Some Local Bad News
Like all governments these days, the City of Atlanta is in a hole. Mayor Franklin just announced that city workers would work 10% less, and be paid 10% less.
I didn’t really think much about it until I talked to my friend who is an Atlanta cop. They and the fire department are included. It just didn’t occur to me that they would be included.
In the event that you didn’t know, both departments are seriously understaffed. My friend says that this cut will speed the retirement of the experienced officers in both departments. Their pensions are based on the their three highest years of earnings: why average in a year that is down by 10%?
My advice, if you live in Atlanta, don’t have a fire, a life threatening accident, a burglary, theft, shooting, etc. in the near term future. You’ve got a pretty good shot at being on your own for a longer period of time.
One exception. The police that work at the airport are paid out of a different fund. They are still fully staffed, paid and getting overtime. If you’ve got a problem, report it from the airport.
6 comments:
"My advice, if you live in Atlanta, don’t have a fire, a life threatening accident, a burglary, theft, shooting, etc. in the near term future."
Actually, I advise this to everyone - regardless of where they live.
It's like the signs they put up on the highway in construction zones -- "Be prepared to stop". I've always thought that was good advise anywhere - not just in construction zones.
I like the idea of balancing the budget by telling all workers to work less and get paid less. This is much better than putting 10% of the workforce on the street.
I'm not sure there's ever been a good plan that didn't have a downside for someone. In this case, I don't see a better alternative.
We're a little worried that PDM could get laid off. He works for the state of Georgia teaching physics at a local university (I'm sure you can guess which one, Dave), but his position is not tenure track. Getting rid of him won't save them much money, but that doesn't mean they won't do it. They are getting a lot more productivity per dollar spent out of him than many of their other faculty members.
How the hell did the city of Atlanta pull that one off? Just about every govvernment entity I've ever worked for guarantees a 40 hour week. Here in Nashville, it's in our Civil Service rules, which require agreement between the city and the union before they can be changed. Although we've never been seriously threatened with layoffs (yet.)
A big problem with layoffs in government jobs is that they usually have to be seniority-based, and most of the time the people with the least seniority are the ones doing the most work.
Doc, Atlanta govenment workers don't have unions. They have some work rules; but, there is no collective bargaining.
...but his position is not tenure track."
...They are getting a lot more productivity per dollar spent out of him than many of their other faculty members."
"most of the time the people with the least seniority are the ones doing the most work"
Someone do the work while tenured profs write a textbook and the old hands relax a little. Good for PDM, probably a terrific prof and I hope he stays employed. Good examples of why collective bargaining and tenure may not be such great ideas.
Post a Comment