Fair Compensation
The Postal Service Drops Saturday Delivery
More bad news for the postal service came when it announced that it would be ending Saturday Delivery. The debate rages on about who is to blame for the money issues that face the institution. Unions are angry and still contend that Congress is to blame for their problems and not the drop in volume of mail being sent in our current times.
What the 2012 Election means for Public Unions
The 2012 election is now in the rearview. While the election proved to be a successful one for many Democratic causes, there were still many signs for optimism for those looking for reform of the public sector.
Perhaps the highest profile issue concerning the public sector was a ballot proposal in Michigan that would have enshrined collective bargaining rights for government employees into the state constitution. Many were very nervous that such a strictly binding proposal would hinder contracts in the state for years to come. The proposal failed, and the vote wasn’t all that close, with only 42% of voters supporting the proposal.
Newark Teachers Claim to be ‘Indentured Servants’ Despite $57K Average Salary
Is it ever enough? That’s what citizens should be asking in Newark, where the teachers are claiming they are subject to “indentured servitude” for being forced to consider an “inhumane” collective bargaining agreement that many consider very union friendly.
The average Newark teacher’s pay is $57,926, according to teachersalaryinfo.com. That constitutes “indentured servitude”?
Richmond Public Schools Grope for Answers to Massive Hotel costs
As a part of EAGnews’ continuing school spending series, we revealed that the Richmond, Virginia school district spent a whopping $448,997 on hotels and $135,761 on a California-based travel agency in 2010-11.
The title of the series is “Where Your School Dollars Go…” and the educrats running the show in Richmond can’t seem to come up with a straight answer for that question. Maybe that’s why government schools never seem to have enough money.
New Contract Earns Chicago Schools 2nd Credit Downgrade – In One Quarter!
Sound financial management clearly wasn’t a concern to any party involved in the recent contract negotiations in Chicago Public Schools.
They were warned that new labor expenses might result in a credit downgrade for the financially-strapped school district, and they chose to ignore it. Now it has comes to pass. The credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded the school district for the second time in one quarter. Moody’s wrote:
Chicago Teachers Union: 2 + 2 = 22
The teachers’ strike that appears to have been settled, badly, last week in Chicago is a window onto the public-be-damned mentality so common in government unionism.
The numbers make it clear that teachers in the financially strapped district should get no raises for at least a few years. They also make clear that costs for pensions (legally difficult or impossible to cut for current teachers without their approval) should be placed on a downward path by reducing them for new hires or requiring more employee contributions.
Chicago School Leaders Don’t Know How They’re Going to Pay for the New Contract!
The successful business leaders that sit on the Chicago Board of Education must have checked their brains at the door when they went into the negotiating room with the teachers union. How else could they possibly negotiate a contract that the school district can’t possibly afford?
Truth be told, if board member Penny Pritzker’s Hyatt Hotels operated that way, they’d be out of business. But, alas, this is government. They strike deals with unions and figure out how taxpayers will fund it later.
California District Moves Closer to Insolvency, Earns BBB-Minus Rating
The Inglewood, California school district has slipped closer to financial ruin now that S&P has downgraded its credit rating to BBB-minus.
The credit agency stated that the district could improve its status if it gets spending under control and accepts a $55 million bailout from the state. It also said the rating could worsen if the school board doesn’t act quickly.
Obama’s Base Banks with Bain
This article originally appeared on The National Review on September 3, 2012
As Democrats convene in Charlotte this week, they likely will double down on their claim that Bain Capital is really the Bain Crime Family. They will accuse Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Bain’s other “greedy” co-founders of stealing their profits, evading taxes, and lighting cigars with $100 bills on their yachts. But Democrats will ignore this inconvenient truth: Bain’s private-equity investments have enriched dozens of organizations and millions of individuals in the Democratic base — including some who scream most loudly for President Obama’s reelection.
‘Sequestration’ Education Cuts Would Equal .00045% of School Spending
The politicians are once again in a panic over looming automatic budget cuts – known as sequestration – despite the fact the plan was set in motion many months ago.
Naturally, those in the educational establishment are running around as though their hair is on fire.
Get The Facts
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"A Primer on Government Pay" Public Sector Inc
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"Two Americas: Public Sector Gains in Recession" Manhattan Institute
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"A $176 Billion Gap for Public Pensions" New York Times
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"Collective Bargaining Doesn't Work in the Public Sector" Real Clear Markets
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"The Little State with a Big Mess" New York Times
ENGAGING WITH OTHERS
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October 26, 2012
Proposal 2: Collective bargaining
Phil, on Detroit News -
October 25, 2012
Union bigs cashing in
Phil, on Newsvine -
October 23, 2012
Judge declines to stay ruling striking down parts of collective bargaining law
Phil, on Madison -
September 17, 2012
Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Struck Down By County Judge
Bill, on Huffington Post -
September 01, 2012
RNC Convention Workers Being Paid Below Minimum Wage
Bill, on Huffington Post
