I would like to thank all of the leaders and members of this great union who contributed to the re-election of President Obama last night. We built a political machine throughout the United States. From my office to the Districts to the Locals to job sites, homes, friends, family and neighbors we made a difference in this crucial election that bears so heavily upon the lives and security of IATSE members. I am proud of the work we did and the results, but we must remain engaged and active into the future.
Make no mistake that efforts to weaken unions both at the bargaining table and in the political arena will continue. We must remain prepared and agile to engage in these battles as they arise. We must also support and fight for progressive legislation and policy that supports workers, and hold government accountable to its obligation to protect the interests and meet the needs of working families.
Please accept my gratitude to those who volunteered, sacrificed time, donated money and voted. Your participation is crucial.
-- Matthew D. Loeb, President, IATSE
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
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8 comments:
Its a hell of a day when a private union holds water for corrupt and shiftless public unions. The former is accountable and the latter is not.
More than that, now that we let them maintain control in Sacramento, ALL IF US have tax increases that feed the rich. Thats right, the rich.
2,129 retired California university professors have annual pensions that exceed $100,000 a year.
http://www.fixpensionsfirst.com/uc2012/
6,609 retired California teachers also have annual pensions that exceed $100,000 a year.
http://www.fixpensionsfirst.com/calstrs-database/
12,338 retired CalPers (public employees) also have annual pensions that exceed $100,000 a year.
http://www.fixpensionsfirst.com/calpers2012/
^thats nearly 21,000 people who have a BASE salary of six figures(click the links and you'll see that many, many, many, are in the two and three hundred thousand a year bracket. Non of those salaries are taxed.
Thats $2 TRILLION per year we are paying out to fat cats living off your tax dollars after they "spiked" their pension in the last year of service. Thats not the middle class you are supporting.
YOU ARE BEING FLEECED BY PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS.
And the private union we work for is carrying water for them. Its disgusting.
First, thanks to everyone who voted.
Second, please consider voting in the off-season elections as well. I'd encourage everyone reading this thread to sign up for Permanent Vote-By-Mail status here in California. I've had it for a few years now, and I ♥ it. I never miss an election, no matter how small. I get three weeks to fill out my ballot while researching the issues on Google, which is good for the projects where I'm pulling 14-hour days and 7-day weeks. I can also check online to see when my ballot was received.
It's a perfect solution for busy, busy artists. I strongly recommend it.
PS -- This cartoon sums up Oswald Cox' short-sighted nonsense better than I ever could.
And here is a website you may want to peruse before:
http://www.basic-mathematics.com/
The numbers posted above were released via the freedom on information act and I lowballed the final figure.
The public pension debt is going to reach $2.2 trillion. $2.2 trillion.Thats more than the cost of the Iraq War. Paid for by taxing the residents of one state?
Is there a cartoon that makes that funny that you can find? Or are you going to stick your head in the sand like the rest of the dolts in here that support fiscal suicide for this state with idiotic solidarity for unions we have NOTHING to do with.
Oswald Cox, what are you doing right now to ensure a secure and dignified retirement for yourself? Are you honestly socking away savings in a 401(k), I-Bonds, an IRA and Vanguard index funds?
...or are you relying solely on a union pension to see you through your golden years?
Of course he's not. And he's discounting the hard work those Public Union employees did their whole lives in [mostly] thankless jobs. If the public disagreed with the deals made, they would have voted the people making them out of office. But just like republikans, cox wants something for nothing. Gimmie stuff for free!
Well, we're done with the bush years, where "gimme free stuff" is over. The majority of the country voted to put a resposible MAN in the White House--again.. What a great day.
Simple economics > party loyalty.
You are a grade A dunderhead if you think that because your party won, basic math doesn't apply to you. The word is "unsustainable". Look it up.
The numbers above are not from FoxNews or Karl Rove. They are the actual liability of this state. Whether the public unions deserve that money or not doesn't enter into it. You can't even look at the issue without putting yourself first (its called Stage One thinking).
Its comparable to you telling Greece, "Hey everybody, those people deserve that money so stop rioting"
THE MONEY ISN'T THERE.
Not some of the money, over a trillion dollars of the money. And the can has been kicked down the road by decades of politicians who cut deals that didn't take effect until they were out of office, so voting them out for what they did is a great idea Kousac! A great idea if you have a time machine.
In all the posts I have made in here, no one disputes the numbers or the impending insolvency.What is happening in Greece is directly equatable to California. Be afraid - because its coming and the public sector unions are the reason.
Lets review current events:
The city of Stockton went bankrupt this year because of its huge pension liability. That was the single reason. In an attempt to stem the bleeding though, they laid off a host of city employees two years ago, some of which being 55 police officers.
The murder rate doubled this year.
San Bernadino has a similar story. Layoffs in a desperate bid to reach solvency and a crime wave and bankruptcy to follow. All because of pension liability.
Here is the current news for Los Angeles:
Beck warns of LAPD layoffs unless city sales tax is increased
"The police chief says he is already unable to hire 911 emergency operators, custody officers and mechanics, and that the LAPD would probably lose 500 officers without the revenue from a sales tax hike."
There are two other initiatives in Los Angeles right now to raise the city sales tax to make up for the liability to union pensions.
What happens when 500 police officers disappear from the force?
Last year San Francisco's police force fell to 110 officers below the charter-mandated staffing level of 1,971. And the murder rate this year is spiking with 57 homicides this year.
If you don't see a pattern here, you have your head in the sand. With new taxes passed in this state hampered already by crippling unemployment you're going to have REAL problems with no services to help you.
Then you won't be so quick to praise the thankless jobs. You'll be wondering why you were thrown under the bus.
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