Tax payers sent a message to public employee unions

[pilotyip]

Well, maybe they'll get around to those overpaid, union pilots next. Oh yea, reagan already did that.

No it was Carter who de-reged the Aviation Business by doing a away with the CAB. There creating 10,000's of pilot jobs.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

This doesn't bother you?

Originally Posted by CiFIknow View Post
I apologize, but I was a public employee at one point. I spent 12 years working in County government before I started flying. For my 12 years of service I will collect $28,000 per year after I turn 50, until the day I die. That is in today's dollars, subject to cost of living adjustments after I begin collecting.

What bothers me is that this is posted as "fact" with no attrribution or sources cited.

If this mysterious author is being 100% truthful in his account of the pension benefits conferred by his county, those benefits would be a matter of public record. He would have nothing to fear by naming the state and county for which he worked or the type of work he did, especially if he were posting (as he has done here) anonymously.

I do believe that public pensions for the most part are too generous and do not reflect conditions in the "real world." However, I find it hard to believe that any state or county official would sign-off on a pension plan as generous as the one described.

 

[pilotyip]

How about this?

What bothers me is that this is posted as "fact" with no attrribution or sources cited.

If this mysterious author is being 100% truthful in his account of the pension benefits conferred by his county, those benefits would be a matter of public record. He would have nothing to fear by naming the state and county for which he worked or the type of work he did, especially if he were posting (as he has done here) anonymously.

I do believe that public pensions for the most part are too generous and do not reflect conditions in the "real world." However, I find it hard to believe that any state or county official would sign-off on a pension plan as generous as the one described.

We have them here in the Detroit area, work 20 years, get 50% of you last three years pay, Cola, full benefits, They you get hired into another job in the City while collecting a Pension at age 43, and get build up another pension after 10 years more service

How about this in Central Falls, RI?

Wsj Editorial A City Upended by Unions 8-*5-11

Central Falls's receiver raised taxes, which drove people out of town.

Monday the small Rhode Island town of Central Falls declared bankruptcy because its sky-high labor costs had impaired its ability to pay its bills. The ratings agencies say the development is no surprise, but we wonder whether they'll be saying the same thing when a bigger city falls off a cliff.

Central Falls's financial problems are not much different from many states and municipalities. Inflexible and costly collective bargaining agreements have driven up its labor costs and crowded out services. The city is running $5 million annual structural deficits on a $16 million budget. Its pension and retiree health-care bills add up to $80 million. Public safety officers contribute a mere 7% of their salaries to pensions and can retire after 20 years with pensions equal to 50% of their final year's salary. Such a system in which employees spend more time in retirement than working is unsustainable. Greece, Q.E.D.

In the last year the state has appointed two receivers to bring the city back from the dead, but neither has been able to repeat the miracle of Lazarus. The city's first receiver Mark Pfeiffer raised property and car taxes by more than 20%, but higher taxes merely drove residents out of town.

In February Governor Lincoln Chafee replaced Mr. Pfeiffer with retired state supreme court judge Robert Flanders. He, too, asked the unions for concessions but came up empty-handed. Mr. Flanders then shut down the city library and community center. In a last ditch effort to save the city from bankruptcy, Mr. Flanders asked retirees to accept scaled-back pensions and to contribute more to their health benefits. The retirees overwhelmingly voted no.

The bright side of Central Falls's saga is that it's causing Rhode Island lawmakers to double down on pension reform. As Governor Chafee said earlier this week, "This is not just a Central Falls issue, this is a state issue." Dozens of towns in Rhode Island, including Providence, have similar pension problems. The state's pension system, which has a $7 billion unfunded liability, is one of the worst funded in the nation.

Mr. Chafee, an independent, and the Democratic state legislature have committed to tackling pensions in the fall. State treasurer Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, recently issued a report that suggests modifying retirees' cost-of-living adjustments, raising the retirement age and creating new hybrid pensions that include a 401(k)-style plan and a modest defined benefit. These all sound like good ideas, but the test of Democrats' sincerity will be when the unions turn out en masse at the capitol to denounce them for betraying their party and trashing collective bargaining.

 

[maru657]

I wouldn't sweat this so much if I didn't see so many right wing politicians at the public trough. So many of them wearing big American flag pins after they worked so diligently to dodge the draft. In regard to de-regulation, I think it was badly done and has resulted in a far less safe environment in aviation. However, while Carter may have signed the bill under duress it was a republican bill and Carter was able to attach labor protections. It was St Ronnie that truly busted labor starting with PATCO. After of course promising to support PATCO during his run for office. But then all of the fiscal problems the US currently suffers from can be placed on the shoulders of bush Jr and co-herts. As an old friend once said regarding the initial efforts of ALPA, "We worked for years to raise the working conditions of the average US pilot above that of the itinerant farm worker and then they failed the IQ test and started thinking they were republicans".

 

[pilotyip]

I think it was badly done and has resulted in a far less safe environment in aviation.

Please we have just come through the safest 5 years in aviation history

 

[Regul8r]

No it was Carter who de-reged the Aviation Business by doing a away with the CAB. There creating 10,000's of pilot jobs.

Yes...low paying pilot jobs, many of which went away causing much instability in the piloting profession. I realize nobody on here consideres your opinion when it comes to career advice. But for the sake of the children, please don't pollute their minds with tall-tales romanticizing aviation as a career.

 

[pilotyip]

Yes...low paying pilot jobs, many of which went away causing much instability in the piloting profession. I realize nobody on here consideres your opinion when it comes to career advice. But for the sake of the children, please don't pollute their minds with tall-tales romanticizing aviation as a career.

There may be others who share your opinion, there may be others who share my opinion.

 

[Regul8r]

Just curious, Skip: How many airline retirements do you have right now? If none; how much of your retirement portfolio do you have invested in airlines?

 

[pilotyip]

Just curious, Skip: How many airline retirements do you have right now? If none; how much of your retirement portfolio do you have invested in airlines?

good point, none and none,

 

[Regul8r]

good point, none and none,

At the end of the day, THAT is what matters. I think Unions have overstepped their bounds in a lot of cases. And I am as pro-capitalism as the next guy...to an extent. Much like the tens of thousands of flying jobs you speak of, we keep hearing how more people are finding work. The problem is: How well do these jobs pay? On a small scale, the flying profession (due to a multitude of reasons) is leaving many people without a pot to piss in during their retirement years. Same goes for the country on a macro level. Sure, the job numbers may show growth, but what does it mean when 2/3 of those jobs are service level/retail oriented/part time jobs? It means the very system you and I are pushing for (Capitalism) is moving closer towards a society that depends on government hand outs. Much like Poorly managed companies that get the unions they "ask for", the ultra-elite and uber-rich in this country are "asking for" government intervention.