This isn't an issue of fairness, and most salaried professionals don't think of themselves as either "abused" or "being screwed." They are making a conscious decision about the type and conditions of employment that they are willing to accept, and the compensation and benefits that they require in return. You are making the same sort of decision when you chose your "working class job", which has its own set of pros and cons. If that's what's right for you, go for it.
As for Philly being at the top of the totem pole because they treat the city workforce so well, I have to assume you missed the point of the article: the city is, once again, moving in the direction of financial disaster, and its behavior regarding pensions and benefits for city employees -- at all levels, union and management alike -- is one of the prime forces behind that movement. If other cities want to learn how to head for bankruptcy at high speed, they can learn that from us easily enough at this point. -----Original Message----- From: Jim Cummings <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Dave Axler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected] Sent: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 10:32 am Subject: Re: [UC] Talking trash (Was: Re: Illegal trash update) On Jan 26, 2008 2:52 AM, Dave Axler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Paul: > > Actually, I'm not opposed to folks being paid time and a half when they > work more than 40 hours in the week, if they are paid on an hourly basis. I > don't know if that's the case for Streets Dept. employees, at any level. > > If they are salaried, regardless of what the salary is, that's a different > story. Those of us who are "salaried professionals" find it the norm to put > in extra hours without direct, immediate compensation in either cash or time > off (though year-end bonuses sometimes make up for some of the pain). Do you think that is fair? It is abuse that jobs exist with mandatory, unpaid overtime. In the late 19th Century people DIED organizing for the eight-hour day. It was the organizing work of the unions that brought us weekends in the first place. I am sorry if you "salaried professionals" have not noticed that you are being screwed. Give me my working class job where there are clear limits to the encroachment on my life anyday. > > Regarding the relationship between this city and its unions, you might want > to check out the article in the Inky earlier this week > [http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/14175261.html] which reported on > a survey recently done by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Essentially, the survey > concluded that Philly is at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of the > percentage that its employees chip in for both pension and health benefits. Maybe Philly is at the top of the totem pole! Maybe the other cities could learn from Philadelphia how to treat its workforce better! Jim Cummings ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com
