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Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by dblboggie Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:29 pm
How any one could possibly justify the behavior of public-sector union members and public-sector union leaders that we have seen on display in recent weeks is beyond me. I honestly believe that these people are extortionists and thugs - at best.
There is just no excuse for the behavior of these people in my humble opinion - none whatsoever!
And with that, I give you the following editorial.
Please, someone on the opposite side proffer a reasonable justification for the behavior of public-sector union behavior here.
Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
Ann Coulter
March 9, 2011
Can we stop acting as if people who work for the government are the heroes of working people?
Fine, we understand that Wisconsin public sector employees like the system that pays them an average of $76,500 per year, with splendiferous benefits, and are fighting like wildcats against any proposed reforms to that system. But it's madness to keep treating people who are promoting their own self-interest as if they are James Meredith walking into the University of Mississippi.
This isn't how we usually view people fighting for their own economic interests.
When Wall Street opposes financial reforms or a tobacco company opposes new cigarette taxes, no one hails them as "working men and women" who "deserve a decent pay and decent retirement." We're not told Wall Street has a "fundamental right" not to be regulated, or tobacco companies promoting their own interests are just trying to "help working people and middle-class people retain a good job in America." People on the other side of the issue aren't said to be "just trying to kick the other guy in the shin and exterminate him."
And yet all that was said by the Democratic governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, on MSNBC's "Hardball" last week, about government workers fighting to preserve their own Alex Rodriguez-like employment contracts.
Yes, we understand that public sector employees got themselves terrific overtime, holiday, pension and health care deals through buying politicians with their votes and campaign money. But now, responsible elected officials in Wisconsin are trying to balance the budget.
MSNBC is covering the fight in Wisconsin as if it's the 9/11 attack -- and the Republicans are al-Qaida. Its entire prime-time schedule is dedicated to portraying self- interested government employees as if they're Marines taking on the Taliban. The network's Ed Schultz bellows that it is "morally wrong" to oppose the demands of government employees.
Yes, and I guess pornographers are noble when they launch a full-scale offensive against obscenity laws.
Public sector workers are pursuing their own narrow financial interests to the detriment of everyone else in their states. That's fine, but can we stop pretending it's virtuous?
Because of the insane union contracts in Wisconsin, one Madison bus driver, John E. Nelson, was able to make $159,000 in 2009 -- about $100,000 of which in overtime pay. Jackie Gleason didn't make that much playing bus driver Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners." Seven bus drivers took home more than $100,000 that year.
When asked about the outrageous overtime pay for bus drivers -- totaling $1.94 million in 2009 alone -- Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson said: "That's the contract."
It's ludicrous to suggest that these union contracts were fairly bargained. Only one side was at the negotiating table. Ordinary people with jobs were not at the meetings where public sector compensation was discussed.
Union hacks play on our heartstrings, weeping about the valuable work government employees do: These are the people who educate our children, run into burning buildings and take dangerous criminals off our streets!
Politicians who do not immediately acquiesce to insane union demands are invariably accused of hating teachers, nurses or cops. In California, this has been standard operating procedure for decades. The voters never seem to catch on.
In 1972, E. Richard Barnes lost his re-election campaign to the California state Assembly after being accused by cops and firefighters of coddling criminals.
In fact, Barnes, a conservative Republican, had one of the toughest records on crime. But he had voted against fringe benefits and better pension benefits for public employees.
Years later, in 2005, Don Perata, Democratic state senator from Oakland, suggested that the legislature reconsider the requirement that 40 percent of the entire state budget be spent on public schools. The teachers' unions instantly plastered his district with fliers calling him anti-education. Perata is a far-left Democrat, who had himself been a teacher for 15 years before entering politics.
Fine, we like teachers, firemen and police officers. We appreciate them. (And for the record, it is statistically more dangerous to be a farmer, fisherman, steelworker or pilot than a cop or fireman. Soldiers also have pretty dangerous jobs, and they don't get to strike.)
Does that mean we should pay them $1 million dollars a year? How about $10 million? After all, these are the people who educate our kids, run into burning buildings and take dangerous criminals off our streets!
Assuming the answer is no, then apparently we're allowed to discuss government workers' compensation -- even though they do important work. As George Bernard Shaw concluded his famous quip (often attributed to Winston Churchill), "Now, we're just negotiating over the price."
Why do public sector employees have absurd overtime rules? Why don't they pay for their own health insurance? Why do they get to retire at age 45 with a guaranteed pension of 65 percent of their last year's pay -- as state police in New Jersey do?
This is asymmetrical warfare. Seven percent of the population cares intensely about public sector union contracts -- and nothing else. The remaining 93 percent of voters can't be bothered to care.
Meanwhile, state after state spirals into bankruptcy.
There is just no excuse for the behavior of these people in my humble opinion - none whatsoever!
And with that, I give you the following editorial.
Please, someone on the opposite side proffer a reasonable justification for the behavior of public-sector union behavior here.
Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
Ann Coulter
March 9, 2011
Can we stop acting as if people who work for the government are the heroes of working people?
Fine, we understand that Wisconsin public sector employees like the system that pays them an average of $76,500 per year, with splendiferous benefits, and are fighting like wildcats against any proposed reforms to that system. But it's madness to keep treating people who are promoting their own self-interest as if they are James Meredith walking into the University of Mississippi.
This isn't how we usually view people fighting for their own economic interests.
When Wall Street opposes financial reforms or a tobacco company opposes new cigarette taxes, no one hails them as "working men and women" who "deserve a decent pay and decent retirement." We're not told Wall Street has a "fundamental right" not to be regulated, or tobacco companies promoting their own interests are just trying to "help working people and middle-class people retain a good job in America." People on the other side of the issue aren't said to be "just trying to kick the other guy in the shin and exterminate him."
And yet all that was said by the Democratic governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, on MSNBC's "Hardball" last week, about government workers fighting to preserve their own Alex Rodriguez-like employment contracts.
Yes, we understand that public sector employees got themselves terrific overtime, holiday, pension and health care deals through buying politicians with their votes and campaign money. But now, responsible elected officials in Wisconsin are trying to balance the budget.
MSNBC is covering the fight in Wisconsin as if it's the 9/11 attack -- and the Republicans are al-Qaida. Its entire prime-time schedule is dedicated to portraying self- interested government employees as if they're Marines taking on the Taliban. The network's Ed Schultz bellows that it is "morally wrong" to oppose the demands of government employees.
Yes, and I guess pornographers are noble when they launch a full-scale offensive against obscenity laws.
Public sector workers are pursuing their own narrow financial interests to the detriment of everyone else in their states. That's fine, but can we stop pretending it's virtuous?
Because of the insane union contracts in Wisconsin, one Madison bus driver, John E. Nelson, was able to make $159,000 in 2009 -- about $100,000 of which in overtime pay. Jackie Gleason didn't make that much playing bus driver Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners." Seven bus drivers took home more than $100,000 that year.
When asked about the outrageous overtime pay for bus drivers -- totaling $1.94 million in 2009 alone -- Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson said: "That's the contract."
It's ludicrous to suggest that these union contracts were fairly bargained. Only one side was at the negotiating table. Ordinary people with jobs were not at the meetings where public sector compensation was discussed.
Union hacks play on our heartstrings, weeping about the valuable work government employees do: These are the people who educate our children, run into burning buildings and take dangerous criminals off our streets!
Politicians who do not immediately acquiesce to insane union demands are invariably accused of hating teachers, nurses or cops. In California, this has been standard operating procedure for decades. The voters never seem to catch on.
In 1972, E. Richard Barnes lost his re-election campaign to the California state Assembly after being accused by cops and firefighters of coddling criminals.
In fact, Barnes, a conservative Republican, had one of the toughest records on crime. But he had voted against fringe benefits and better pension benefits for public employees.
Years later, in 2005, Don Perata, Democratic state senator from Oakland, suggested that the legislature reconsider the requirement that 40 percent of the entire state budget be spent on public schools. The teachers' unions instantly plastered his district with fliers calling him anti-education. Perata is a far-left Democrat, who had himself been a teacher for 15 years before entering politics.
Fine, we like teachers, firemen and police officers. We appreciate them. (And for the record, it is statistically more dangerous to be a farmer, fisherman, steelworker or pilot than a cop or fireman. Soldiers also have pretty dangerous jobs, and they don't get to strike.)
Does that mean we should pay them $1 million dollars a year? How about $10 million? After all, these are the people who educate our kids, run into burning buildings and take dangerous criminals off our streets!
Assuming the answer is no, then apparently we're allowed to discuss government workers' compensation -- even though they do important work. As George Bernard Shaw concluded his famous quip (often attributed to Winston Churchill), "Now, we're just negotiating over the price."
Why do public sector employees have absurd overtime rules? Why don't they pay for their own health insurance? Why do they get to retire at age 45 with a guaranteed pension of 65 percent of their last year's pay -- as state police in New Jersey do?
This is asymmetrical warfare. Seven percent of the population cares intensely about public sector union contracts -- and nothing else. The remaining 93 percent of voters can't be bothered to care.
Meanwhile, state after state spirals into bankruptcy.
dblboggie
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:16 am
Minneapolis city bus drivers. Video also in link below.......
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has been tracking overtime numbers for Metro Transit's 1,450 bus drivers.
We found the most senior drivers are doubling their income thanks to overtime. The top earner had a base salary of about $50,000 in 2009, but he made more than $110,000.
According to a breakdown of federal statistics, Metro Transit drivers make more than 75 percent of bus drivers nationwide.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1753300.shtml?cat=1
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has been tracking overtime numbers for Metro Transit's 1,450 bus drivers.
We found the most senior drivers are doubling their income thanks to overtime. The top earner had a base salary of about $50,000 in 2009, but he made more than $110,000.
According to a breakdown of federal statistics, Metro Transit drivers make more than 75 percent of bus drivers nationwide.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1753300.shtml?cat=1
TexasBlue
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by bigger_guns_nearby Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:40 pm
I know very little about the Wisconsin situation so I can't really comment on that.
Here in Britain, though, the last decade has been characterized by an epidemic of cushy public-sector non-jobs and the usual bugbears of unsustainable pensions schemes, overtime, and so on.
What particularly agitates me is the way that the stereotype of the pencil-pushing, incompetent and superfluous local government culture has damaged the perception of and the funding of genuinely important government employees like police officers, teachers and medical staff. It's been partly the fault of Unions, but mainly the fault of a Labour government that was only too happy to effectively buy voters by giving them public sector jobs, and happy to take the bulk of its funding from Union sources.
Here in Britain, though, the last decade has been characterized by an epidemic of cushy public-sector non-jobs and the usual bugbears of unsustainable pensions schemes, overtime, and so on.
What particularly agitates me is the way that the stereotype of the pencil-pushing, incompetent and superfluous local government culture has damaged the perception of and the funding of genuinely important government employees like police officers, teachers and medical staff. It's been partly the fault of Unions, but mainly the fault of a Labour government that was only too happy to effectively buy voters by giving them public sector jobs, and happy to take the bulk of its funding from Union sources.
Last edited by bigger_guns_nearby on Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
bigger_guns_nearby
- Birthday : 1985-07-14
Age : 38
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by bigger_guns_nearby Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:42 pm
TexasBlue wrote:Minneapolis city bus drivers. Video also in link below.......
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has been tracking overtime numbers for Metro Transit's 1,450 bus drivers.
We found the most senior drivers are doubling their income thanks to overtime. The top earner had a base salary of about $50,000 in 2009, but he made more than $110,000.
According to a breakdown of federal statistics, Metro Transit drivers make more than 75 percent of bus drivers nationwide.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1753300.shtml?cat=1
There was a strike of bin men (garbage men in US?) here over Christmas, and they offered strikebreakers £30 an hour to clear the backlog. £30 an hour to clear bins! I would have done that if they'd asked me!!! It's hardly skilled employment.
bigger_guns_nearby- Birthday : 1985-07-14
Age : 38
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:51 pm
bigger_guns_nearby wrote:I know very little about the Wisconsin situation so I can't really comment on that.
There's a couple posts on it. You might have to go back a page or two to find it if interested.
bigger_guns_nearby wrote:Here in Britain, though, the last decade has been characterized by an epidemic of cushy public-sector non-jobs and the usual bugbears of unsustainable pensions schemes, overtime, and so on.
That's what's been happening here.
bigger_guns_nearby wrote:What particularly agitates me is the way that the stereotype of the pencil-pushing, incompetent and superfluous local government culture has damaged the perception of and the funding of genuinely important government employees like police officers, teachers and medical staff. It's been partly the fault of Unions, but mainly the fault of a Labour government that was only too happy to effectively buy voters by giving them public sector jobs, and happy to take the bulk of its funding from Union sources.
Most people here int the USA understand the necessity of gov't workers. Without them, things would get rough and in a hurry. What really pisses many off (and me) is how many of these jobs (state and federal) have grown in size regarding pay. It's now a proven fact that the public sector (federal gov't) earns more than the comparable jobs in the private sector. The bad part about that is 1) it's hard to get rid of gov't employees here and 2) the pay has to come from somewhere.... and that's taxes. Then you throw in the crazy benefits. In Wisconsin (and many other states), these public sector jobs (the unionized ones) don't have to pay into their pension plan. If they do, it's very little. Again, that cost come from the tax payer.
TexasBlue
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:55 pm
bigger_guns_nearby wrote:TexasBlue wrote:Minneapolis city bus drivers. Video also in link below.......
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has been tracking overtime numbers for Metro Transit's 1,450 bus drivers.
We found the most senior drivers are doubling their income thanks to overtime. The top earner had a base salary of about $50,000 in 2009, but he made more than $110,000.
According to a breakdown of federal statistics, Metro Transit drivers make more than 75 percent of bus drivers nationwide.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1753300.shtml?cat=1
There was a strike of bin men (garbage men in US?) here over Christmas, and they offered strikebreakers £30 an hour to clear the backlog. £30 an hour to clear bins! I would have done that if they'd asked me!!! It's hardly skilled employment.
Yeah, it's garbage men.
Strike breakers? That must be what we call Scabs (those who cross the picket line).
TexasBlue
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by bigger_guns_nearby Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Yeah we commonly use 'scabs' here too, also sometimes 'black-legs' among the older generation. Not sure where that comes from, haha.
bigger_guns_nearby- Birthday : 1985-07-14
Age : 38
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:19 pm
bigger_guns_nearby wrote:Yeah we commonly use 'scabs' here too, also sometimes 'black-legs' among the older generation. Not sure where that comes from, haha.
My last job before this one was a union job (printing). The only thing that separates it from my new job is the top wage.... about $2 an hour less at the new job. Unions inflate wages from what the market normally pays.
TexasBlue
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by bigger_guns_nearby Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:40 pm
TexasBlue wrote:bigger_guns_nearby wrote:Yeah we commonly use 'scabs' here too, also sometimes 'black-legs' among the older generation. Not sure where that comes from, haha.
My last job before this one was a union job (printing). The only thing that separates it from my new job is the top wage.... about $2 an hour less at the new job. Unions inflate wages from what the market normally pays.
Even now, local government jobs here tend to pay better than the private sector equivalent.
I knew a girl up until last year who worked part time in our local village library (run by the local council) as an assistant. Really, really quiet library, got a few old women visiting every day. If you ever went in, the 2-3 daily staff would be chatting to each other. She got £8 an hour, over £2 more than the minimum wage. If she worked Sundays or overtime, she got double-time. Virtually nowhere in the private sector now pays double-time for unsociable working hours, especially for unskilled work. That's from another era. On top of that she got generous holidays and the opportunity to go into the council pension scheme.
A couple of years ago I knew a different girl who worked for the University library here in Sheffield. Much more difficult job, on several sites around the centre of the city, and she got paid less than the girl working in the cosy village library, haha. No premium rates of pay either, nothing like that.
bigger_guns_nearby- Birthday : 1985-07-14
Age : 38
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:31 pm
Fuck. £8 an hour is $13.08 an hour here. Unreal. That's damn good for library shit.
TexasBlue
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by dblboggie Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:43 pm
TexasBlue wrote:Fuck. £8 an hour is $13.08 an hour here. Unreal. That's damn good for library shit.
To be fair, prices in the UK are higher than they are here. Petrol is £6.09/imperial gallon (about $9.79 in U.S. dollars - an imperial gallon is 1.201 U.S. gallons). And you should see what they pay to register their cars (said registration being based on engine size - the bigger the more expensive - and I mean EXPENSIVE!) So it makes sense that their pay would be higher there than here.But what does not make sense is that government employees pay would be higher than that in the private sector - particularly at lower skill-level jobs. And in the US, on top of that higher pay they have those fantastic pension and health benefits! And ALL of that pay and all of those benefits are paid for by taxpayers - even the tiny portion of their pay they contribute to pension and health benefits is actually just a redistribution of taxpayer money since the pay they contribute comes from taxpayers.
But even this pales in comparison to the insanity of giving public-sector unions collective bargaining rights as I noted several times before here. And when these "rights" are challenged by the elected representatives of the very same taxpayers who pay these public-sector employees these public-sector employees rise up like mad animals and wreak havoc in the streets. It's just a disgusting display of the entitlement mentality that has infected out society today.
dblboggie
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by Guest Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:14 pm
TexasBlue wrote:Minneapolis city bus drivers. Video also in link below.......
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay
Metro Transit Drivers Capitalize on Overtime Pay5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has been tracking overtime numbers for Metro Transit's 1,450 bus drivers.
We found the most senior drivers are doubling their income thanks to overtime. The top earner had a base salary of about $50,000 in 2009, but he made more than $110,000.
According to a breakdown of federal statistics, Metro Transit drivers make more than 75 percent of bus drivers nationwide.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1753300.shtml?cat=1
Being from the area, do you know if this is because of a reduction of drivers? Most private andpublic sector jobs have depleted their employees to cut down on benefits and worktheir remaining staff with overtime.
Do the bus drivers get time and a half for their overtime pay, or just straight time?
Guest- Guest
Re: Six-Figure Bus Drivers and Other Working-Class Heros
by TexasBlue Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:24 pm
Cookie Parker wrote:Being from the area, do you know if this is because of a reduction of drivers? Most private andpublic sector jobs have depleted their employees to cut down on benefits and worktheir remaining staff with overtime.
No, it's not a reduction of drivers. The problem here is that they're unionized. It was a big story in Minneapolis when this came out in 2010.
Cookie Parker wrote:Do the bus drivers get time and a half for their overtime pay, or just straight time?
Time and a half.
TexasBlue
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