by Matt Marquardt –
MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Supervisors met Tuesday morning for their regular meeting.
The union that represents county employees at the court house presented a collective bargaining proposal to the board this morning. In the proposal, the union (International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 2003) is asking for a longevity schedule that starts at the 20th year and then every 5 years thereafter. Thos employees that achieve that longevity would receive a .50 cent raise upon completion of each step.
The union is also requesting a 5% pay increase effective July 1 of each year of the next four years.
For road employees, the union is asking for a 5% pay increase and for an increase in clothing and other reimbursements from the county. The current amount allotted is $150. The union wants that increased to $300 per year.
In other business, zoning changes were approved in various locations in the county.
County Enginner mentioned that the county is still in negotiations with Heartland Asphalt on deficient asphalt installed on a 3-mile stretch of Highway B-20. She said final payment to Heartland for their work is being withheld at this time until the issue is resolved.
After the regular meeting, a discussion was held with Child Support Recovery on a proposed reorganization. More details on that to come.
Watch video of entire regular meeting:
httpv://youtu.be/j_u_C1Esa5w
In addition to the 5% per annum I note the union wants a longevity schedule adopted with increases tied to that as well.
My answer: 1. No longevity schedule. 2. No percentage pay increase – merit increases only. Management should be able to determine who produces and who does not. 3. No automatic checkoff for union dues.
Not all county employees are union. They do not get the same increase percentage as union employees of the county do
“you can get people for 8.00 to 10.00 dollars a hour to mowe grass and paint fire hydrants. Start slashing the budget and employees.”
Tell me please what kind of housing those folks can afford? What kind of cars can those folks afford?
Tell us please how wages like that contribute to the community? Tell us all what an asset this would be?
Or would it end up being a drain on the rest of the taxpayers in social services??????
Epic Fail!
None of this really matters. The county will approve the raise, and people will continue to leave Mason City. This is a dying town, and statues on the sidewalks, historic hotels, and a blue zone certification will not change things. And at this point, I’m not sure anything could turn the present situation around.
Most union members are overpaid for the skill they bring to the job. THey think they deserve top notch wage and benefits, but most are easily replaceable. I hope they strike and then the new workers will take thier old jobs.
They can’t strike, basic public union law 101 and to boot there are only a narrow list they can ask for. Not anything and everything.
And do tell Bob, what do you do for a living?
Damn public servants! Damn north end!
I think the unions are crazy for asking for this kind of raise. Look at what the private business are giving their employees. Mercy Hospital our largest employeer is MAYBE giving their people a cost of living and I said MAYBE and also THEY are not MATCHING any 401k, pretty fricken sad i say. The only people in this town that are getting huge raises are the sChools and government. Also that clothing allowance the county boys want go ask the nures at the hospital how much they get and they have to wear clean uniforms day after day, they get a big fat 0. I’M SICK OF THE UNIONS ASKING FOR THESE BIG FAT RAISES WHEN EVERYONE IS SUFFERING SO MUCH RIGHT HERE IN GOOD OLE RIVER CITY,
If mercy employees were union they could ask for raises and clothing allowance, but since they aren’t they get what ever mercy is willing to do. Of course the VPs and big wigs get more while providing little to nothing in raises to employees.
Look at Winnebago, they just provided bonuses to employees. You think these street workers get bonuses? There would be an outcry if they did.
Why is It that we need to knock people down? Our own neighbors? Rather then trying to get everyone to a live able wage with some benefits.
Don’t forget to thank those union thugs for your holidays, vacation, sick pay, overtime, weekends, OSHA, family medical leave, etc. you think employers wanted any of that? No of course not because we could just hire someone else that would do it for less….
GREEDY PUBLIC SERVANTS !
you can get people for 8.00 to 10.00 dollars a hour to mowe grass and paint fire hydrants. Start slashing the budget and employees.
Agreed. Let’s get rid of any/all decent paying jobs in this town because it just isn’t fair to those of us who don’t make that much. Race you to the bottom….ready…..set…..
Instead of envying what these employees have and adopting a crab bucket mentality, you should be questioning your own employer why they don’t provide a decent living wage and benefits package. American business has no loyalty to their employees, only to the bottom line and the stock holders. By demanding that public sector employees have their wages and benefits slashed, you are only giving private sector employers the ability to further slash private sector wages/benefits.
Even if the county replaced every single Union member with a non-union half price employee with no benifits. Do you really think your taxes would be less??????? All that would happen is the county would just piss away the savings on something else!!! Why do you think the hospital can do as they please. No match anymore on 401k.(just to name one thing they took away) Their employees don’t have a voice!!!!
Dear Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors,
You must stop percentage pay raises. Give percentage pay raises is the most unfair and expensive format to use when engaging in wage negotiations.
County pay should be set on the value of the job the employee is doing with a beginning scale with merit raises set out over a period of seven years when that job positions pay scale tops out. Annual adjustments to these pay scales based on our area Cost Of Living adjustment will then become the yardstick to determine a finite monetary amount to increase wages.
These % pay increases keep widening the gap between the lower and upper pay scales. This is very unfair.
Again, do not use use a percentage to grant wage increases! Offer only a finite amount of money.
@watchdog-Excellent point. I have said that forever. The percentage system always favors the higher paid employees and does not differentuate between the skilled labor and unskilled.
It is way past time to start laying off and cutting government employees. The median income in the private sector has gone down oveer 4.000 dollars in the last 3 years. Time for government workers to come back to reality!
Privatize ALL of it.
Sure cuz a private company can compete and do a better job picking up your garbage for a cheaper price……….wait…never mind!
Privatize it all? Put the police into the hands of private enterprise? Remember they and firefighters are government employees.
This is a very fair opening offer anyone with any business sense will tell you that. Now the employer will counter then the negotiations will start. I have negotiated many contracts and if the two parties were this close at the start the negotiations would have been very easy.
I guess you are right. Now the city can come back and offer a 5% decrease in pay and we will go from there.
Leave the City out of this. Please read the story. This is the County.
This is starting to look more and more like Bell California.
Bell is nothing compared to Costa Mesa CA. 512 city workers, top all to part time summer help. Of that 512, 322 make over a 100K. They have 2 firemen, not the chief, just firemen making $340,000 a year. Dog catcher makes 116,000. Cops get a 2% increase just to put on uniform.
http://www.costamesaca.gov/
then go to city pay tab
Cop union tried to bust city council member during contract talks for a fake DUI.
Here is audio link of city council member on KFI AM 640 radio. Your mouth will hang open when you listen.
http://johnbjohnson.net/PodCasts.htm
You have got to be kidding. A 20% increase is way out of line. They are already some of the highest paid hourly workers and their benefit package is top notch. I can see a raise to keep them from falling behind but the government says there was only a 1.7% increase in the cost of living last year. That is all they are giving to Social Security and that is all anyone else should get as well.
Thats 5% per year. 900.00 for clothing in 3 years. Means you carry over to the third year and spend 900.00?? Wow….
How about each one of the supervisors running answer right now BEFORE the election how they are going to vote on the union’s proposal?
Very fair question.