columbus

From a frustrated friend of mine who prefers anonymity:

The $60,000 a year civil servants are who people turned to this past week in both Boston and in Texas.  Public safety and support was mighty important.  Yet the BOCS in Prince William County want to take a holiday away from this very group of people.  Additionally, in the Texas plant explosion, a science teacher was the lead rescue person in getting the elderly and infirmed out of the convalescent home.

Taking a holiday away from municipal employees devalues their worth.  Already Prince William County employees are overworked and treated disrespectfully.  Just read a local blog.   It has been this way since the crash.  Many have no had respectable raises.  Individuals are cannon fodder for local bloggers and those sitting around with an ax to grind.

Perhaps nothing says “screw you” quite like taking a way a holiday.  Shame on the BOCS and Chairman Corey Stewart who was the brains [sputter-cough-choke] behind taking the holiday from the county employees.  It really didn’t need to happen.

What’s amazing is the number of people who pay lip service to county employees until time to give them a respectable raise.  Then its all about THEIR taxes. Then there are the folks who couldn’t say anthing nice if their life depended on it.  You know, the little people who feel county employees are there to do their little people bidding.  They think they pay their salary.

I am willing to bet that most people in Boston last week would have doubled law enforcement’s salary in a heart beat.  I hope they remember the cheering when budget time rolls around and don’t act like our BOCS.  Seriously, that is one of the cheapest tricks I have ever heard of.

 

20 Thoughts to “Columbus Day in Prince William County–looks like the natives got screwed again”

  1. Lyssa

    Fortunately, Boston is still blue collar enough to appreciate and value those that do “for” not only those that make money. Both have value.

    1. People in PWC should still be blue collar enough also, but they have always put on catfish airs.

  2. kelly_3406

    Many non-government companies now provide for only nine paid holidays per year. For example, SAIC’s web site states that its employees are eligible for seven fixed holidays (Columbus Day is not one of them), plus two more to be used at employee discretion. This seems fairly typical.

    This adjustment puts PWC employees more in line with the citizens that they serve. It is more a matter of affordability than worth.

    1. Actually the PWC citizens won’t be more in line with the citizens they serve since they serve an area that is heavily federal employee. Additionally, who really cares about the private sector? We are speaking of the public sector.

      The entire idea of taking away a holiday, especially after very poor increases in salaray over the past 5 or 6 years and having to pay their own VRs contribution is just another slap in the face to supposedly save money. It says screw you to those people.

      It might be ok with you but its now OK with me.

      For the record, the schools haven’t had that holiday for a long time. Decades. However, that shouldn’t matter either.

  3. Lyssa

    Government employees are paid less than counterparts in private industry. When business is good my friends would joke about job opportunities with local government – said they had living standards they needed to maintain…..check out the IT salaries…..

  4. Kelly_3406

    It depends on what measure is used. I believe the average annual income is higher for a government worker than a worker in the private sector. However, you are indeed correct that salaried professionals in the private sector are higher paid.

    So is the implication that lower government salaries justify more vacation and paid holidays?

    1. The implication is that to take away a holiday is just plain insulting, especially on top of the other insults.

      If there is a reason to take away a holiday, then at least reimburse that holiday with a pay increase.

      Some people voluntarily work holidays for the overtime.

  5. Censored bybvbl

    Maybe private sector employees should consider why they’re so wiling to be screwed. At what point did it become common place to say ,”Yes, sir, may I have another” instead of bargaining for a decent amount of time off.

  6. Lyssa

    @Kelly_3406

    How much is it worth to have a good EMT pull you from a wreck? Or a crack shot cop save your kid? The point Moon was making is that the people that this nation turned to this week – cops and firefighters – are pretty low paid for what most of us hope they’ll do for us. So, taking away a holiday seems snotty. That’s all.

    1. It is worth millions if it is your kid. How many people do you know who would be willing to work the rest of their lives to pay for having their child saved?

      Answer: Lots

      How amny people would have given those cops a double raise Friday night when the POS was captured? Answer: Lots

      How many would be willing to give them a raise in 3 months? Answer: not quite as many.

  7. Lyssa

    @Censored bybvbl

    Why unions came in. When people aren’t treated well…….holiday is a bit of an extreme example of my point.

  8. kelly_3406

    @Censored bybvbl

    That is very easy to say, but the problem is that we are now in a global marketplace. If the American worker becomes too expensive, then the job can often be moved overseas to places like China and India. So there is downward pressure on labor costs and benefits.

    During the 70s and 80s, the US enjoyed a strong competitive advantage over the rest of the world so that the worker was able to negotiate better benefits and higher wages. That’s no longer true in many cases.

    1. I seriously doubt if Prince William county will move its county government overseas. The taxpayers would howl about that also. I can see neighborhood services sending someone over to talk to Lafayette from India right now.

      Not even Core-meister could pull that one off.

      As for private industry…the American people will never acquiesce to working like the Chinese. It just wont happen. They will run out the uber million dollar companies first.

  9. Lyssa

    The gap between profit increases and wage increases in the US is large and continues to grow rapidly.

  10. BSinVA

    I spoke with one of the County Supervisors yesterday. That Supervisor explained that the PWCo employees were asked to choose between several options in order to pay for modest pay increases in July. The choices were: reduce staff or give up a holiday. It was Goodbye Columbus.

    1. It really shouldn’t have come down to that. Someone (supervisor) is buying into another line of crap. this is not a poor county.

  11. Lyssa

    That doesn’t sound like a pay increase to me. $450k is about $150.00 per employee. I bet they’re thrilled. Where I am, elected officials are steered toward certain employee groups to “discuss” things with. It’s a small thing and sounds petty……

    Things are just bad for a lot of people everywhere..sad. Especially as the Koch Bros seems to get good pay increases annually. I think I’m becoming a socialist. I used to think hard work and being honest were the keys to sucessful employment. It seems like we’re just accepting mediocre as financial sucess is becoming elusive for many.

    1. I think it was cheap and petty and a way to keep certain tea party type bloggers off their backs. Maybe they should worry about moderates being on their backs–you know, the kind of folks who support public employees and who don’t think they are our butt monkeys.

  12. Starryflights

    First responders deserve five times what they make. Those cops in Boston did the work ,at week for 60 grand a year. That s chicken feed.

  13. George S. Harris

    Nothing wil change until the membership of the BOCS changes. “We” can bitch all “we” want, but it should be remembered, “we”are the people who put them in office. Hopefully “we” will remember this come the next election.

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