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Worker union says more state layoffs on the way - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL Home

So how are we gonna resolve this?

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Nothing to resolve. Do it. The writing's been on the wall for a long time. People had time to prepare for cuts/cut-backs. They should have had "plan-B"...maybe even "plan-C"...by now. But some people choose to sit and ride it out. Doesn't help when the media gives mixed signals about "turning-the-corner and the economy improving" one month, then report unemployment rates going back up, the next month. I've been dealing with cut-backs since the beginning of '07, and I'm still technically on "plan-A" (actually plan-A1"). Still got a long way to go before I need plan-B. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones because I've had to deal with it for quite a while.

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mmmm....A1 Steak Sauce. I haven't had that in a while.

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Plan C, leave Hawaii.

dunno about the rest of the state, but i just got emailed a notice that i am on the bottom half on the seniority list, so i am subject to layoffs or being RIFd sometime in the next couple of months.

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That sucks.

They need to find a better solution soon.

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ayup, but i'm not holding my breath.

we'll just have to see what happens and what shakes out. i've got some seniority, so i probably won't end up unemployed but i really don't want to bump a friend in the same department, either.

my staff is also worried because if my position gets cut, they will either be moved, laid off, or reassigned (they're in a different union). there are many more people here with more seniority that cannot even do half the work my staff does - i think my staff does more before lunch than some other offices do in a day.

seeing as how some of them are nearing retirement age, some of them plan to leave w/ me - if i can take them w/ me, they'll come. if not, then they will retire.

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so much for waiting to see what's going to happen - i submitted my transfer papers yesterday so i'll have transfer rights or bumping rights if RIFd.

admin refused to sign it yesterday, so i submitted it anyway. if i don't get it signed and returned by friday imma going to the union b/c they are interfering with my contractual right to transfer, and they may be in violation of OHR policies for Staff Reduction Guidelines.

hardly had much use for the unions ever except watching them protect the incompetent or lazy employees. hope they are as good at doing their jobs and understanding collective bargaining rights as they are at protecting the incompetent.

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i want to take my staff with me - good help is hard to find. i've seen bad help, lazy help, and just plain incompetent help way too much around here.

when you work high-security, high-stakes projects regularly on tight deadlines, it's almost impossible to get help you can trust to get @$@4 done. i've turned DOWN offers for help because i just didn't trust them to get the job done. when you finally get good help, you gotta take care of your employees.

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Pretty crazy...sad to hear that. It's sad to know someone that is affected by news like this. G'luck, Bruce.

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thanks mike!

i think what makes it a little more stressful is that i have good staff to take care of too, and the busiest part of the year (THREE high-stakes, high-security projects coming up this year instead of the usual two) is coming up soon.

money, positions, etc... all hinge upon how well i can manage and mobilize about 100 employees and still maintain security procedures. if ANYONE screws up, at any time, for any reason, not only do i take the fall for it and get disciplined for violations that may not be my fault, but the entire company gets penalized as well.

my staff doesn't want to stay if i go (they can retire), but if they leave, not only is nobody else around here STUPID enough to take my place, w/o my staff around, whoever comes into this position (if i get bumped) is screwed.

i checked with the union, and i can bump because i have some seniority in my dept., but i'd be bumping somebody out of my own dept, and i don't want to bump a friend unless there's no other way.

dunno what i'm going to do yet - i was out of the office since last thur and i'll be out tomorrow too, so i'll just wait and see what's going to happen. i figure anything that's going to happen has already been determined based on seniority, so whether it's my time to go or i get bumped, the decisions have already been made. i'll just be the last one to get the memo.

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Unionized Rhode Island Teachers Refuse To Work 25 Minutes More Per Day, So Town Fires All Of Them

A school superintendent in Rhode Island is trying to fix an abysmally bad school system.

Her plan calls for teachers at a local high school to work 25 minutes longer per day, each lunch with students once in a while, and help with tutoring
. The teachers' union has refused to accept these apparently onerous demands.

The teachers at the high school make $70,000-$78,000, as compared to a median income in the town of $22,000. This exemplifies a nationwide trend in which public sector workers make far more than their private-sector counterparts (with better benefits).

The school superintendent has responded to the union's stubbornness by firing every teacher and administrator at the school.

A sign of things to come?

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depends on the contract. this may not be acceptable under collective bargaining and if so, could lead to prohibited practices lawsuits.

IIRC, President Reagan was within the terms of the air traffic controller's contract when he fired them all for going on strike.

For some unions here, firing employees is within the purview of the Gov. (i.e., pink-slipping HGEA employees). for other unions, the Gov. does not have the power to mandate or determine layoffs. hence, without the power to lay off teachers as determined by both the contract and the courts (she tried to skirt the contract she signed off on, and was ruled against by the courts), she was forced to recommend furloughs (her proposal to the unions).

even if firing union employees were a possibility, it would probably come down to seniority, not competence that determines who gets pink-slipped or reduced.

generally speaking, it's the newer employees who come in working hard and doing their best that get reduced, and the more senior (and sometimes non-productive) members get to either keep their jobs or bump a less senior member, but keep their current rate of pay.

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That's why things never change. A vicious cycle where incompetency is rewarded and anyone trying to work out of their way is punished.

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it's also generally the incompetent that cause the most headaches, because they will call the union and file grievances over every little thing. this consumes so much time and resources that administrators will generally give them what they want, or just leave them alone and not hold them accountable for their contractual duties.

they generally have the time to do this kinda stuff because they're not doing their jobs. they spend more time watching everyone else to make sure that nobody is doing less work than they are, or reporting their co-workers for taking more than a 1/2 hour lunch break, etc... while they sit outside taking 1/2 hour smoke breaks.

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Either way....something will happen. It wont be pretty...but something will happen.

I dont wanna see what happens...but unfortunately....no one has much choice. Sux to be in 2010, will suck even more 2011.

And why does it suck? I wonder...why the heck is it so crappy anyway? There must be a way out of this vicious, depressing cycle?

Gotta live like that old grandpa, grandma...make 30k, spend 25k, save 5k...do this for a lifetime and become millionaires.

Vs stupid punks who make 1 million and spend 2 million....and in 3 years declare bankruptcy and start all over again.

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