Payment for Services Rendered.

[I B Hankering]

Perhaps Republican governors need to take lessons from Democrats like Jerry Brown on how to shore up budget shortfalls:



Governor Jerry Brown took $2 million in funding from the 30,000-member prison guard’s union, and yet he campaigned to close a $25 billion budget shortfall. Governor Brown reciprocates:

Under the new contract prison guards enjoy the following perks:

•Eight weeks of vacation per year for new employees, with additional time upon gaining seniority. (I never had a job that offered two months plus vacation time as a new hire - this will save the state some money. Hmmm?)

•Heretofore, guards were allowed to save a percentage of their vacation for payout upon retirement. Now they are able to cash out an unlimited amount of accrued vacation time upon retirement, at their final pay scale. (most retirement programs offer "high three")

•One hour of vacation time per month that will be donated to union reps so they can conduct union business during work hours. The number of hours available for use would be unlimited. (Give some money to the union now, and they'll "donate" some back for future campaign war chest funds).

•Ten guards at each prison will be allowed to attend their annual union convention at state expense. (Ditto - see above)

•Any guard who has a yearly doctor checkup will receive an additional $130 “fitness incentive” per month. The previous contract with the guards required them to meet physical fitness standards to qualify for the $130 incentive. (Another incentive program becomes an obligatory perk under the Dems)

•Reduce or eliminate furlough days, which would cost taxpayers an additional $130 million within the next two years. (Surely this will help close those budget gaps)

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/...prison-guards/

[charlestudor2005]

.

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

Perhaps Republican governors need to take lessons from Democrats like Jerry Brown on how to shore up budget shortfalls:



Governor Jerry Brown took $2 million in funding from the 30,000-member prison guard’s union, and yet he campaigned to close a $25 billion budget shortfall. Governor Brown reciprocates:

Under the new contract prison guards enjoy the following perks:

•Eight weeks of vacation per year for new employees, with additional time upon gaining seniority. (I never had a job that offered two months plus vacation time as a new hire - this will save the state some money. Hmmm?) For new employees!!! Where do I sign up!

•Heretofore, guards were allowed to save a percentage of their vacation for payout upon retirement. Now they are able to cash out an unlimited amount of accrued vacation time upon retirement, at their final pay scale. (most retirement programs offer "high three") Not a bargain.

•One hour of vacation time per month that will be donated to union reps so they can conduct union business during work hours. The number of hours available for use would be unlimited. (Give some money to the union now, and they'll "donate" some back for future campaign war chest funds). Well, first of all, this looks like "time" rather than "money." However, it doesn't quite say what the system is now. Does the rep work on his own time, or is he currently paid by the union? If so, the state taking this position is a mistake. It raises lots of issues including conflict of interests.

•Ten guards at each prison will be allowed to attend their annual union convention at state expense. (Ditto - see above) Same.

•Any guard who has a yearly doctor checkup will receive an additional $130 “fitness incentive” per month. The previous contract with the guards required them to meet physical fitness standards to qualify for the $130 incentive. (Another incentive program becomes an obligatory perk under the Dems)

•Reduce or eliminate furlough days, which would cost taxpayers an additional $130 million within the next two years. (Surely this will help close those budget gaps)

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/...prison-guards/

[pjorourke]

The only way to fix that mess is privatizing the prisons.

[discreetgent]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

The only way to fix that mess is privatizing the prisons.

The PJ solution to all ills in the world. I'm sure if we privatized defense and diplomacy we would achieve world peace within 6 months. If we privatized the rest of government we would have surplus budgets for the foreseeable future.

[charlestudor2005]

It's been done with mixed results. Biggest legal problem is the delegation of police powers. Other problems: it may cost more; rampant corruption; abuse of prisoners; and this isn't the complete list.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

rampant corruption

You mean worse than they already have? This is like exhibit A for the problems with public employee unions.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

The only way to fix that mess is privatizing the prisons.

No, no and hell no.

Then you have private prison kicking back to politicans for tougher laws so they will have more business.

We need to change our stupid drug laws. That is where the majority of money is wasted.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by discreetgent

The PJ solution to all ills in the world. I'm sure if we privatized defense and diplomacy we would achieve world peace within 6 months. If we privatized the rest of government we would have surplus budgets for the foreseeable future.

Well, its generally not a bad answer. It gets rid of the self dealing unions, and the lack of customer service or sense that you might lose the business/job if you don't perform.

The military and the courts are an exception. That is a government function. And the military, culturally, has resisted some of the worse of government excess (although they have some of their own unique issues.)

[John Bull]

Originally Posted by WTF

No, no and hell no.

Then you have private prison kicking back to politicans for tougher laws so they will have more business. That could happen but it isn't a given and it's not a given that if it did happen, it couldn't be fixed. JB

We need to change our stupid drug laws. That is where the majority of money is wasted. AMEN Brother WTF

More corruption built into the drug laws and their "enforcement" in a day than anything else I can think of in a year.

[charlestudor2005]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

Well, its generally not a bad answer. It gets rid of the self dealing unions, and the lack of customer service or sense that you might lose the business/job if you don't perform.

The military and the courts are an exception. That is a government function. And the military, culturally, has resisted some of the worse of government excess (although they have some of their own unique issues.)

The only thing you can blame for those "self dealing" unions is big business. Had they not historically paid their employees shit and had they not historically treated them as slaves, you wouldn't be faced with this situation of your own making.

Anyone who is paid a decent wage, given decent benefits, and treated with respect will not revolt.

IDT you're going to be successful in convincing anyone that going back to that previous system of serfdom is beneficial.

[pjorourke]

The key word there is "historical". And what big business is oppressing the public employees that they need a union? Public employees do not have the same case for unionization that private employees do. In the latter case, there is a valid argument over the split of profits from their labor -- that argument makes no sense in a public employment setting.

[TexanAtPlay]

Californians KNOW exactly what they voted for in 2010. And they're getting it too, unlike in 2008, people were only voting for the word "change" and were "anti-Bush". They were betting big on a bailout! (Being able to eat their cake and take slices from Texas, Florida and Ohio, as well!) Typical of California politicians, a day late and a dollar short....that train left the station!

[DFW5Traveler]

As many labor laws are on the books, there are plenty of things that protect the working non-union citizens of the country. The problem is that no one knows how to or what laws applies to them. Take the Fair Labor Standards Act that even has a salary test for salaried/hourly IT professionals. Some goverment labor organizations can issue citations/fines for violating any number of labor laws and can even protect you from retaliation. You don't need a union to protect your rights. If anyone feels they have had their rights violated, they can go to any of the labor orgs to file complaints. I've personally used the FLSA and the NLRB to protect my rights.

Administrative Review Board (ARB)
Benefits Review Board (BRB)
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (CFBNP)
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOMBD)
Employment & Training Administration (ETA)
Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA)
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA)
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Office of Job Corps (OJC)
Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
Office of Public Engagement (OPE)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration & Management (OASAM)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Office of the Secretary (OSEC)
Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOMBD)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Veterans' Employment & Training Service (VETS)
Wage & Hour Division (WHD)
Women's Bureau (WB)

[I B Hankering]

To me it is a failure of leadership: Jerry Brown’s. A California prison guard could theoretically work a little less than fifteen years and retire with a twenty-year pension. Never-the-less, I am against privatization. If privatization truly worked, we’d already have it. The excesses at Angola, LA during the 19th century serve as a notorious example of how bad privatization can be. Plus, this recent incident in Pennsylvania where the judges were taking pay-offs to send kids into a privatized detention center is yet another example of how privatization has not worked. The state put people in those institutions, and the state is responsible for their care. Farming it out to private enterprise doesn’t release the state from it’s obligation to insure proper care, nor does it entirely shield the state from civil suits that might arise because of deaths and injuries attributable to improper management. Every time it’s been tried, the state has to step in and pick up the pieces and start over again; usually, after numerous lives have been lost and at great expense to the state.

[John Bull]

Well Geez, Gov Moonbeam never got a vote he didn't buy with public funds one way or another. Even his first campaigns were financed by his Daddy Gov SunFart.