http://www.e-democracy.org/comments.html
In the meantime, I'm planning on participating in this discussion. Please, join in.
Here are excerpts of comments made in the St. Paul Issues forum today:
--------------------------------- Ed Fessler, Mpls ---------------------------------
"Do some people in St. Paul think they can ignore the bus strike because they are not personally impacted?
Mayor Rybak has been encouraging people in Minneapolis to tell their stories about how they are hurt by the transit strike.
We have to push for an end to the bus strike or else it will last for months."
--------------------------------- Bob Treuman, St. Paul ---------------------------------
"I support 100% the right to strike by people who work in private industry. They know that if they push too hard and too far that the company they work for will go bankrupt, and some other company will provide the services while they strike.
A private sector strike is between the owner(s) and the employees. They both have a lot at risk and they both know it. The employees union creates a needed balance against the power of ownership.
Public employee strikes are different. Public employees generally provide a service that can't be purchased elsewhere. There is only one metro bus system. There are no "owners" of the system taking home the profit. A public employee strike pits the employees against the customers. Public employees wield a lot of political power because through the ballot box they get a chance to hire their own bosses. (I was surprised to see this exact claim made in an AFSCME newsletter recently.)"
--------------------------------- Mike Fratto, St. Paul ---------------------------------
"So Mr. Treumann supports the idea that public employees should take what the fat cats will give them?
Lets remind folks what this issue is about. Its about a collective bargaining process that resulted in the current system. Now a new sheriff is in town in the persona of Mr. Bell and Mr Pawlenty. They want to take everything back that was negotiated in the past. If this isn't a valid argument for a union, I don't know what is."
--------------------------------- Charlie Swope, St. Paul ---------------------------------
"Bob Treumann argues that the transit workers should not have the right to strike. My understanding is that it was the union who was in favor of binding arbitration and no strike. It was the Met Council supported by the Pawlenty administration that refused arbitration and opted for a strike."
--------------------------------- Tom Swift, St. Paul ---------------------------------
"Fat Cats?
Mike, the "fat cat's you're talking about is us; you, me and everyone that pays taxes. Mr. Bell and Governor Pawlenty are negotiating on behalf of us fat cats, they are representing our best interests just as surely as the union is doing so on behalf of the drivers.
The fact of the matter is that the drivers currently enjoy pay that is right inline with other major urban centers, and in addition they recieve health benefits that are unheard of anywhere outside of public employ.
Lifetime paid health insurance? Never seen the creature in the wild, I had always thought it was the jackalope of employee benefits..but there it is!
Unfortunately, we fat cats cannot continue to keep the jackalope alive. It's artificial, can't live without constant intervention in the form of large transfusions of cash from us fat cats."
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-- ================================================= Tim Erickson http://www.politalk.com St. Paul, MN - USA 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 105978430 =================================================
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