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Raise the curtain.

Macomb County's TEMPORARY Union Concessions!!!

By Theblogprof, Section News
Posted on Wed Feb 25, 2009 at 10:20:06 AM EST
Tags: corruption, macomb, politics, UAW, unions (all tags)

cross-posted at theblogprof

I've made two handfuls of posts regarding the shenanigans in Macomb County because of their bloated budget. In short, the Democrats on the Commission are in cahooots with the labor unions, who bail them out of making tough decisions at the expense of their own membership, doing so by overturning lawful decisions of their own membership, slap back efforts for real reforms, use human shields to ram their agenda through, and stand there in front of the voters with a straight face and a tin cup.

Today, the Macomb Daily reports: County secures concessions from several unions.

Macomb County officials are about two-thirds of the way toward securing $10 million in concessions -- and narrowing an $18 million budget gap -- after ratifying contracts with four employee unions.

This of course follows the stolen UAW membership vote, a much larger union. Apparently, the smaller unions are now falling in line.

I pointed out this little tidbit in an earlier post:

The new results immediately created a storm of protest among many UAW employees because of claims that dozens of ballots were tainted. UAW officials would not comment on the contested election but one UAW unit chair sent an e-mail to employees Thursday morning to address the rumors that are "running wild."
The note said that the ballots cast at two departments -- the Macomb County Community Services Agency and the Animal Shelter -- were presented in a cardboard box. All other UAW units presented their ballots in a locked container.
Without the boxed ballots, the ratification vote would have failed. (emphasis mine)

I then made the following observation:

What a shock. More votes were found. Had the vote failed today, I'm sure the UAW would have been given a new mulligan. Then another. Then another. Until enough votes were "found" to give the desired result. On a bigger scale, this has happened before. Anyone remember the 2004 Washington State Governor's race? More recently, how about the Senate race in Minnesota? It should come as no surprise that the shenanigans on full national display in very critical elections happen on a much smaller scale as well. This is just par for the course.

Well, more on that stolen vote in the Macmb Daily today:

The situation is further complicated by UAW rank-and-file members who want to halt the entire process. Employees may file a complaint with state officials challenging the validity of the second ratification vote. Others may organize a decertification vote to dump the UAW as their labor representative and choose a different union.

What are they waiting for? In any case, here's the next step:

the next step will be to seek a property tax hike to wipe out the remaining deficit. In March, the 26-member board is expected to vote on a millage increase...

Ah yes, tax increase. The fist one in Macomb in two generations! Because if they don't, they will roll out the human shields. (children, low-income families, senior citizens - not necessarily in that order) Here's the problem: there are more cuts and reforms to be had! From this same MD article:

"Under the economic conditions that we're in," Carabelli (one of only 6 Republicans on the 26-member Council) said, "I don't think we should have employees at age 60, after eight years of working for the county, getting retirement and medical (benefits). There's no place you can work where, after 25 years, you can retire with full benefits."The private sector is moving in the other direction and government needs to get there quicker."

Yes it does. The 20 Democrats disagree. There's enough right there to close the budget hole and spare moms and dads in Macomb County from tax increases in this time of recession. Here's the worst part about the concessions, perhaps a slip-up by a union leader:

"I think the toughest part was probably the longevity (pay), and convincing people that this is not going to be permanent," said AFSCME Local 411 president Donna Cangemi. The new contract applies to 740 of Cangemi's 900 members. (emphasis mine)

Not permanent? Does Cangemi have such a promise through back chatter with certain Council members? In smoke-filled rooms? Remember, some of these council members have had a full 1/3 of their campaign cash come just from the UAW. In effect, they are bought and paid for by the unions. As soon as the economy shows an iota of turning around, handouts will be given right back to the unions. Will property taxes then be lowered for residents also? Back to the millage rates of the last 30+ years? Don't hold your breath! Here's one more telling quote from the MD article:

The new pact allows for the contract to be reopened next year if the county's financial situation improves. AFSCME is hoping that federal stimulus money from Washington may improve the county's bottom line.

Ah yes - the non-stimulus stimulus/porkulus do-us in-us. What exactly is going to be stimulated exactly? Macomb County's bloated budget? Again? The staus quo? Isn't this just repeating past mitakes? Do any of the Democrats on the Council care? Just remember this telling quote that I pointed out a while back regarding the proposed increase in property taxes from one of the handful of Republicans on the Commission: