E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSMore than 200 transit police officers in south-eastern Pennsylvania have walked out on strike, forcing authorities to use private security firms to patrol subways and stops in the Philadelphia area.
Members of the Fraternal Order of Transit Police, Local 30 division, were called off their jobs on Wednesday, just minutes after negotiations with transit organization SEPTA broke down, NBC10 Philadelphia reported.
The station reported that the union has been in talks with SEPTA management from April last year and officers had been working since then without a contract.
A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer said union officials were demanding a $0.50 hourly pay raise to cover the cost of training certification for the 219 officers.
"At no time did we want to have to go on strike, but SEPTA forced our hand to do what we had to do right now," Rich Neal, of the union, told NBC10.
In a statement issued on its website, SEPTA said that it did "not anticipate this labor action will affect any transit operations or service."
"SEPTA has hired a private firm to provide security at our major transit facilities," SEPTA said. "We have an agreement with the Philadelphia Police Department to immediately begin periodic checks of our stations and vehicles 24 hours a day, with an increase presence at our key stations during school dismissal between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and during rush hour."
NBC News and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
I think they should just hire new people that want to work for the wage offered.
Problem SOLVED GET THE UNION OUT OF THERE
Exactly Just. Let them realize how much they had actually made when they are standing in unemployment line.
Hmmm, so why did you for fifty cents an hour go on strike????
Agree, Janine and just saying it. I see they didn't mention the hourly rate these people are already receiving. I also think that unions have NO BUSINESS in public employment. Their behavior and attitudes have endangered the public, and you can't fire a bad employee. The public should be protesting our public/government offices to end requiring taxpayers to fund employees working for the UNION. They should be working for US.
SEPTA already gets in excess of $700,000,000 dollars per year of taxpayer subsidies. And these union thugs want to extort more from the taxpayers they are holding for ransom? Show these jerks the door.
Having lived in the Philly area for a while I can tell you these SEPTA people are very well paid with great benefits. My neighbor when I lived there was a SEPTA employee, so I know from him first hand how good they have it. In addition, public employees in positions of public safety should not be allowed to strike. I say get rid of all of them and use private contract security. It would likely be far cheaper than paying these union types with their inflated salaries and cushy benefits/retirement plan. I am sure there are plenty of unemployed people out there who would gladly work for what these security people are currently getting paid and probably for considerably less.
Ah yes - the age old argument of unions being the devil. My experience with unions (and in the interest of transparency I have never been in a union) is that there are pro's and con's.
You mention that bad employee's cant be fired right? To some extent you are right - but it also keeps good employee's from being fired so a council member can make room for his son. Cronyism is alive and well in the public sector.
So address cronyism and people being fired for no reason in the public sector and the unions will lose some of their usefulness. Who am I kidding though - you'll still complain.
Funny thing about MSNBC....they seem to change the facts or disclose only those that suit the slant they wish to give to a story....
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/21/union-septa-transit-police-officers-go-on-strike/
So there are certainly details that are under dispute...was it a .50 cent raise or was the offer a quarter and the counter from the transit authority .15 cents...that is a discrepancy of .10 an hour that the union could not accept and instead of continuing to negotiate or offer the folks who use the transit system in Philly reasonable security the Union used their thug tactics to give no notice and go on strike.
Seems to me there is reasonable cause for the Transit authority to refuse any contract and fire all the current employees with cause for walking out on their jobs with 20 minutes notice, placing the public at risk, and replace those officers with new "non-Union" officers.
After a year of negotiation to go on strike for .10 cents an hour, according to the CBS article, well it seems the strike was the goal not protecting those using the transit system....
This certainly won't be the last of the civil workforce making demands for the opportunity for a publicity strike in this election year.
"SEPTA has hired a private firm to provide security at our major transit facilities,"
They may just find that it's a lot cheaper to hire private security guards.
Unions making more demands and calling strikes in this economic environment is ridiculous, but just another example of union greed.
Yes, I was wondering why the article doesn't say what the going pay rate is now. It's an obvious question. Poor reporting.
The Union is not being unreasonable. Get the Union Out of There? I hope you like being a slave to your employer when there are no more unions to stand up for employee rights because the Teabags and Teapublicans certainly won't. Personally I like the child labor laws. OSHA, paid overtime, paid leave, workers compensation, retirement, insurance if you are lucky enough to still have them, etc. None of this would esxist without unions and without unions these empoyee benefits and protections are already disappearing.
what a dumd asss ,you need a better wage and they don't give it away, must fight for it, rich don't care .and there is alot of tax money waisted ,why not give it out for safety....50 x 40 hrs=20 dollars wow.....u need a union to get better life....this is how wages got where they are now....dumb f ker
azindy....
All of the benefits you have mentioned are actually governed by the Department of Labor....we seem to have an excess somewhere...should we get rid of Unions or the Department of Labor...OCEA etc.
Hire illegals. They will do it for much less pay. /sarc
These idiots should be thankful they even have a job and a paycheck coming in. Let them protest all they want, and hire some other people to fill the positions while they make fools of themselves.
Arieus....I agree with you but....this strike seems to be just election year grandstanding...the President will come out with fierce Union support heading into the DNC convention this summer and on through the election year.
But then it will be time for the real issues to rise up and bite the President and the Unions in the Butt....what he supports with the unions, particularly SEIU is illegal immigration and a right to work as well as his disdane and "enemy classification" for those ligitimate workers in this country that do very well without union support.
norm-791890
no doubt a product of a union school system.....................
The BIG problem with unions right now is the taxpayer not only has to pay premium rates for utopian wages and benefits, but the public they work for is NOW having to BAIL out CITIES by the BILLIONS to keep their early retirees in lavish style. Look at all the teacher/fire/police bailouts, stimulus, GM (PRIVATE). GM is a joke, as they ran a TV AD bragging about paying back the taxpayers early, then it was discovered they did not not pay them back, they used HOARDED BAILOUT MONEY to make their 'payments'.
This year they received over 7 GRAND apiece for Christmas bonuses, and more 'profit' sharing...while taxpayers are going broke trying to keep their own homes and bills paid...and STILL did not reimburse the taxpayers.
Emergency managers are being prevented to run bankrupt cities, as those cities raise water rates and services beyond probability to keep the bloated city payrolls and benefits intact. The public deserves better. And, yes, 70 years ago we needed laws to make things more fair for workers, so now we have every law and then some to control how businesses treat employees. We do not need Unions, who only extort cash from the workers to keep certain admins in power with their money. Non-profit should be stripped from their status, as they are using taxpayer money to support candidates the public does NOT support.
GrainWaver,
You have no idea what you speak of. The starting salary for a transit cop in Philly is $30k per year with a max of $57k. If you think this is a utopian wage for working the Broad Street line in North Philly come on over from wherever the hell you reside and take the job. You would be petrified to stand in a subway station at Broad and Olney or Hunting Park let alone work it for a take home pay of less than $400.00 per week. Dealing with crack addicts, drug dealers, the homeless and mentally ill is just a small portion of the days activity. The all pervasive bouquet of urine adds to the local fauna of rats and pigeons to give one a homey work environment.
The top bracket transit cop can usually not afford to buy a house in a good neighborhood a 3br 1 bath twin costs about 160k if your lucky and carry only a 100k mortgage for 30yrs your mortgage taxes and PMI come to about $1,200.00 which pretty much would be within $300.00 of your monthly pay. A single is out of the question. The whole idea that public workers should take what they are given and shut up is moronic. Full time SEPTA drivers make about $30k to start with a high end of 68k and don't get shot quite as often. There were 350+ murders by handguns in Philadelphia in 2011 down from a high of almost 400 in 2007. God I wish I could get some of that utopian Baksheesh.
jkh
Jim Hayes--the Septa cops KNEW what the salary was when they were hired. If they were QUALIFIED to do anything else, they would not have taken the job. That does NOT make it incumbent on the taxpayers to give them the ability to buy a house. MANY people wait until they are married and have a NEST egg saved (and a second income) before buying a house. Many other folks who do not have much in the way of training or education just do not BUY a house. Homeownership is a PRIVILEGE, NOT a right, and has to be EARNED, not 'given'.
And BTW--how does their salary compare to the Philly POLICE, who are the ones who actually deal with MOST of those 350+ murders? And I'll bet the real cops have to have more training than the transit cops do.
Just get rid of the officers and use the private firm. I am sure the city does not want to do this as the officers did not want to strike. But, you reap what you sew.
Agree, Mark!
Do we know how expensive, or how competent these private security guards may be?
As a short term solution, the city will no doubt pay what ever it has to to ensure that the transit stations and subways. But I would not assume that these temps are a price bargain, especially since a private, for-profit organization needs to ensure a return on investment to its owners, or stock holders.
If they didn't want to strike, why did they?
does stupid come to mind. you do nothing but ride around for free, harass homeless people, does it get any better than that? and you get a check
The city should take this opportunity to out source these jobs and shed all the benefits they have to pay.
dman -
The private security guards are much cheaper than the SEPTA thugs. Just check any salary reporting site (glassdoor, etc.).
I would love to be able to enter all of your places of employment and tell you that hey today we decided no raises no benefits no negotiation and you over there I think you might get knocked up so your fired. Every non unionized worker in the nation should kiss the collective asses of union members for dragging your pay scales up to where you can at least see the possibility of a middle class life. I have been in management or ownership my entire life and never been a member of a union but if you believe that without a powerful counterbalance to ownership and management that money and benefits will be awarded out of the goodness of corporate hearts you are freaking nuts.
jkh
Jim--the labor unions have been living on the GLORY of the accomplishments that were GOOD, and blindly IGNORING all the BAD that they did. I will be the FIRST to admit that the unions did a LOT of good in the past to benefit the workers. See, but the MINUTE that labor unions began admitting ILLEGAL workers into their membership, they negated ALL claims to being for the "workers" of the US.
And you know what? My dad 'toiled away' as a management member of a factory which HAD a union, and the 'evil' boss would have a meeting every year, allow the union (and any accountant they chose to use) to examine the books, and then he would give them a fair offer based on how the COMPANY did-if it was a good year, the workers all got bonuses, and wage increases. If the company did BAD, they didn't get bonuses OR wage increases. The company finally folded in 1997, and nearly 15 years later, I run into former workers who STILL mourn the loss of an excellent place to work.
And BTW-the company supported the joining the union, because they did NOT want the teamsters or other big unions constantly harassing the workers and they also wanted the Union Reps to have a place to go to get specialized training. But there was NEVER even a threat of a strike, and the office door was always open for anyone who had a problem. NO repercussions.
Businesses WERE abusive back in the bad old days. Not all, but certainly some. And the accomplishments the unions made in the way of Hours, work conditions and paid vacations were good.
But featherbedding, forcing the hiring of Union members when they were not good workers, and the LAVISH pay and benefit packages extorted from many businesses FORCED those companies to move overseas, or shut down.
A company has a RIGHT to make a profit. And workers do NOT have a 'right' to pay increases when their productivity does not go up. And any union worker who does not like that fact can ALWAYS go back to school and get an education that will enable them to make more money by EARNING it.
Well said, MOMaid!!
I also questioned their level of competence.
I'm not ready to join the mad stampede to privatization of public services. All that does is move the cost center outside of government. It does not guarantee lower costs, or better service.
Remember Reagan and the air controllers
Amen, Neil. I had just posted the same thing b4 I saw your post.
Yeah Neil it was the 1st step by the GOP in it's effective destruction of the middle class. Boy how bout them good old days triple the national debt double government preach distrust in government while putting together the most corrupt administration in American history.
jkh
Sure, pay a private company rather than an extra $20 a week to cover the cost of certifications that are a requirement. That's really sound fiscal policy. /s
in the end, it IS a sound fiscal policy. unions are, by and large, worthless. they serve no purpose other than to drive prices up across the board.
it sucks that the families of these strikers may end up suffering, as will the economy if they get laid off or quit, but in the end, if they (SEPTA) can get an honest day's work out of someone, it's totally worth it.
Whats the difference you still have to pay someone. And if you can get the job done for the price you are willing to pay then that is better for the people that have to use the system.
Screw the UNION.
HIRE NEW PEOPLE THAT WILL WORK FOR THE WAGE.
NO need to keep the private firm then. GET A CLUE
Spoken like someone who truly is clueless.
I work in facilities management / engineering and see it every day. Buildings with union bricklayers, plumbers, electricians have very minimal issues. Buildings built by non-union tradesmen are by and large - junk.
Lets face it - do you want an electrician who just left McDonalds yesterday to come in and wire your building? Of course you do.
Wow, $20 a week? For everyone?!?! That would be a great deal! Too bad it's not! Sure, it's $20 a week... per employee.... That's over $1,000 a year - per employee. First, I highly doubt that it costs the employee that much to get certified. Second, this certification was necessary before, so it's cost was already a factor. Finally, even if these people have to pay for it out-of-pocket (which I severely doubt), it is much cheaper than getting a college education, and they are still getting as good of pay as many college graduates. This whole thing is just a ploy to pull more "free Obama money" out of the taxpayers' pockets.
P.S. - The average pay for salaried SEPTA workers is over $62,000 per year, for hourly it is around $25 per hour (which means $37.50 per hour overtime, which public workers try to get as much of as possible). They are doing pretty well for themselves already without a shiny new raise.
mike, you can say you work in management/engineering all day long, but you can't really prove it, can you?
the fact is, non-union workers are driven by the competition to be better than the next guy. by contrast, union workers have next to no incentive to become better at what they do. when a union guy screws up, he's protected. so what's the incentive to NOT screw up?
on the other hand, a non-union worker who screws up gets fired or sued. so i would argue against you in that buildings built by non-union tradesmen are, in fact, better and safer, because the guys who built it have put their reputations into it. these guys KNOW what they're doing because they HAVE to know what they're doing.
i won't join you by insulting union workers by saying that all they have to know is when to take their next break, because in the end, they're trying to feed their families, just as non-union workers are. but i will stand behind what i said: unions are worthless.
Considering that in most states a person needs to pass a test administered by the state to obtain an electricians license it really does not matter does it
Wrong. Some cities require master's licenses but where it is not dictated - any Joe can wire your house, your office or your kids schools.
So yes - it does matter.
Trust me - proving my background credentials to someone like you is the furthest thing from my mind.
As for the rest of your post... step away from Fox News.
that's all you can come up with? if so, you've essentially proven my point.
I do not know where you live but in my state NJ, A person representing themselves as an electrician must take,pass and obtain an electricians license issued by the state and if they are caught operating without one they are shutdown and fined, The same goes for plumbing.
Spoken like true Reich-wing communists, I just love how all of you are the deciders on just how much money someone should make... unless of course its YOUR salary. How do you think we got into this mess anyway, by companies off-shoring jobs for cheaper wages which just keeps pounding down the wages here in order to compete with third world labor. You all smell (badly) of jealously!
govhater, the only one 'dictating' how much someone should make is... ready for this? the unions. how's that reich-wing communist comment sitting with you now?
the market should set someone's wages, not by bully tactics, but by true competition. as i said in my earlier posts, someone who does a @!$%#ty job should get fired and replaced. union workers have no incentive to do a better job because they know they're protected.
that's actually closer to communism than competition, if you think about it.
Costs of certifications should be treated the same as required ongoing training and as such be classified as a business expense, paid for by the company. I see absolutely no logic in a salary increase for this periodic certification.
I live in PA and that is not the case.
So me refusing to address the idiocy in your posts proves your point that unions are worthless? ROFL! Nice critical thinking.
my point, since it's apparent you completely missed it, is this: union workers (and i can only assume you're one, if you aren't just pro-union - which would be kind of hypocritical) are weak, though not through any fault of their own, but simply by being part of the union. there's no need to engage in anything difficult... there's usually someone else to do it for them.
so by not offering an argument to counter mine, you've basically proven my point: you've got no desire to argue your side. or, to put it another way, you've grown soft, as most union people have grown. and why not? they've got someone to watch over them, to tell them what to do, when to do it, etc...
in this case, mike, you're on your own. you've been called out and you've been beaten. by a girl, no less.
pwned!
Mike,
I was a non union contractor in the Philadelphia suburbs for 25yrs. in order to be given a permit you need to be insured and certified whether you are non union or not. An electrician can have helpers run wire or do the rough in but each step is subject to municipal inspection by certified underwriters paid by the contractor.
jkh
Jerko,
You don't have a clue what you speak of. Virtually all of the scams and shoddy contracting work done is by private contractors. I operated my business for 25 years doing contracting in and around Philadelphia and lost at least 200 contracts to other contractors who worked without permits and often without insurance. There is absolutely no qualification to be a general contractor in most localities other than an add in the phone book. Your argument about competition and quality is almost the exact opposite of the truth. Price competition leads to cost and corner cutting not enhanced quality. If you think you are getting better quality from the contractor pool from giant Big Box home improvement stores your nuts. They are usually the lowest and have no idea who will do your job. I have NEVER in 25+ years been called in to fix a union job we have been called in dozens of times to fix what non union fly by nights butchered.
jkh
actually jim, i've got a pretty good clue what i speak of. generally speaking, in a free market economy, union labor is more expensive and offers no better quality than non-union labor. what YOU'RE talking about is in the private sector, where jim-bob homeowner hires someone out of the back of a truck to fix their deck. sure, that happens, and sure it hurts the honest guy. but ask yourself two questions: who's fault is it, really, that the homeowner wants to cut corners, and if you were bidding for that job, would YOU want that homeowner as a client, knowing full well that you're putting yourself at risk? ultimately though, the decision (and the fault, should something go wrong) lies with the homeowner. and as long as we're talking about private contracting, if you've done a good job for 25 years, you should have a pretty good reputation. good enough, in fact, that you shouldn't have to worry about competing with the fly-by-nighters. if they're still a thorn in your side, however, then what have you (not) done about it that people don't hire you right off the bat? and... who's fault is THAT? the homeowner's? the shoddy contractor's? or yours?
so stick to the conversation... a city, for the most part, is required to follow certain regulations. they'll cut corners, sure, but not to the point where the public safety is jeapordized. in this particular case, union workers walked off the job. not because they were doing a poor job necessarily (or maybe they were, i don't know). they got replaced (as they should have been) because an agreement couldn't be reached and they basically threw a fit, and that's pretty much that at this point. if they don't get their jobs back, they should take this as a lesson learned. in the meantime, the private security firm, which, i should mentioned, was NOT hired at some Big Box security improvement store, will do their job at least as well as the union guys. nobody will have to be called in to fix anything that they butchered because, quite frankly, they're likely competing for the position themselves.
Jim Hayes, and Mike--sorry, but I live in MO, am pretty handy with plumbing/electric and construction myself from years of homeownership, and my ex and I some years ago had a new house built by a UNION Builder, and the UNION electricians wired the plug for my dryer 110, 110, 110 instead of 110,110, and ground. (funny noise from dryer, being called a hysterical female, RUINED dryer, 'Priceless') The light switch for the pot light above my kitchen island didn't work, and after tearing out a bunch of stuff, the wire was found to be just hanging loose in the wall. They also wired the front hall light and the front PORCH light on the same switch, so that if someone rang my door bell at night, in order to see who it was, I had to let them SEE ME too. One of the neighbors had WATER running out of her guest bathroom electric plug, every time it rained. And 6 months after we moved in, we discovered that the cantilevered sinks in our master bath room had insulation , but it was ON TOP of the pipes, not below them, leaving the pipes with nothing but plywood and siding between them and 5 degree temps. So don't talk to ME about how union workers do no wrong. The home builder had a call back guy who spent 3 weeks in that house just fixing little 'oopses' like missing trim, doors that were not hung 'plumb', etc. And the house was inspected by St. Louis County inspectors (ALSO union!) who missed ALL the problems above plus more.
Oh, and the call back guy who FIXED it all? non union.
The workers who work on your house can be good or bad, whether they are union or not. There is NO substitute for doing your homework before hiring someone.
SEPTA is willing to pay a heck of alot more than $0.50/hour for the security guards for an indefinite period of time, but are not willing to fork out the same amount of money for it's workers?
Let's get real here.
How much more are they paying the private security guards? Could it possibly be less?
And if it is less - Im sure you are getting some real quality folks there.
It is indeed much less. Private security guards rarely make more than $15 per hour - it is essentially a holdover job until they can actually get into the police force, etc. The average hourly pay for SEPTA workers is $25 per hour. There is quite a difference in pay. SEPTA jobs are public career jobs, so the employees will try to squeeze as much out as possible.
Nope--they are not paying the replacement workers 50 cents an hour. NOR are they paying them MORE than they did the Septa workers.
got to love the Unions. It's never about money is it? If they worked for a year without a "contract" and still got paid what was the problem. The company should be paying for training anyway, why would they need to pay the workers more money? Besides, it's not like they are real cops anyway. Just pay the city to hire extra police officers for the job and agree to a price for that instead of paying your own people to do it. Make it a "Rookie" post to start off in the "Transit" department.
ONLY in the usa at a time when we need to work these idiots go on strike, CRAZY
who do you think should pay for their training ? the individual,the company,or the tax payer ?the union is trying to make the company pay for it.in a time where companies are reaping record profits and corporate bonuses,the american worker is left to work longer hours for stale wages and less benefits.these "idiots"as you call them,are standing up for the american worker !
The individual. It is a necessary tool for the job requirement. Does your company pay for your transportation to get you to and from work? That is also necessary requirement for the job. You have to show up.
The officers are already being paid for their training recertifications, They are not having to put out any money out of their own pockets, They wanted a 50 cent an hour increase in the rate they are currently being paid for the time spent in recertifications, SEPTA offered 15 cents an hour more and the union walked out, Further SEPTA is not a company, It is funded by ratepayers and taxpayer dollars.
They are getting an 11.5% raise spread out over 5 years so they are not exactly working for stale wages and less benefits
So an individual is responsible for their own training? What if they require expensive training hundreds of miles away? Is the individual responsible for transportation / lodging / other expenses?
Congrats - yours is the dumbest thing I have read all day.
Mike -
There is no need to go around calling what other people say dumb. That's, well, dumb.
First off, the SEPTA employees do not pay for their certification classes - in fact, the company pays for the classes, and the employee is able to get hourly reimbursement for their time spent in the training program.
Second, even if the employees did pay for it, how is that different from a college education - these guys get paid as much as many college graduates.
So you dont see the difference between college and continuing education?
Teachers have to do continuing education. THEY don't get paid for it.
Once again the exaggeration seems to be your forte. Companies pick up that kind of "training" usually to further a persons capabilities as the business need demands it.
And if mine are the dumbest posts you have read all day, I suggest you do a recap of many of yours. You will get a chuckle out of yourself once your head comes out.
unions have out lived there usefullness!
lol,i would counter that with companies moving overseas and many CEOs going to jail for stealing retirement funds,the unions are needed now more than ever !
LOL...The stealing of retirement funds has traditionally been reserved for the Union Leadership.
The Unions are part of the reason they are going overseas.
The HIGH cost of UNION WAGE JOBS.
Any source for that info other than Fox News?
just saying So what is the answer? Do we lower our wages to $2/hr to compete with overseas workers? I personally don't know the answer?
its more than just 20 bucks a week, its 23,000 a year. and for local budgets that a lot of money.
i guess they could raise the subway prices to cover it since its only 20 bucks a week as some are looking at it. so you pay 20 bucks a week more to use the subway is no real big deal.
and thats based on 40 hours per week, what about overtime and other extra time.
Not sure how you came up with $23,000 a year. $20 a week x 52 weeks in a year = $1040 a year. And no not everyone would be paying $20 a week more to use the subway, that would be spread out over the thousands of people who ride it so it would be more like adding a fraction of a cent a week per rider.
The math really is $0.50/hour times 2080 hours times 200 workers or $208,000 a year. Plus the increase into their retirement account. Their average pay is $47,000 plus overtime at $34 per hour...
I think more info is needed to make a call. It's amazing that only after a year there was a private firm ready to step in with all the certification needed though. Makes a person wonder how much the new workers are getting paid to just step in. And how could anyone not remember the Reagan years, we are still living it.
Sorry you UNION LOVING TROLLS but like the earlier post states. UNIONS HAVE OUTLIVE THERE USEFULNESS.
THEY are the ones that feel they need to get a reaise every year no matter what and that is the reason GM, CHRYSLER and hundreds of other companies have or should of had to file BANKRUPT.
The should of had to applies to GM & CHRYSLER INSTEAD OF THE BAIL OUT THEY GOT. And you trolls that think GM or CHRYSLER would of went away gt a CLUE. Look at American Airlines they filed bankruptcy papers because they did NOT get a bail out.
They did NOT go AWAY. Neither would of the AUTO INDUSTRY
And so has normal grammar and sentence composition. Dont forget - Caps are cruise control for cool.
I am not usually one to pick on grammar but since you brought it up Mike
Don't requires an apostrophe and you do not use a hyphen in between forget and Caps, A comma is usually what would be used there.
LostInThePineBarrens--it usually does NOT pay to criticize someone else's syntax, spelling or grammar, does it?
(PS--ALL CAPS used for emphasis. ;} )
I guess the workers and the union are idiotically unaware that there is a recession entering its 4th year and about to get even worse? How many unemployed would love to have their jobs. The city needs to do what Reagan did to the ATC's back in 81's PATCO strike, fire them all and replace them with those who will appreciate having a paying job.
They went on strike for a $0.50 per hour increase even though they negotiated an 11.5% general pay raise over 5 years, A SEPTA Police Officer can retire at age 50 as long as they have 20 years of service
Go be a cop then? After all - if its such a cake job and benefits are that good - have at it.
How do you know that I am not a police officer or a retired police officer, You do not, But I will be honest and tell you that I am not, I am not saying that what they are doing is an easy job, I am saying that they walked out and went on strike over a 35 cent per hour difference in the amount they are paid for recertification/training, I am also stating that they had already negotiated and recieved an 11.5% raise over a 5 year period and that they can retire at 50 years old after 20 years of service.
I do know you're not a cop. Because you just said so.
That is correct, I just told you!
However when you made this statement you had no idea who I am or what I did for a living.
Mike, I have no problems with Police officers or unions, In fact I generally support the police, However when they walk out and go on strike over a 35 cent an hour difference in the amount they will be paid for training/recertification then I have a problem with that, They negotiated a fairly decent pay raise of 11.5% over 5 years considering the current status of the economy and they are trying to get even more money thru additional increases in pay for their re-certs, I know a bit about public sector workers salaries and police officers contracts in general, Of the things they get paid for in addition to their base salary they get contractural annual pay increases, They get longevity increases, They get holiday pay and they get shift differential, In addition to being paid for negotiated holidays if they fall on their days off they get overtime when they work them. They get uniform maintenance and allowance and they are paid for their meal break because they are considered still on duty.Many police department also compensate for educational credits which includes paying an officer additional pay for their advanced education many times when that advanced education was obtained while that officer was working and on duty, IE they get paid when they go to these schools and then get extra pay in the form of education incentive pay
As I said I generally support the police but in this instance they were wrong to go on strike.
If I was in charge they would not have a job at all in any government after this (like police and military in all other western countries not showing up for job),--but then again I might end up dead like so many others by the hands of the USA police, and nobody would care!
There is not enough information to decide who is right or wrong. What is the pay scale and benefits for the job now. If they make more than a private company pays then no raise, if not then a raise is deserved. With the economy in the dump no union should be striking, not 50 cents an hour.
Wow glad to see the union putting public safety first oops typical union going out on strike and putting public safety last not first.
Wow so it’s “OK” for the Philadelphia Transit police to go on strike for higher pay but not for the rest of US. Well that should tell you all you need to know about the Honesty & Integrity of the Police in America!
Shhh….1000’s of Americans out in the streets of NYC last night protesting against Wall Street and MSNBC doesn’t even mention it!
Hmm that should tell you all you need to know about the Honesty & Integrity of the Mega Corporate Controlled Mainstream Media!
Wake Up America it is time “We” went on Strike to take back control of our Government….May 1st (if not sooner) join your nearest Neighborhood Occupation!
Give them a week to think about it and then hire replacements or go private.
I'm sick of hearing about unions going on strike. Get rid of them greedy bastards. There are plenty of people looking for work that can fill the positions.
Sure. Lets replace them with people like that self-appointed neighborhood superhero in FL that shot the teenager. He'd do a good job.
I worked with the state for 10 years i knew people who had not had raises in over 10-18 years. Same job and I started making what many of these older people made for years at the same pay level! scary.. while upper crust got raises EVERY YEAR in and out would make the TOP of the heap in under four years in pay. IT WAS SICK..
Problem there was, they were in the same job. No promotion, no increase in responsibility, just float along doing the same old, same old and probably not getting any more efficient at it. They were there for a paycheck. Not a career. That's the problem with many in this country today. Pay me what I perceive to be my worth and increase it yearly because I exist.
So... No cost of living adjustments. Ever? You strike me as a middle aged partial disability collecting white guy. How close am I? LOL!
I've gone 8 years with no pay increase. Because of the recession, and the fact that I work in the private sector non-union, in the last year I have made 45% less than I was earning two years prior. I am a private contractor (not a builder-contractor) fee service provider.
I feel no sympathy for anyone who has not gotten any pay increases for the last several years...........IT IS A RECESSION!!
But you certainly are in favor of the upper management and CEO's that continue to rack in record profits more in the same last several years than any previous... reich? I mean, right?
Maybe you should have stayed in school?
Mike -
Obviously they were SO productive that their employer didn't think they were worth it. And no, I am not a middle aged collecting anything (except a paycheck for a job I work hard at and am quite successful at doing) type. White guy, yes. I guess one out of three isn't bad.
Real cops can't strike! I guess Phili answers the perverbial question for transit cops nationally huh.
If they were real cops they could not have a union and would be limited to a fraternal organization that would not conflict with the oath of service and duty they take. Of course assuming they take an oathe of service and duty that is. . . .
Actually most all police officers belong to a"Union" and pay dues to it , There are FOP's PBA's STFA and many others, A union is nothing more than a group which one belongs to and pays dues to in exchage for the group negotiating with your employer for you.
right on occupyrich, are you actually for the occupy movement? I can finally die a happy man. those idiots over on yahoo are the worst. it takes a little more to sign up here, that's why. Until we rid this country of the politicians that are in place we will not know what a real democracy is. VOTING ISN'T WORKING
Get rid of all of them and use a private security contractor.
Just more of your government at work for you.
Fire them all and put them on a NO RIDE list so they can never ride the transit again!!!