Another Blog Post, another bash on Public Safety Unions. Why you may ask, do I hold such animosity toward these folks? Is it because I hate Unions. No, being a Progressive I believe in economic equality and Public Safety does hard work. However, public safety has been quite Conservative and even votes against their own economic interest which is odd to me.
I hold such animosity for one reason: Political Power.
Political Power
It is no secret that the Public Safety Unions hold considerable sway over San Bernardino. We are a poor community with our median income at approximately $36K. Some of the members of the Public Safety Union make roughly 2-3 times that much, with the Union taking a bi-weekly or monthly cut of that. That is a considerable amount of cash at the end of the year. Combine that with the fact that they are the most organized force and we hold off year elections (non-gubernatorial or presidential), their power has just been multiplied exponentially.
You can tell they have sway because no one is critical or questioning of the Union. The one politician who did, 3rd Ward councilman Tobin Brinker, was summarily tossed out by a 3 to 1 vote (it didn't help that he wasn't Latino either). In addition, during this who bankruptcy process the council has done little to reign in their benefits. They would make empty threats like outsourcing (the numbers which I still find somewhat exaggerated) and non-binding negotiations.
Also, they Public Safety Union likes to blame our economic projects, while not pointing out that in 2005 we took out a Capital Appreciation Bond to pay for approx. 60% of their pensions that will cost $88M when we are done paying it off. Yet, we are still being sued by CalPers.
I would ask that the Public Safety Union members run for city council themselves (it would make it easier to rip us off), but oh I forgot they don't live here either.
It's a joke that's play at the expense of the San Bernardino taxpayer. We must come to realize that we don't control our own destiny, and we must seize it back.
I hold such animosity for one reason: Political Power.
Political Power
It is no secret that the Public Safety Unions hold considerable sway over San Bernardino. We are a poor community with our median income at approximately $36K. Some of the members of the Public Safety Union make roughly 2-3 times that much, with the Union taking a bi-weekly or monthly cut of that. That is a considerable amount of cash at the end of the year. Combine that with the fact that they are the most organized force and we hold off year elections (non-gubernatorial or presidential), their power has just been multiplied exponentially.
You can tell they have sway because no one is critical or questioning of the Union. The one politician who did, 3rd Ward councilman Tobin Brinker, was summarily tossed out by a 3 to 1 vote (it didn't help that he wasn't Latino either). In addition, during this who bankruptcy process the council has done little to reign in their benefits. They would make empty threats like outsourcing (the numbers which I still find somewhat exaggerated) and non-binding negotiations.
Also, they Public Safety Union likes to blame our economic projects, while not pointing out that in 2005 we took out a Capital Appreciation Bond to pay for approx. 60% of their pensions that will cost $88M when we are done paying it off. Yet, we are still being sued by CalPers.
I would ask that the Public Safety Union members run for city council themselves (it would make it easier to rip us off), but oh I forgot they don't live here either.
It's a joke that's play at the expense of the San Bernardino taxpayer. We must come to realize that we don't control our own destiny, and we must seize it back.
Comments
Post a Comment