Firefighter Staffing. What the Public, the Politicians, and the Press Are Saying. For Valleys Public Employee Unions, Tactics Change with Times. By Joe Schoenmann contactLas Vegas Sun. Brands/SOG_Knives/Some-Navy-Seals.jpg' alt='Us Marshal Sog Patch' title='Us Marshal Sog Patch' />Find products like NDZ Black Forward Assist Button for AR15 LZ and more, here at NDZ Performance. McDonnellDouglas F15BC jet aircraft compare STRIKE EAGLE, see FAST PACK, BIRD. Also, American symbol on United States seal according to Benjamin Franklin, a. Medal-of-Honor-Warfighter-banner-e1353277448853.jpg' alt='Us Marshal Sog Patch' title='Us Marshal Sog Patch' />These arent the best of times for organized labor. All around, public employee unions are coming under fire as groups of privileged workers who earn good wages and benefits while most in the private sector wallow in the doldrums of the Great Recession. Republican political leaders in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states have actively pushed anti union legislation. The furor in Wisconsin led to a failed recall election against anti union Gov. Scott Walker that may, in turn, embolden further attacks on unions in coming years. In any case, it certainly hasnt helped a nation where public employee unions have stretched over the decades into almost every line of work supported by taxpayers. In Southern Nevada, Clark County and Las Vegas, unions represent police, firefighters, transit workers, prosecutors, different types of administrators, nurses, maintenance workers, janitors, security guards and more. Motor, cycle, cycles, motor cycle, motor cycles, motorcycle, motorcycles. Vendita cuccioli di cani toy di razza, cani di tutti i tipi, cuccioli di razza con certificazione, allevamento di tutti i tipi di cani su di una vasta area dove i. Introduction Many of us have experienced the loss of a firefighter and whether it is duty related or not, the period is extremely traumatic to all involved. The Combat Knife is a melee weapon featured in Call of Duty Black Ops II, Call of Duty Online. Special_Operations_Group_Emblem.jpg/500px-353d_Special_Operations_Group_Emblem.jpg' alt='Us Marshal Sog Patch' title='Us Marshal Sog Patch' />For decades, their benefits rose with the fortunes of a growth economy. Everyone it seemed, even private sector workers, made good money. Tax revenues were high, so rather than open messy labor battles, politicians mostly gave in and gave public worker unions what they wanted. When the economy dropped into the abyss in 2. Five years later, politicians who fought to cut into those benefits are reviled by unions but praised by many taxpayers. Some unions are still fighting. Las Vegas firefighters have denounced city approval of a fire department study that could lead to cost savings as unnecessary. In June, North Las Vegas police supervisors sued the city to stop a move to gut parts of its union contract. Last month, the Sun wrote about firefighters in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Clark County endorsing a campaign to slam private ambulance companies, seen by some as an attempt to ensure that firefighter EMT service doesnt fall to the budget blade. At other times, though, the unions have done what would have been unthinkable three or four years ago They have issued statements of conciliation they have given up sacred benefits, such as longevity pay, in light of southern Nevadas unrelenting economic struggle. Gone is the anti administrative rhetoric from Clark County firefighters and where the police union threatened political retribution to those who didnt see a contract their way some four years ago, it has worked nearly hand in hand with the sheriff to approve contracts quickly. The myriad smaller unions rise and fall with the fortunes of the Big Three SEIU, firefighters and police. Heres a primer on how circumstances have changed for the major unions in the past five years. Service Employees International Union. The SEIU represents healthcare workers, maintenance staff and, in the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, civil engineers, public information coordinators, planners, traffic signal workers and others. In early 2. 00. 7, little notice was paid to a contract between the SEIU and Clark County that granted a 3 percent raise retroactive to 2. July 2. 00. 7 and 3 percent boosts in the next two years. At the same time, thousands of those union members remained eligible for merit pay increases. Over four years, the raises cost the county an additional 7. At the time, a county spokesman called the raises fair because they were less than increases in the consumer price index. County officials also worried they could lose even more if they took their case to an arbitrator. Thats because North Las Vegas had recently granted 4 percent raises in each of four years to its union workers. Arbitrators partially base decisions on wages and benefits in surrounding communities bigger increases in North Las Vegas result in bigger raises in Clark County. Zoom ahead five years. The financial landscape changed and so have contract terms and negotiation tactics. County administrators, backed by commissioners who seem to scrutinize every dollar spent, acknowledged in late 2. SEIUs 5,0. 00 workers had averaged wage increases of 1. At the same time, county prosecutors had received nearly 1. In August 2. 01. 1, county commissioners approved a binding agreement forcing some 3,0. University Medical Center workers to pay back an average of 2. Both moves sent a strong signal that county administrators had the support of elected county commissioners. A few months later, the county and SEIU agreed to a two year contract that froze longevity pay for a year, erased merit increases for two years and eliminated cost of living raises for the same two years. The deal with some 5,0. A few weeks ago, SEIU and Regional Transportation Commission negotiators came back with what they believed would be a contract accepted by the commissions board. Except the board didnt like it. While other unions had eliminated longevity pay for new hires, this contract proposal kept longevity pay, albeit at a lower rate. And while it tied various pay raises to the consumer price index which hadnt been done in previous contracts transportation commissioners said no and told them to come back with something more austere. Nick Di. Archangel, SEIU spokesman, sees the shift in politics as an opportunity for the unions to become more creative and cohesive. Youre going to start seeing public employee unions say we have solutions, we have ideas, which are not dont take from us, dont take, but are paths upon which to build stronger service, he said. I think in places where you see things being taken away, the unions havent stepped up and said we have a solution. What Di. Archangel doesnt see is the demise of unions, which appears to be the wish of various policymakers around the country. People with regressive politics have done a great job of tying the economic collapse to public employees and saying that reducing services is the solution, he added. Cubase Pro 8 Torrent. This ignores the facts of who created the economic crisis and the housing collapse. He doesnt think a majority of the public feels that way, though. I dont see a public backlash against public employees, and that might be because they make up such a huge portion of our economy, Di. Archangel said, noting his wife is a special education teacher. Were so connected to the fabric of the community. You cant say that public employee, because that very same person is in your house or your neighbor. Police. Of all the unionadministration relationships, perhaps none has appeared as easygoing as the one between the union representing Metro Police officers and the sheriff. As Sheriff Doug Gillespie reported, for 2. Metros budget increased 1. A sizable portion of those increases resulted in higher wages and benefits for officers. But cracks began to appear in 2. Sheriff Bill Young presented a four year contract that increased wages and benefits 2. The contract, however, failed to gain enough votes of Metros Fiscal Affairs Committee. At the time, County Commissioner Tom Collins served as one of two commissioners on the committee. Fearing he would vote in favor of the fat contract, Collins fellow commissioners voted 6 1 to remove him from the committee. His replacement, Rory Reid, voted no to help defeat the contract. An arbitrator later approved a contract granting wages and benefits totaling 2. By the time new contract talks came around in 2.