Give your Union a Shaka! How about a finger?

[leilanidude]

It long ago went from "civil service" to "civil theft".
The pay and benefits including pensions, are so out of control and way better than the typical private sector job.

[randomq]

quote:

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Originally posted by kalakoa

But government employee compensation? Just bill the taxpayer.

Well, yes. There is no other choice.

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Incorrect. Government can charge fees for services provided. Or, of course, reduce compensation.

[kalakoa]

Government can charge fees for services provided.

They already do that -- in addition to the taxes levied, and sometimes both at once.

I can hardly wait to get my County job with its automatic raises and fat pension indexed to the cost of living (eg, by just raising taxes on everyone else).

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Government can charge fees for services provided.

Sometimes when the service at the county or state offices is slow, or the workers seem unconcerned with my issue, I imagine a better world, one in which the bureaucrats receive a base pay of minimum wage, and a tip jar on the counter provides the rest of their pay.

The Donner Party really wasn't that great of a party, was it?

[Rob Tucker]

A great suggestion...... mahalo!

[Mopar]

Huge difference between "for profit" unions and " not for profit" unions. I've been a union member for 20 years. People that have a idea that union members are lazy are dead wrong. Sure at the county, state,, and other government unions, I agree with you. However, construction labor unions are anything but.. bottom line if you don't produce and make a contractor money, you are down the road. I always get a kick outta people bashing unions, if you think it's so easy, go work for a "for profit" union. You will change your opinion real quick. Working outside in all conditions, using ports pottys, doing physical labor that wears the body out. If it was such a cake walk, everybody would be making 100k a year. 5 years of school, state license, continuing education...I'm talking real unions, not one that excepts anyone with a pulse.

[terracore]

"People that have a idea that union members are lazy are dead wrong"

I've never thought that. I was only a union member briefly (and only because it was required in the state I was living in) and I worked my ass off. We all did.

[Chunkster]

My exposure to unions was at my part time college job in a warehouse where the Teamsters were attempting to "organize" it. I witnessed people being beaten up in the parking lot and intimidated verbally on the job. I was told of off-site actions of a similar nature, too. I was lucky to be left alone because I was there on a work-study grant and not part of the union vote. I made a permanent mental note to avoid any interaction with the Teamsters.

As for the HGEA, they own the state government and as an extension of that, they own a piece of all our finances. They virtually cannot be fired and live in a world where there are no consequences for bad performance or abysmal customer service.

[Mopar]

I'm a proud union member, but there has been instances in my past where certain contracts required me to work side by side with "not for profit unions" and I can tell you, I hated it. These are the unions that give real unions a bad name. Often hiring is done by gender or race to adhere to government guidelines, and production and performance don't exist. All I witnessed was people trying to cause problems, filing grievance's, and complete lack of production. I have the opportunity to work for a "government" union in my field. I won't take the job because I won't be able to work around these idiots. Come out and spend a day on a "real" construction site, not county or state workers working on the road. That is what most people judge unions by. Trust me...they ain't all like that. It is very viceral to see people just standing around. In my world, you stand around, you get sent back to the union hall.
Just my 2 cents, cuz I get tired of the union bashing from the so called "right", not that I gaf which side u r on. There are just a handful of "real" unions left, we fought hard for our pay scale and benefits. Every general contractor that puts out work for bid can hire union or non union contractors. Typically they go with the union ones due to production and quality of work, cuz we are the best trained. I'm not talking about a job the size of a residential house, but an actual multi million dollar job. I personally have worked on jobs as big as 250 million. And believe you me, there wasn't a lazy peep on that whole job site, from the lowest man on the totem pole to the top.

[Rob Tucker]

I am a strong supporter of private sector unions. Public employee unions.... not so much.