EDITORIAL Mayor Gavin Newsom and a negotiating team from the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 have hammered out yet another deal, this one slightly better for the workers than the proposal that the 11,000 union members voted down last week. As part of the deal, SEIU members will take 10 legal holidays without pay over the next 14 months, and gain five floating paid holidays. It's way better, for both the city and the union, than the prospect of 1,000 more layoffs — and the deep service cuts that so many job cuts would entail.
As a part of the negotiation, Newsom agreed to suspend any further layoffs — and, more important, promised to work with labor and the business community on possible revenue measures for November. That's an encouraging sign, but Newsom needs to do much more. He needs to be out front, now, meeting openly with the various interest groups and constituencies and working with the supervisors to craft progressive new tax proposals that will work as more than a one-year stopgap.
Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, is famous for saying that no politician should let a crisis go to waste, and San Francisco's current fiscal crisis ought to be a chance to fix the unfair and broken business tax system that both hampers job creation and allows the biggest players to get off far too easy.
And to make the point that he's serious about raising new revenue, Newsom should include in the budget that he presents to the board a projection that the city will have another $100 million or so to spend in the next fiscal year because of revenue plans that he expects will pass, with his help and strong support, in November.
That would do two things: it would demonstrate to the supervisors that the mayor is serious about looking for ways to bring in more money, and it would stave off the most debilitating, immediate cuts for the beginning of Fiscal 2010.
Newsom is still a popular mayor and has a sophisticated political operation behind him. Right now he's using his good will, fundraising ability, and seasoned political advisors to help him get elected governor. If he is willing to bring that level of effort back home — and use it to pass some significant tax reforms in his own city — it would do a lot more to show his leadership ability than all the campaign trips in the world. *
Who really gets played in this?
SEIU 1021’s first and foremost pride slogan and expressed interest is to “Prevent Layoffs”. Yes, prevent layoffs. They cite the various repercussions that would be incurred by the allowance of layoffs as crippling service cuts to the sick, poor, elderly, children and unemployed or underemployed. Recently, they’ve even changed the name of one of their widely acknowledged campaigns to “Save Our Services” or “SOS”.
You’d be very wise to believe that preventing layoffs is of highest priority of both SEIU 1021 and The CITY. Uh hem, extensive layoffs that is –they’re quite comfortable with a threshold of a few hundred, in fact, its part of their strategy and call it “Reduced Layoffs”. But for what true reasons?
SEIU 1021 Leadership is greedy first, and concerned for member welfare and cuts to services second to last. Let there be no doubt about this fact. And SEIU is willing to partner up with any other entity that can assist with securing this first concern.
The CITY is also greedy and egotistical. Permanently intoxicated with inefficiencies, mismanagement, spend giddiness, disorganization and riddled with cronyism and nepotism, having very little self-discipline. What a pair!
No, it’s not just another One-Night Stand.
Both SEIU 1021 Staff Leadership and The CITY make every attempt to deflect the adverse effects incurred to themselves that excessive layoffs would bring. They mutually refuse to focus on the benefit to their own bounty when excessive layoffs are avoided and postponed or on how such excessive layoffs do not make any economic sense whatsoever. Instead, these powerful entities would have us believe this is all one-sided, using fear tactics and intimidation by turning all focus towards their adversary the membership and employees, whom are placed with sole responsibility and blame for all layoffs, service cuts and crippling department closures due to insufficient concessions as demanded from them. These are standard repercussions that these two entities through mutual agreement decide should occur.
Consider this. When excessive layoffs do occur; is SEIU 1021 Leadership more concerned with its membership’s well being and continued services to the underprivileged or is SEIU more saddened by its own lack of ability to receive continued revenues from non-working members? Depending on the severity, excessive layoffs could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue removed from SEIU 1021’s own funding, defamatory marks to their reputation of protecting their membership, and the perceived incapability to bargain effectively.
Consider this. When excessive layoffs do occur; is The CITY more concerned with its employee’s well being and continued services to the underprivileged or is The CITY more saddened with the perceived inability to effectively run and manage the fundamental needs of a city. Excessive layoffs causing severe cuts to badly needed community services would potentially smirch the reputation of Mayor Newsom or any other City politician’s ability to govern this or any other group of people in any State or land. Not to mention, does it really make any economic sense for The CITY to pay for continued medical benefits of laid off workers that no longer perform duties? Depending on the severity, this could range into the tens of millions in medical expenditures alone (and tens of millions more in unemployment costs) from The CITY’s own annual budget for several years to come –for as long as a high number of employees remain on a “layoff list” which could be several years. Additional layoffs in excess would also result in defamatory marks to the reputation of the Mayor and The CITY’s reputation of valuing its employees and the community at large, along with the perceived incapability to bargain effectively.
No, neither of these two bed partners desire excessive layoffs. Collectively, they will do everything they can to ensure that layoffs are kept at a predetermined maximum threshold, only to be used as a threat and tactic in obtaining other concessions and sacrifices to preserve their own insatiable greed and inefficiencies! They will continue to do this by focusing attention towards the membership/employees in the essence of bountiful self preservation. Collectively, SEIU 1021 Leadership and The City will never allow excessive layoffs to result in an unsuitable level of members/employees as that would result in the deepest cuts to these two entities. So, be on the lookout for more outrageous measures these two entities must agree to make in order to deflect attention and severe cuts to themselves while inflicting severe cuts and blows towards the membership/employees and to our communities instead!
There’s a lot of mutual back scratching and massaging going on between SEIU 1021 Staff Leadership and the outgoing Mayor. Recognizing the limited time left for this Mayor, SEIU Leadership is undoubtedly looking towards a new bed partner for the next Mayoral and Gubernatorial elections. So, rather than holding it’s bed partner to a responsibility of balancing the City Budget in other efficient ways that should be more fully explored, SEIU 1021 staff and leaders have chosen to align its own governing body with The CITY in a concerted effort to deflect any and all adverse effects to themselves and place focus and blame elsewhere to obtain sacrifices!
Rank and File Members Urge another NO! NO! NO! Vote to Keep Layoffs Reduced and Hold The CITY Accountable!
In the course of this economic depression and local government’s financial mismanagement, SEIU 1021 Staff leadership in collaboration with The CITY have agreed to make unprecedented concessions on our behalf. This crisis is not our fault. We will have to fight harder than ever in the future to safeguard working conditions, wages and benefits because these fundamental issues are of little concern to those steering these discussions.
After four months of playing “footsie” in the guise of discussions and a failed attempt by SEIU 1021 Staff leadership and some Bargaining Team Members in collaboration with The CITY to shove a poorly crafted Tentative Agreement down to the Membership for quick ratification in a concerted effort of self preservation and gratuitous bounty to these two entities, members of the SEIU 1021 bargaining team would now like to present a “New Proposal Agreement”, uh hem, more outrageous measures these two entities MUST agree to make in order to deflect attention and severe financial cuts to themselves while inflicting severe cuts and blows towards the membership/employees and to our communities instead!
NO longer a proposal, this “New Agreement” from SEIU 1021 Staff leadership and some Bargaining Team Members in collaboration with The CITY is designed to keep union dues revenues pouring into greedy SEIU 1021 while holding The CITY without accountability for its own greed, inefficiencies, mismanagement, spending sprees and disorganization! Truly keeping us all wondering: Where have you taken “good faith” bargaining and what have you done with it?
“Oh no Mr. Mayor, the “Rank and File” membership were confused, Mr. Mayor. We’ll go back and get that for you right away, Mr. Mayor.”
A yes vote does NOT save Jobs and Services beyond that which have already been mutually agreed to; but it will force unprecedented concessions onto the membership to absorb while preserving funding levels and continued inefficiencies and unaccountability for SEIU 1021 Staff and The CITY
(Oh yeah, and they get to stay in bed together “Whether we like it or not”)
wtf 9405/afl-cio
Tentative Agreement #2: This round, SEIU 1021 Staff Leadership and some Bargaining Team members must assume responsibility for demanding concessions from its Rank and File members in collaboration with The CITY through more fear tactics, intimidation and arm twisting -Rank and File members MUST respond with a resounding NO! NO! NO!
These two Tentative Agreements are virtually THE SAME. Would make some wonder about these two entities -THE SAME?
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This is a good example of fiscal irresponsibility. A budget should be based on projections of actual revenue, and NOT what the mayor "expects would pass." If the revenue proposals on the Nov ballot fail to pass, the Mayor and the Board have to step back and wrrite a new budget. Let's remember what JUST HAPPENED in the statewide special election - ALL revenue measures failed.
This is also an illustration of the kind of thinking that has gotten governments at all levels in budget trouble - - base the next budget cycle on revenue that is too high, hire people, then when the revenue does not come in, they have to lay people off.
Unfortunately, there is not room enough here to get into this. But elected officials MUST be responsible stewards of the public's money, and not spend what we do not have.
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