As expected, NorCo Exec Lamont McClure has vetoed County Council's ordinance to seek bidders for a pay study. One of my readers has already suggested that he must be the owner of the seeing-eye dog I've been walking. I do agree that his steadfast refusal to get one is short-sighted. First, it permits salary compression and unfair wages to continue. Second, it really hurts morale. Here is McClure's veto message:
"Wage and Benefit studies can be extraordinarily expensive and don’t always provide usable action items. Such data should not be relied upon for long-term planning as it could have the unfortunate consequence of trigging [sic] a tax increase.
"Unlike private sector employees, the majority of County employees belong to a union and benefit from collective bargaining agreements which regulate salaries and improve working conditions. County employees enjoy union benefits including prescription drug plans, pensions and medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
"The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a nation-wide hiring crisis. History implies that this crisis will be temporary. To conduct a Wage and Benefit study during a crisis may result in skewed data.
"Article 602 subsection (g)(2) of the Northampton County Home Rule Charter, authorizes and empowers the County Executive to veto any ordinance within ten (10) days of its adoption by the Northampton County Council. County Council approved this Ordinance on September 15, 2022.'
Six votes are needed to override McClure. This ordinance passed with eight. He can probably get Tara Zrinski and Kevin Lott to uphold his veto, but I think that's about it.
Maybe the head of the union, should stop being friends with the administration, McClure and Irvin just went golfing together a week or two ago.
ReplyDeleteMorale in Hitler's bunker was better than that in NORCO.
ReplyDeleteI think Lamont is a filthy rich, heartless, soulless ambulance chaser who killed our elderly through coarse neglect. But he's right on this issue. Broken clock I guess.
ReplyDeleteMorale will be hurt when if force reduction is recommended.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to the people the study says to cut their salaries ? Like the Hay study. Folks were told they were over paid in some cases. I believe the term they used is red circled… however that’s a nice way of saying your over paid and you get no more raises.
ReplyDeleteMcClure's first statement says it all. He isn't worried about the employees he is only concerned with the findings and the fact that it is going to cost dollars to correct the severe inequities in the pay scales of his employees. He has a huge multimillion dollar surplus, and he knows correcting the salaries will cost him some of his surplus. He doesn't care about correcting salaries. He is well aware that we as employees can never get to the top of our wage scales. He is screwing the employees just like County Executives before him and now we're hearing he is also screwing the retirees with copays that violate existing county ordinances. County Council won't do anything about it because they are afraid of McClure and he has them in his hip pocket. Council should override the veto and do the right thing and then the voter should do the right thing and and veto McClure at the next election.
ReplyDeleteThe current offer of 15% wage increase just isn’t enough.
ReplyDeleteThank God Lamont remembers who pays the bills !
ReplyDelete"What happens to the people the study says to cut their salaries ? Like the Hay study. Folks were told they were over paid in some cases. I believe the term they used is red circled… however that’s a nice way of saying your over paid and you get no more raises."
ReplyDeleteThe Hay study made no recommendation to laY ANYONE OFF. Your implication that this could happen is an attempt to scare people. Now what the Hay and Barston study did is conclude that some people, usually the very few at the top of their scale, were already paid well enough. What those people could do is what they actually did with the Barston study. Thgey can take appeals.
McClure's veto message is beginning to show just how bad union representation has been for many workers. Unless you have a vocal and active union, you are going to get screwed when it comes to wages. That is in practice what has happened.
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ReplyDeleteCouncil has said young people don't care about benefits maybe that's why they are studying not just pay but fringes too?
ReplyDeleteNot everyone hates working for the county , the grass is not always greener nobody forces you to work there!
ReplyDeleteMeyers and Heckman have both said that benefits are not what the kids want today. One or both of them was talking 401K
ReplyDeletePeriods of historic economic crisis are bad times to perform any study that will guide the future of the county. Few of us make our best decisions under stress.
ReplyDeleteThe only way we are going to know for sure who is overpaid and who is underpaid is to do the damn pay study. McClure screwed up by letting Council take out of hands the ability to control the survey and lay out the guidelines for the study. Now he can't control the outcome of the "independent pay survey". How thickheaded and dumb can you be? He wears the independent hat for the County. He just made it cone shaped with the Letters D U N C E printed on it.
ReplyDeleteBernie when a union does stand up say they are being wronged and people are being wronged you put down the union and say that they are out of line
ReplyDeleteHe'd rather spend 15 Million dollars on gracedale which is a lost cause than compensation the backbone of the county's workforce.
ReplyDelete"Bernie when a union does stand up say they are being wronged and people are being wronged you put down the union and say that they are out of line"
ReplyDeleteI call things as I see them. When COS were arguing for a payraise, I met with their union leadership and spoke out in their favor. When the county tried to fire two county employees who exchanged naughty emails, I spoke on their behalf while their union did nothing. When deputy sheriffs came to the county demanding the authority to arrest people and engaged in character assassination of a very good and honest Sheriff, I slammed them. Some of their demands were simply ridiculous. I have also defended individual deputies when I thought they were being treated unfairly, something most of them have forgotten. When an HR Director was targeted by a mob of union workers, I defended her and slammed McClure, who was then on Council. When another HR Director was sending people to LasVegas and buying $700 popcorn machines, I slammed her. I have no problem with a union being vocal and active. That should be why they exist, and the COs and deputies have active unions. I do not automatically accept or reject what they say. I form my own opinion, and that bothers you. Too bad. Why on earth should that bother you? Do not expect me to be a parrot for you or for McClure. My real problem is with the bargaining units that have done NOTHING for the people they represent, particularly court-appointed and residual.
I have pretty consistently been pro-employee, especially when it comes to pay. I am not always pro-union bc they are not consistently pro-employee. I have my own mind and at times you make real shitty arguments. But when I think you're right, and I agree with you far more than I disagree, I have stood up for you far more often than against you.
There would be no need for a pay study if ALL the unions were more active in representing their workers.
The unions at the county are weak for several reasons. One AFSCME should of put all of the locals under one umbrella. AFSCME didn't do that because they don't care, they get paid the same and keep locals small and w/ no power. Also during contracts its crap they just wait for arbitration and do what they want behind closed doors. Also in regards to this pay study ,if they drag their feet long enough most of the contracts will be done. County systems/ unions aren't set up for workers to win. Good luck
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ReplyDeleteWe are at the lowest union membership in this country and that is the number one reason why we are turning into a third world country. Any union is better than no union, although maybe it’s the members? Let’s face facts, people do not know our history and that our forefathers fought with their lives for union membership. Look at it this way, if it good enough for our sports stars, baseball & football players, actors, than it’s good enough for the common worker.
There is a reason no one wants unions anymore. Yes they served a purpose long ago but no more. People can speak for themselves and don't need to pay union people to speak for them.
Delete“There would be no need for a pay study if ALL the unions were more active in representing their workers.”
ReplyDeleteThat’s a cute sentiment on a blog Bernie, but the reality of it is that administration has made it perfectly clear that they’re not there to pay their employees a living wage. They don’t care about a pay study because it goes against their philosophy of exploiting their employees to do the most amount of work, for the least amount of money. Most of the our unions don’t ask for exorbitant demands, they just ask for a wage consistent with todays economy.
What a joke
Delete9:26...agree that the current economic state of affairs is not a very good time to be doing such studies. Agree also that those represented by unions hold those unions feet to the fire when contract talks are held. Perhaps a short term study of the salaried employees is a better place to start and when the economy levels off..you look at the other paid employees and their current union pay contracts with an eye toward future contracts. No?
ReplyDeleteAttacking unions per se is just plain ignorant and hateful. Know your countries real history before you open your biased pie hole!
ReplyDelete8:49 You miss the point of a union entirely. Each person negotiating for themselves is a position of weakness. The employer has much more power to treat that employee unfairly as well as all other employees. If its true that the unions in the county have just been taking dues and not stepping up, shame on them. One other point, Mc Clure wants to keep his job, he will use the threat of a tax hike to keep voters on his side with this issue.
ReplyDeleteI support unions that really work on behalf of their members. I agree that even public unions are necessary. But I also know that some of the unions rep[resenting NorCo workers are pathetic. That is one of the reasons why pay is so low in the residual and court-appointed positions. I have seen them refuse to represent people with legitimate grievances. I have no problem with unions who actually work on behalf of their members, even if I think they are wrong.
ReplyDelete"Attacking unions per se is just plain ignorant and hateful. Know your countries real history before you open your biased pie hole!Z"
ReplyDeleteUm, unions are a relatively recent phenomenon in this country's history. Our founding fathers did not declare independence so they could establish unions, and most of them would be repelled by the idea of collective bargaining. I am glad we have them and they have done far more that is beneficial than detrimental. My criticism is of unions that collect dues and fail to represent the membership.
Holding unions feet to the fire in support of their members is an issue. Not a perfect solution but contracts are the foundation upon which they are built and those guarantee's are needed. Two sides to this coin but I'd rather have them in my corner then any boss or owner having power over myself and others.
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