H.R. 413, Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009: Jim Tate

Jim Tate, Firefighter and President pf the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters, testifies at a hearing about H.R. 413, Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 on March 10, 2010.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• organizing
• public safety
• workplace safety
• Congress

[whoo689]

Plus, are bureaucratic (and probably liberal on average) folks who run public safety departments nationwide REALLY that cutthroat and anti-worker, esp. when compared to very cutthroat business executives and CEOs? I dunno. Seems like they're making mountains out of molehills, frankly.

[whoo689]

And they tend to get away scot-free with shit like NOT HAVING TO PAY A DIME FOR BENEFITS LIKE HEALTH INSURANCE ON THE JOB, as New Jersey Governor Christ Christie once revealed on MSNBC. While EVERYONE ELSE, at least in the private sector and in much of the public sector i'm sure, has to pay at least some portion of their paychecks for that shit.

If done right, this bill may help. But I fear it will end up hurting us in the long run. It's a big risk.

[whoo689]

For example, teachers' unions have made the job WORSE for everyone else, only giving the benefits to the teachers themselves. The unions in this area of gov't are WAY TOO UNYIELDING and uncompromising to deal with! In some places, like New York or NYC, it's a fucking NIGHTMARE to try to fire even one bad teacher, so incompetence is rarely punished. When you present new ideas like vouchers or charter schools, they tend to stand in the way of THAT, too. They HATE the idea of sacrifice.

[whoo689]

And don't gov't workers, ESPECIALLY federal, tend to get a much more comprehensive benefits and compensation package than the private sector on average?? This may be too risky for cities and states. I dunno if we can afford this. States and the federal sector have ALREADY unionized a lot of their workforce as it is. I have nothing against unions per se, but the public sector is OBLIGATED to run and serve all the people in the community, and unions may compromise that.

[whoo689]

Plus, unlike companies, gov't is VERY different in terms of power structure. They have 3 branches; corporations only have ONE (the executives run everything). Corporate leaders have much more freedom to deal with workers; bureaucrats who 'run' their departments don't exactly have that much power, and OTHERS in gov't can get in the way. Taxes are money taken FROM other folks, not profits earned voluntarily like with a company. The differences are too great between public and private.

[whoo689]

You have to be VERY careful when you try to unionize public sector workers, esp. in fields as important as fire safety and law enforcement. I think it's a BAD idea. I mean, surely the bureaucracy and pro-gov't people who lead these departments aren't treating their workers THAT badly, esp. compared to some of the horror stories I've heard from the private sector in places like WalMart. Public safety positions are too important to be put in jeopardy by the complexities surrounding unions.

[ltquestfc]

thats my dadddy !

good job dad,

im so proud of you &

happy to be able to have a

father like you :)