The Boston Globe: Anger over paid 9/11 holiday
The Boston Herald: Peabody approves Sept 11 holiday pay
The Lynn Item: Peabody council approves 9/11 holiday pay
News Center 5: City OKs police OT pay for 9/11 holiday
News 7: Peabody approves holiday pay
Fox News: Peabody Police to get holiday pay
The AP: Mass City's police officers get Sept 11 holiday
The stories speak for themselves. We have allowed the Police Union, the Police Officers, the Mayor and the City Council to make all citizens of Peabody look like fools and every public safety worker in the country look like greedy bastards -- simply because these people could not FIX THE MISTAKE THEY MADE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Here is a police blogger who has written on this story: 9/11 Holiday Pay??? Are you for real???
And I will publish here my response to him and the world...
Peabody_Insider said:
I live in Peabody. I know some of the Peabody cops. The ones I know are pretty good guys, but as in every group, there are always a few bad apples.
Now, I wouldn’t call Peabody a podunk town (we are in fact a podunk CITY) but this is a terrible situation.
I have not met one person in the City who is NOT against this situation.
And I totally agree… it is making EVERYONE look bad.
This was a Union Tactic to get something extra because they were giving in to higher co-pays and premiums for health benefits. I think it was more than likely simply a “we need something in return” kind of thing… and some brilliant soul thought up “HEY! Let’s get 9/11 as a holiday pay day!”
And the geniuses at the table (the Union AND the City) all said “sure” because they never thought it through.
The Union was simply doing what Unions do… looking out for themselves by proving they are getting something for the workers. The City was just glad to be done with the negotiations and for getting the health insurance increase. When the cops voted on the contract, they were just happy to be getting a raise after 2 years (despite the increased health costs and the guarantee of layoffs in the coming year - why don’t these guys ever protect the younger ranks?)
Then the controversy hit the news… and media from all over the US was here to blast the situation.
Do these folks ever GET IT? Do they ever say… WHOOPS! And take it back? In a very quick move they could have ‘renegotiated’ the 9/11 holiday into another personal day, shook hands, a quick rank and file re-vote and PRESTO! EVERYBODY LOOKS GOOD AGAIN AND THE CONTROVERSY GOES AWAY!
But no… not it Peabody where everyone thinks they are right come hell or high water (and it frequently still does flood downtown mind you.)
The idiotic Union reps decided to spin this as “We are honoring the 9/11 heroes!” Yeah right… by getting overtime pay - some honor there.
The “Never Wrong” Mayor dug his heels in too first by lobing the blame at the Union, but then (surprisingly) taking it all onto himself. I think even he was seeing the tarnish it had put on the City and the badge carrying folks.
So then the vote this week before the City Council. They needed to fund the pay raises. These “heroes” mostly go up and railed against the stupidity of ‘honoring others’ by filling one’s own pockets… and then voted to fund it.
So let’s see….
The Peabody Police look like bastards for stealing money in the name of a national tragedy.
The Mayor looks like a rube who can’t understand why people might find this unseemly.
The City Council looks like a bunch of moron’s with the power to stop this… but the will to do nothing.
The Union looks like giant asses for the “we are honoring the memory…” crapola.
All Police are given a huge black eye from the public for 1) taking advantage of a tragedy and 2) being greedy public trough piglets.
The Citizens of Peabody are the laughing stock of the nation for at least one more news cycle because of the stupid, cowardly and entrenched actions of our local government.
Yeah… a complete mess that could have been solved long ago with a simple…”let’s fix this” action by the meeting of intelligent minds from both labor and management.
A sad sad day for everyone.
I sincerely apologize for the harm done to Police (and first responders/public safety workers) everywhere for the foolish actions by my political leaders and local police.
6 comments:
PI, Do I detect an anti-union vibe from you? Interesting, Comrade. You will be rewarded handsomly at Central High Command (City Hall) come February. PINKO
"Yeah… a complete mess that could have been solved long ago with a simple…”let’s fix this” action by the meeting of intelligent minds from both labor and management."
So what does the Mayor do when Hard Core union guys say NO, they don't want to reopen ? Spend 20K of the taxpayers money so the court will enforce the signed contract, and then be beat up by the press for that. Like him or not the Mayor no choices after it was signed
OG says...
So what does the Mayor do when Hard Core union guys say NO, they don't want to reopen?
This is the real question to all of this...it seems that some Councilors knew that this contract is wrong (the 9/11 portion of it) yet they voted YES to approve the funding...and they voted YES out of 'respect' for the 'negotiations process'....and this tells me one clear thing and it is something that I have said all along...'it's all about the unions...and it's all about the money'....and for all the good things that unions have done over the years they are now running us into the US turf...this is no flexibility...this is limited concession....and we are locked into these contracts with a vise-like grip....but in my view we should NOT have approved the funding for the lack of respect shown by the union (and the city) for ok'ing this 9/11 holiday in the first place!! IF you want to really think that the Councilors hands were tied and there was NOTHING that they could do at this point that is up to you...I don't happen to agree....and that's how OG sees it.
Well I'll start with Borderman:
I actually don't find the unions to be fulfilling the original roles they were created to do anymore. Instead of protecting their members, they spend more time protecting themselves in order to be self-perpetuating.
I think that they have done great things to help protect workers health, wellbeing and quality of life. However, the times are changing and unions do not seem to see the realities of the world applying to them.
The unions and their members are more than happy to accept a pay increase for the most long-serving members, while at the same time saying "yeah, too bad" that the newer, younger members will be getting laid off in the coming year.
The system of union labor is broken. It exists to protect those who do little and to promote longevity over quality and performance. If anything, unions tend to DEMOTE highly effective and innovative members because the screw it up for the rest of the group.
Sadly, in protecting people from unjust firings and other unseemly management practices... they have gone too far. The slope is a slippery one and as soon as one person 'slacks' but gets away with it, the rest eventually succumb to the new lower expectation.
And frankly, any system based solely on seniority is a failed system. One day we will have union halls filled with the ancient few workers who were the first in... while the younger ones beg for scraps.
We need to judge a person on the merits of their accomplishments and the quality of their labors... not on their ability to out-live other folks.
The unions, if they are to survive this coming financial crisis - and mark my words, this new President, and a host of new thinkers like him down the ranks, are not going to be so cozy with the existing union infrastructure as we have seen in the past.
Look at the Auto Bailout... one huge issue concerning the bailout money is the unions. And so far, as I have read, the Government is saying it CAN NOT BE business as usual... that they will not simply give the auto companies the money for them to 1) pay themselves and 2) pay the union members... until they need the next handout. They are going to insist on fundamental changes in the way the business models are structured for these companies. They are not the first, nor will they be the last... change is indeed coming.
I think the unions SHOULD survive. I think they still can offer MUCH to our labor forces. But they need to be responsive to the ever changing workplace and NOT treat workers like interchangeable parts on an assembly line.
So, actually, no. I am not anti-union. I think the police union, and the union members who voted for this contract, were foolish to think that this was a non issue. If a police officer simply signed it based on just seeing the 3% raises... and didn't read the fine print... shame on them too.
And while you seem to think I have an in in the Mayors office, which I don't btw, you might go back and read that I am blaming the Mayor and City Council (as well as the support staff at City Hall) for this mess.
And, it is quite strange... well maybe not. But read the comment under yours... they seem to think the opposite from your point of view.
Hi OG:
You wrote while I was responding to BorderMan... nice timing.
To Anon:
Well, I need to agree a bit with OG here... but I'll give you a better "what should he do?" answer.
IF I were the Mayor here is what I would have done in order...
1) I would have realized my mistake and started to work to fix it immediately (the 9/11 pay).
2) I would have talked to the union reps about it and tried to come to a very fast settlement without the 9/11 pay... exchanging something else for it.
3) If they say no... then I would threaten them with a PR campaign.
4) If it STILL is a NO... Then I would FLOOD the media and every event with the absolute facts of the matter...
--That I was wrong to agree to it
--That I am doing everything to remove it
--That the union is NOT WILLING to address it
--That they are DISHONORING their fellow public safety workers
--That they are DISHONORING those who really suffered on 9/11
--That they are trying to profit from the 9/11 tragedy
--That they will not even accept a replacement day
In this way I would accept the blame (half the blame) for causing the problem in the first place... but I would put the onus on the police union for not FIXING THIS MESS and for DIGGIN IN THEIR HEELS and I would make it ugly.
I would enlist of assistance of the City Council in voting NO on the funding. And then that would force either an impartial mediator or force the union back to the bargaining table.
Remember... a signed contract is just that... a piece of paper IF it is not ratified by all the required parties. So, while I might be wrong, if the City Charter gives the City Council oversight of the Cities purse strings... then they are within their rights to decide it is not acceptable.
And you know what... sometimes the City needs to stand up for the RIGHT THING even if it means we might end up in court over the issue.
Case in point (or two)...
Brophy and Bettencourt.
Neither the Union or the Mayor made any attempt to rectify this 9/11 holiday mess. The police union president could have dealt directly with the mayor to resolve this without involving the rest of the union body. That's the way it is set up. He has the right to make such deals directly with the mayor on behalf of the union. No real negotiating necessary. The two of them could have agreed to re-word the "holiday" into some other form of compensation, the president could then have presented it to the rest of the union membership and it would have all been taken care of. It didn't happen because neither side thought that it was going to be such a big fiasco in the public eye. How wrong they both were!
The CC has no right to deny a line item in a contract that has been agreed to by both negotiating parties. They could have denied the entire contract based on their opinion of this holiday but they probably felt it would be unfair to vote in the other contracts - fire, teachers, dpw - while denying this one. Perhaps they should have just to make their point. Basically, though the job of the CC is to approve the contract if the funding is there to support it which was determined by the finance committee earlier. The finance director said that the funds had been put aside over the years in a separate account in preparation for the conclusion of the negotiations so we DO have the money to put into the contracts regardless of what you think of the current finacial situation in the state and country.
Personally, I don't think that 9/11 should EVER be a holiday for anyone anywhere. It was a tragic day in the history of our country and it should be remembered as such. The people who died on that day should be honored with somber, respectful memorial services and not with a day off for people to have parties and businesses to hold sales. Nuff said.
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