Reply With Quote“There’s a great protection of the status quo,” he said.
Why must there be raises each year? Why must we continue to pay for health coverage?
Updated: August 04, 2010, 7:11 AM
The Cheektowaga Town Board voted unanimously to approve one small union contract that may serve as a cost-saving template for the four other expired employee contracts and help wean town workers from generous deals left over from more prosperous times, said Jeff Swiatek, a board member and chairman of the personnel committee.
The Monday vote concluded more than a year of negotiations with the Town of Cheektowaga Supervisory Union for 21 who work as supervisors and foremen in town departments, such as wastewater management and sanitation.
Their raises will be smaller than the norm—2.5 percent for the next four years instead of 2.75. New mandated contributions to health insurance, which the town once paid for completely, range from 5 to 15 percent. It will cost a worker at least $1,000 a year, along with higher co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions, Swiatek said.
The TCSU, with salary costs of $1.5 million, is one of the five unions that cover a total of about 450 town workers — from secretaries to police — with help from a protective state law that prohibits municipalities from changing work terms without union approval.
“There’s a great protection of the status quo,” he said.
Standards for about another 30 non-union workers are set by a personnel policy modeled on the union deals, Swiatek said.
About two-thirds of the town’s $82 million budget, which required a 2.55 percent tax increase for some last year, is spent on employee costs, said Swiatek, a lawyer and a specialist in municipal law.
For example, he said, union contracts dictate how many people the town must employ. Innovations in the new TCSU contract that Swiatek hopes to replicate include requiring retirees to sign up for government subsidized Medicaid insurance at 65, Swiatek said.
And new employees will not be eligible for paid health insurance at retirement. “We’re closing the door,” he said. New hires will also have vacation time capped at four weeks as they gain seniority rather than the six weeks that 25-year employees earn.
About three weeks ago, negotiations with another town union reached an impasse. A mediator has been called in to help with the contract for the Town of Cheektowaga Employees Association, which represents 250 workers. Now that the terms for the TCSU have been agreed on, Swiatek hopes that will influence the TCEA.
“We’re hoping that this settlement will bring a jump-start to that negotiation so we can bring it to a conclusion,” he said.
“There’s a great protection of the status quo,” he said.
Why must there be raises each year? Why must we continue to pay for health coverage?
Buffalo Web Hosting and Graphic Design
www.onlinemedia.net - www.vinyl-graphics.com
Web hosting / Web Design - Signs, Banners, Vehicle Graphics
This is a very tiny start to what must be much larger cuts in benefits and the end of minimums for worker totals (currently 250 worker minimum for town workers) and the end to taxpayer funded health care and tax payer funded retirement.
Am I the only one that notices that these are puny cuts and must be far greater to effectively give the Town of Cheektowaga a chance to compete for businesses and new townsfolk. We must make changes in order to get people to want to live and businesses to want to sell in Cheektowaga rather than both to flee the highest property and land taxes in Erie county!!!
**free is a trademark of the current U.S. government.
benny, did Swiatek, and the rest of the town board, supervisor, and police chief cut their health care 5 to 15 % and start to pay?hummmmm... no, they should of been the first to do so before any contracts get settled.
God must love stupid people; He made so many
I agree but didnt the town board cut there health coverage a couple of years ago.I am not sure thought I read something about that. As Mike said puny cuts is right. But I just want to see what the Union contract with the town is going to look like.I never understood why the town gives that union whatever it wants.Its insane and one of my pet peeves is all the holidays it pays time and a half on.The day after Thanksgiving,Good Friday? and the Monday after Easter really you have to pay ot for those days.Drives me nuts
benny, in 2009 the TB did make non union employees pay into the same thing this small union just took. the part time board took no cuts the pd cheif negotiates their own contract and usually follows the capts and lts contract. wegner is a elected offical so no cuts for him.Originally Posted by Benjamin
this union 23 members that just signed a contract (supervisory union) are politically connected people that are in these position, so of course they are going to take some cuts....why, because they are told toooooo.
union buster, and mr. anti-labor... jeff swiatek has a long way to go if he thinks the PBA or TCEA will
agree to any of this the body would never vote on it.sort of like how the county union told collins where to put it.
Last edited by cheekman; August 5th, 2010 at 04:19 PM.
God must love stupid people; He made so many
wrong cheek only 21 no bearing with board members when the TCEA goes to fact finding they will get nothing zero across the board . PBA run is about to end in binding arbitration. TCSU was the only one willing to negoitiate will the board. Every one else will pay in the end.Just to let you know about the botton third of the TCEA already pay 10 percent, it is just a matter of time,when everybody joins.
It will still come to a vote by the body and I agree the PBA will never put it through. If they do it will be a while before they ratify the contract. The TCEA is a different story their new president might sell these guys down the river. Some town employees (TCEA) have told me they are not happy with this guy.
Cheeks, do you know whats going on with the contract in the county? CSEA
TCEA has no choice but to negotiate
With the economy,taxes,etc.
They will have to make concessions small and big
wanna bet?
So did you hear anything?
You think the Town is just going to give the union whatever it wants again?
I just dont see it.
Since everyone but people in power knows that there is a money problem on the federal,state and local level why give out any raises at all? This assinine way of thinking is what got us into these problems to begin with. I say start with the people at the top then hit the people on the bottom as well. The private sector makes cuts and adjustments constantly so why can't the public sector?
The current powers that be don't believe it is necessary when they can just raise taxes and still get elected every single time they run (as long as they tow the democratic agenda). They don't care about the people of the town. They care about themselves and how much they can get from the taxpayers as well as their friends and family who occupy all the town union jobs. There, I said it!Since everyone but people in power knows that there is a money problem on the federal,state and local level why give out any raises at all? This assinine way of thinking is what got us into these problems to begin with. I say start with the people at the top then hit the people on the bottom as well. The private sector makes cuts and adjustments constantly so why can't the public sector?
**free is a trademark of the current U.S. government.
I have been away too long , but everybody must realize in order to get something you need to give something up. All you people friend or foe of public unions must realize this. You cannot change this. There are many peoople against union on this board, fine opinions vary. It is called the Taylor law. Negiotiations between management and rank and file is called negiotiating.Raise are a part of it,like it or not. The people of the union are also taxpayers and residents of the town putting their money in the same pot as every one else.
To cheek fan The other union will get nothing unless they concede to something I will Wager something on this, otherwise they will get zeros across the board mark my words good enough.Quote the raven.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions