have been allowed to be unionize. 
  
  

[Hereford]

Given the situation here these days, this really goes to show you what the unions are all about.

Fire them all and hire some of the almost 15% of people who actually want to work.

THe unions are mad because origionally they were going to get paid for those furlough days, then Arnold told them no.

[Soul Crusher]

Given the situation here these days, this really goes to show you what the unions are all about.

Fire them all and hire some of the almost 15% of people who actually want to work.

THe unions are mad because origionally they were going to get paid for those furlough days, then Arnold told them no.

Unions are a plague in general, but when in the govt, even worse. 

There is no sane reason why unions exist in the public sector.  The only one they unionize against is the taxpayer! 

1.  Cut the wages by 1/3
2.  No defined benefit plans
3.  No double dipping with pensions.
4.  Four day work week.


The govt needs to be cut by about 50% to be sustainable.       

[24KT]

Sounds like a bit of déjavu. Reminds me of Bob Rae's measures taken in Ontario in the early 90's.

Back then we called them Rae Days, ...and boy oh boy were government workers pissed off.

They voted in Mike Harris, ...and we've been crying ever since, trying to undo the damage the Harris Conservatives did.

[Soul Crusher]

Sounds like a bit of déjavu. Reminds me of Bob Rae's measures taken in Ontario in the early 90's.

Back then we called them Rae Days, ...and boy oh boy were government workers pissed off.

They voted in Mike Harris, ...and we've been crying ever since, trying to undo the damage the Harris Conservatives did.

Govt workers by and large (Other than fire, military, emt, and police) are leeches and contribute nothing and cost a ton to carry.