As I’ve said all along, my preference would be significant layoffs of non-essential government employees before considering a delay in the projected cost-of-living (COLA) increase for all government workers scheduled to take effect on July 1st. Alas, that can’t happen…and government workers have only their own unions to blame.
You see, as state Sen. Bob Beers (the “real deal,” not the imposter by the same name in the state assembly) explained yesterday morning on Dave Bern’s most excellent “State of Nevada” radio program, the contracts government workers are employed under include seniority and “tenure” provisions which prohibit laying off non-essential/non-productive government workers who have been in their jobs longer than essential/productive government workers who were hired after them.
If layoffs are to be enacted, the last hired would the first fired.
The fact is, a lot of the “fat” in the government employee ranks are long-time workers who are biding their time in non-essential jobs just waiting to retire. And in a layoff situation, they can’t be touched - no matter how useless their job is or how bad they are at doing it. That means many young, talented government workers with a lot more to offer the state will get the ax, not the dead wood.
So, since layoffs can’t be done intelligently - whereby only non-essential employees are sent packing - layoffs aren’t a realistic option. Which leaves us with delaying or scratching the COLA for all government workers who won’t - but should - blame their own union for the fact that they might not be getting their raise on July 1st instead of blaming Gov. Gibbons.
Instead of sending bitchy, whiny emails to legislators urging them not to cut the COLA, state workers ought to be emailing legislators begging them to change the law to eliminate the use of seniority or tenure when it comes time to laying off government workers.
Posted on June 24th, 2008 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
Hey Chuck. I’m one of those long time govmint employees who is waiting to retire. But in my entire 25 years of working for the State of Nevada, I have never been offered any contract that protects my job and only allows more talented, younger employees to be fired or layed off first. In fact I’ve never signed a contract or joined a union. Did I miss something? And I would support rescinding the COLAs in lieu of getting layed off too.
Hey Chuck,
I am a teacher and I have never been in favor of the tenure issues that affect CCSD. All teachers know that as long as you do not do something illegal with a student it is next to impossible to get fired once you have tenure.
I am also in favor of deferring the COLA. Yes, a teacher who is willing to wait on a raise. There are plenty of places to cut the necessary money in the CCSD budget to give teachers the raise, but the politics of CCSD will not allow that to happen. They would rather cut popular programs, layoff teachers, and get parents upset instead of being fiscally responsible.