Not the Best Way to Get A Deal
Posted by: Mighty Thor | 05/16/2008 8:00 PM
Lorena Gonzalez, secretary-treasurer of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council:
"We believe Jerry Sanders' announcement to meet and confer by ballot box is another stunt by his political operation to scapegoat city employees in order to deflect attention from his inability to find solutions to our city's challenges.
"Late Monday, when he made the political calculation that he didn't have support for his pension experiment, Jerry Sanders - aided and abetted by Mike Aguirre - delivered a last-minute substitute that had never been formally offered before in order to save face.
"This offer was presented about 9 p.m. at night and away from public view. Had it been adopted, an average blue-collar city worker who had worked for 30 years would retire with an $18,500 annual pension with no social security benefits and no SPSP. On its face, the Jerry Sanders' plan would have left hard-working employees to retire into poverty. Regardless of the proposal's merits, the unethical tactics of Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre run contrary to the rules that they agreed to back when negotiations started months ago.
"The attempt by Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre to make a late-night switcheroo was aimed to unfairly shove down our workers' throats a proposal that had never been discussed prior and was never and still has not been put into the public record of the City.
"Now, Jerry Sanders is trying to force his campaign timeline onto the hard-working blue-collar employees of this city, but it's clear he's the one on the clock. Over 70 hours have passed since the City Council shot down this half-cooked pension proposal, and he has yet to come back to the table.
"Instead, Jerry Sanders wants to put a pension proposal in front of voters, but AFSCME Local 127 has said they're ready to bargain now. I'm calling on Jerry Sanders to end these shameless campaign tactics, for him and Mike Aguirre to stick to the rules he agreed to, and return to the table so the city can move forward.
"Clearly, San Diegans are tired of the bickering at City Hall. San Diego's working families deserve a Mayor who is committed to moving things forward in cooperation with our City's employees. Jerry Sanders is failing with every passing hour.
"The public has had enough of the excuses, half-truths and rhetoric of Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre. Now is as good of a time as ever for them to start working toward solutions instead of their next excuse."
"We believe Jerry Sanders' announcement to meet and confer by ballot box is another stunt by his political operation to scapegoat city employees in order to deflect attention from his inability to find solutions to our city's challenges.
"Late Monday, when he made the political calculation that he didn't have support for his pension experiment, Jerry Sanders - aided and abetted by Mike Aguirre - delivered a last-minute substitute that had never been formally offered before in order to save face.
"This offer was presented about 9 p.m. at night and away from public view. Had it been adopted, an average blue-collar city worker who had worked for 30 years would retire with an $18,500 annual pension with no social security benefits and no SPSP. On its face, the Jerry Sanders' plan would have left hard-working employees to retire into poverty. Regardless of the proposal's merits, the unethical tactics of Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre run contrary to the rules that they agreed to back when negotiations started months ago.
"The attempt by Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre to make a late-night switcheroo was aimed to unfairly shove down our workers' throats a proposal that had never been discussed prior and was never and still has not been put into the public record of the City.
"Now, Jerry Sanders is trying to force his campaign timeline onto the hard-working blue-collar employees of this city, but it's clear he's the one on the clock. Over 70 hours have passed since the City Council shot down this half-cooked pension proposal, and he has yet to come back to the table.
"Instead, Jerry Sanders wants to put a pension proposal in front of voters, but AFSCME Local 127 has said they're ready to bargain now. I'm calling on Jerry Sanders to end these shameless campaign tactics, for him and Mike Aguirre to stick to the rules he agreed to, and return to the table so the city can move forward.
"Clearly, San Diegans are tired of the bickering at City Hall. San Diego's working families deserve a Mayor who is committed to moving things forward in cooperation with our City's employees. Jerry Sanders is failing with every passing hour.
"The public has had enough of the excuses, half-truths and rhetoric of Jerry Sanders and Mike Aguirre. Now is as good of a time as ever for them to start working toward solutions instead of their next excuse."
CATEGORY:
2008 Campaigns, San Diego Politics
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This is just over the top.
i've got to say, Jerry B would never have been this thug-ish.
Wait a sec, shouldn't the voters (i.e. taxpayers) have a say about the pension system?
Let me first say that I am not supporting Jerry Sanders or Steve Francis. Having said that, Gonzales is absolutely ridiculous in her analysis of Sanders on this matter. In a number of District 3 candidate forums that I have participated in with my opponent Stephen Whitburn, Whitburn has been the incredibly distasteful mouthpiece for the city unions. It is hard to grasp the insidious unwillingness of Whitburn and his union friends to renegotiate the unethical pension benefits that are bankrupting our city. Whitburn has stated emphatically that the unions should not come to the table to help the city out by renegotiating the drop program and other benefits. There is absolutely no willingness on the part of Whitburn or the union bosses to play a role in working out our city's massive debt. Whitburn's solution, as he has so clearly stated on a number of occassions, is to just increase city revenues to pay down the debt. That is code language for higher taxes and fees. I just cannot understand how anyone can get to a place of seeing our city being destroyed and then to be so unwilling to make some sacrifices to solve this financial crisis. Greed! Greed! Greed! that is what is destroying our municipal and corporate governance in San Diego. So, regardless of what we may think of Sanders, it is not his fault if the unions continue to refuse to work with the mayor to come up with a fair and equitable resolution to this catastrophe. What happened to the days when everyone in the town pitched in to rebuild a neighbor's house that got destroyed in a fire, or rebuild a barn destroyed by a tornado? Why can't the unions show some mercy towards the hearts and souls of the 1.3 million San Diegans who are being broken by the unwillingness of all party's involved in solving this crisis to negotiate a sacrificial solution for the good of the next generation of all San Diegans?
I hate to say this but I have a simplier answer. Mayor needs to learn to count to five. Big picture options could have been, for example, to compromise on Proposition C or to read the tea leaves sooner than monday night and try to find out what the 5th needed. I am sorry but that is what POLITICS is about in a democracy - building the coalition you need to get things done. The sad part all the Sanders lovers better realize is that if the council balks it is going to be a royal pain in the you know what to win in November in a high turn out election when, in the city, likely more Ds than Rs. Add to it national union money that will want to fight against DC plan reforms and you can figure that 2010 at the earliest for real pension reforms. Frankly I am SO sick of the gang that can not shoot straight - add to it today's news about politicizing the Blackwater permit. Yes, Goldstone did a compentent job - what I think we should expect from ANY half decent CFO