We wanted to address some facts in advance of any legislation targeting Arizona workers in state government and Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to remove covered status of state employees.
State employees were covered for a reason, to prevent undue political influence and corruption in state government. State employees are precluded from becoming elected precinct committee persons, holding office within the political party of their choice, or running for most political offices while a covered state employee. This was done to remove politics from employees tasked with serving the public. Covered status positions require background checks, interviews and competitive screening before hire.
Brewer's proposal would kick the door wide open for Fiesta Bowl-type corruption and cronyism in state government. Open interviews and competitive screenings to determine the best candidate for the job would be eliminated.
The proposal would make ripe political payback and cronyism by placing unqualified employees into these positions. Under Brewer's plan, donors or family members could be hired with no regard to the best interest of the public. Employees could be subjected to political pressure to do certain things or face immediate termination.
Unlike private business, having covered employees who are shielded from undue political pressure, go through a competitive hiring process with background checks better serves the public than the governor's proposal. Covered employees must perform to a certain standard, or face discipline up to and including termination. For early supporters of the governor's plan to say otherwise is disingenuous and not factual. The merit system provides a series of checks and balances to ensure due process and minimize abusive or discriminatory practices.
The governor's proposal to remove these checks and balances, eliminate open competitive hiring processes and standards of conduct for covered employees would only open the door for undue political pressure, corruption and Fiesta Bowl-type political cronyism in state government. The governor's number one priority to the state of Arizona should be creating jobs, supporting education and the economy.
Sheri Van Horsen
PRESIDENT, AFSCME LOCAL 3111
PHOENIX
Rich posted at 7:26 am on Fri, Dec 9, 2011.
Sheri,
Please, you're talking about people who are massively overpaid, with Cadillac benefits packages, the whole current system is an abuse of the public. How about a real merit system where the public can bid on the job and benefits, assuring the public better service at a lower cost? It isn't like these are all necessary jobs, nobody would miss most of then if they were eliminated entirely.
Dale Whiting posted at 8:12 am on Fri, Dec 9, 2011.
Never the less, Rich, Sheri has a point. In 1980 I assisted a professor of Labor Relations examine trends in the Union Movement. The trends were 1) membership in the decline, mostly in the manfacturing sector, but 2) holding strong and on the increase in the government sector.
This man did NLRB negotiations on the side. In his opinion, management had gotten lazy and was ceeding issues on compenstation and benefits left and right. The few arbitrations he did also backed this up. It was as if management wanted labor to win so that management could close down in heavily unionized areas like St. Louis where he was, and move south. Then after the Cold War ended, management moved wholesale to China, India and Mexico, to name a few.
So, Sheri, where government jobs cannot be exported, hang in there. Our political system is alread too corrupt.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 9:25 am on Fri, Dec 9, 2011.
De-louse...oops....I meant ....de-unionize the Public Sector. Every Public Sector workers should be an individual contract worker. If the worker is no-good then you fire them....put the "fear of Gawd" in each and every tax-payer supported Public Sector worker, teachers too. The pay check is in their individual names, their work should be judged individually.....just like it is out in the ....."real world".
No more incompetent, lazy, surly, tax-payer paid Public Sector worker hiding behind their Unions.
Why should there be one set of rules for Public Sector workers and another set of rules for the citizens who pay their salaries.
NO MORE $200,000.00 A YEAR RETIREMENT CHECKS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS.
bobunf posted at 11:27 pm on Fri, Dec 9, 2011.
Leon and Rich, what planet do you live on? You're so ideologically blinded that you can't see what's in front of your face.
"massively overpaid" "Cadillac benefits packages"
That's just nonsense. A couple of examples: For the "Cadillac" health plan that the state legislators get, employees with a spouse, children or both pay over $600 a month. Dental and vision, if elected, is about a $150 a month more.
The much maligned pension is funded by an 11.4% deduction from state employees' paychecks every payday. That's in addition to social security and Medicare. Nearly 20% of the paycheck gone before health insurance or state and federal income taxes. These deductions from people, some of whose pay is so low that they qualify for federal food stamp assistance, which costs the state zero.
Only people like Hendershot and Arpaio get $200K retirement checks, but that's a different problem.
"de-unionize the Public Sector" This is a right-to-work state. Didn't you notice? Public unions don't have collective bargaining rights in Arizona. Didn't you notice?
In Wisconsin, the denial of those rights resulted in months of large, peaceful demonstrations, almost defeated a sitting State Supreme Court Judge, recalled two state Senators, and may well result in the recall of the Governor.
In Arizona, with the lack of those rights, we see repulsive comments like, "De-louse...oops....I meant ....de-unionize the Public Sector." What hateful rhetoric. You should be ashamed.
Rich posted at 8:46 am on Sat, Dec 10, 2011.
My eyes are wide open. Furthermore I can read. Statistically, according to the government itself in contrast with private industry, government employees are "massively overpaid" and have much greater and cheaper benefit packages. Furthermore, most of what these people do is just a welfare plan, busy work that really doesn't need doing and can only charitably be called work. Most are simply unnecessary.
bobunf posted at 1:11 pm on Sat, Dec 10, 2011.
Rich, could you cite a reputable source for your "massively overpaid" assertion? Also for your previously mentioned "Cadillac benefits packages?" I'll charitably assume "much greater and cheaper benefit packages" was a temporary brain malfunction.
Or is all this just hot air? Unconnected with anything in the real world?
Rich posted at 8:29 pm on Sat, Dec 10, 2011.
bobunf,
Actually half my relatives. Waste of breathing space people who push around papers and hurt people, day after day, over half of which I loan money to. They call crying because they produce nothing, create nothing, and essentially do nothing but hurt people. They have 'degrees' in things like 'advanced toenail painting' run things like what you can inherit in California, where you can land a plane in Ohio, and what you can experiment with in Pennsylvania. I thought there were less of them in Arizona, when I helped my Great Aunt and Uncle in Globe about sixty years ago, that was true. It isn't anymore, rather obviously.
In short, I make my way. I don't really need a government, but I'm willing to pay them to guard the shore, deliver the mail and stay out of my life. My relatives exploit those who can't produce that much. But in the final analysis, it's just parasites feeding on parasites. If I'm paying, I'd rather pay brothers and cousins than strangers. They've got a million 'necessities" for you. Hey, give them an executive's salary and great benefits along with a Cadillac retirement, maybe they'll pay me back. Though I doubt it.
bobunf posted at 12:23 am on Sun, Dec 11, 2011.
I see. It is just hot air.
You've got nothing. As Lear put it: "Nothing. Nothing will come of nothing."