Monday, July 8, 2013

CA Government Agency Went To Scott Walker's Class On Busting Unions

From the San Fran Chronicle:
BART’s hardball game is proving to be a lot better than its unions had anticipated — and from the looks of things, management isn’t planning any changes.
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about what should be a fair raise for workers,” said BART director Zachary Mallett, whose district includes Berkeley, Albany and a large swath of western Contra Costa County. “But what is really important to talk about is, what is the fair wages and benefit package for the work being done?
“If someone is making $1,000 an hour for a job that can be done for $20 an hour, then they don’t need a raise,” Mallett said.
Asked how that thinking might apply to BART, Mallett said, “Our driver wages are the highest in the region, despite the fact that our trains are automated.”
That pretty much sums up what BART directors — particularly those in suburban districts — are hearing from voters.
So when BART General Manager Grace Crunican rolled in with a tough team of outside negotiators, it shocked the unions — but not BART board members, who have largely taken a hands-off approach to the talks.
One dissenter is board member James Fang of San Francisco, who joined strikers on the picket line. He said last week’s strike might not have happened had directors been in on negotiations.
“I understand there is a tactic to not letting elected directors get involved, but I’m not sure that was the best move for the riders of the Bay Area,” Fang said.
It all came as a shock to many strikers, who are convinced they’re entitled to raises after a four-year wage freeze and don’t want to give it back in increased benefits costs. They’ve made no secret that they think BART management wanted the strike so it could weaken the unions.
The question is, given the times and the mood of the public, what can they do about it?  http://blog.sfgate.com/matierandross/2013/07/07/barts-hardball-tactics-leave-unions-scrambing/?plckOnPage=2&plckItemsPerPage=10&plckSort=TimeStampDescending
It's funny that the union thugs are crying that someone in liberal San Francisco would actually stand up to them. 
And if look at the comments section in the article, you will see that the union has virtually no support.
Hopefully, it will catch on to other areas of California because California is very close to economic ruin because of the pensions and wages of the public employees.

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