Quote Originally Posted by Feanor View Post
Don't get me wrong: I fundamentally agree. I would prefer that public sector unions (especially) moderate their demands during the current recession cum depression, if for no better reason that their "unreasonable" demands are being used by conservatives as a "wedge issue" to divide the union / non-union workers.
I guess but I often wonder about unreasonable demands as merely being a ploy by the elite to create a "false" advertised economy.

I guess I need it explained to me hat there is limitless money to be spent in BC on Olympics, road builds for the rich (freeway to Whistler where only the rich can afford to go) and 50% salary increases for themselves within 5 years.

Unions raise the bar for pay and benefits for competing shops or careers/jobs to follow. The place I worked for based my Accounts Payable salary increases on the "market" which included government workers (thank to statistician God for that because that's how I got annual 10% pay increases).

The typical A/P job at non union shops was between $11-$15 an hour in the mid 90s. The A/P job at BC Housing was $19.07 an hour. Not sure where they came up with the .07 but whatever.

I worked for Firestop, Seagate Software, NCompass Labs (bought by Microsoft the day I started working there) and a few others. Now the actual workload at BC Housing was higher and more demanding than the private sector positions - so you do considerably more actual work in public sector than private sector. I would also say the job is more "frustrating" in the public sector because they're zealots on double and triple checking everything and crossing every T and dotting every i. Private sector doesn't really have to live up to those standards just have to minimally meet enough standards to pass an audit should there ever be one.

Still, the point is people would complain and say - the government worker gets paid more - and I would say - instead of complaining that you don't make as much as them - why not ask why your Rolls Royce driving company owner with his private jet isn't paying you the same? Or better yet - if the government worker has it so easy then why don't you quit and get a job in the government?

At least in the government you get hired on merit not who you know. And if someone does hire someone on a "who you know" basis and they find out the person is immediately fired and everyone involved is also immediately fired. It happened in my dad's office - he worked for Veteran's Affairs - and a guy there hired his son in law and fixed the test results. It was found out - he was canned - the son in law of course was also canned - and the head of the department was canned because he knew and didn't do anything.

Sexual harassment case also had zero tolerance. Man harassed a woman - she complained to the supervisor - who told her not to follow through with charges and he would do something - he didn't do something. After 30 years they fired the harasser and they axed him for not doing anything (enough) about it.

Don't get me wrong - I hate BC Housing with a passion - the paperwork was obscene with the checking and rechecking and the multiple forms and the levels of sign off ability etc. In retrospect though at least there was less chance of crooked stuff going on - and if there was any there is a paper trail if the right people look for it.

There used to be a saying where if you were a lazy butt you could go work in the government - but man by far was that the toughest Accounts payable job I had by a mile. Just trying to wade through their application process is no small feat.

I looked at the teacher salary demand - 15% increase over 3 years. So 5% a year. I just don't see the problem with that - recession or not.