Interesting that various Democratic leaders are making decisions to slash public employee jobs, wages, and benefits… but we don’t hear much about it splashed on the national news.
In New York, Gov. Cuomo has gotten unions to capitulate on wages and benefits (NYT):
Members of New York’s largest union of state employees, in a begrudging acknowledgment of the increasingly hostile mood toward public workers, have agreed to accept major wage and benefits concessions sought by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
….
The union’s president, Danny Donohue, said in a statement: “These are not ordinary times, and C.S.E.A. worked hard to reach an agreement that we believed would be in everyone’s best interest. C.S.E.A. members agree that this contract is reasonable and responsible for the long term and shows that C.S.E.A. members will do what is right for the good of all New Yorkers.”Savings from the five-year contract are expected to total $73 million this fiscal year, part of the $450 million in cuts that Mr. Cuomo’s budget counted on extracting from the state work force. And the governor’s office projected that if other unions agreed to the same terms total savings for the state would amount to $1.6 billion over five years.
We hear of Cuomo taking a “firm stance” and that his approach has been “validated”.
Mmmhmmm.
How did you characterize Scott Walker’s doings in your “straight” news coverage, NYT?
Oh wait! You mention them in that very article!
At the same time, he did not attack collective bargaining or speak about the unions with any kind of hostility, unlike some other governors seeking to cut work-force costs, like Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Chris Christie in New Jersey.
You know? I bet the unions considered Cuomo plenty hostile. But they’re keeping quiet. What are they going to do – vote Republican?
I want to point out that that article appears in the “NY Region” section of the NYT, as opposed to national news coverage.
In Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel has been doing threatening of his own:
Mayor Emanuel has been touting the 3,600 new jobs he is bringing to Chicago, but what about the 625 jobs he is threatening to cut?
Emanuel has made it clear that fixing the 2012 schools and city budgets requires public workers to sacrifice. Unlike the promised jobs from corporations like GE and United, however, the public sector in Chicago employs Blacks and Latinos at very high rates.
That’s an op-ed from a progressive website. (and yes, the title of the piece really is: “Attack On Chicago’s Public Employees Hits Minorities Hardest”)
Funny how I haven’t heard too much in the national news about the nasty cuts Rahm has been making. I live in NY, and not much of a big deal has been made about Cuomo’s cuts.
But I never hear the end of Chris Christie and Scott Walker and the mean, mean things they’re doing to public employees.
I wonder what the difference could be.
- Excited
- Angry
- Not as Angry
- Bored
- Indifferent
- Sad
