It always annoys me to see here in the States that Federal Employees get to enjoy twice as many "Federally mandated" holidays paid for by private sector (read me and you) tax dollars when the bill paying private sector that funds these holidays for Fed Empl. can't get these kind of Holidays.........:bang head:
If some one get's something for nothing.......Then someone else got nothing for something...........aka "Tanstaafl"
Rusty, you sound like a hard-working kinda guy, I read your posts and you seem to have some good work experience and longevity in a demanding field. You volunteer your time to contribute to our net discussions and try to assist those of us w/problems.
We make choices in life, and one of those choices is where we work. Historically, government employees are unionized unless you are in senior executive service. Part of that is because when your employees choose to be represented by a union, you get to participate in collective bargaining for wages, terms of empolyment, and benefits. People who work in jobs where the recognized bargaining agent for employees has not been chosen to be a union, (no union representation) have to put-up with a "take-it or leave-it" mentality from the employer. Another way to dodge having to honor paying benefits is to hire people as 'consultants,' where you are on timeframe contracts ro provide services within the boundaries of a specific employment document. When the timeframe expires, of course so does your employment. That may or may-not be renewed.
Whether local, state, or federal employees, the representation may or may not be unionized. In "open-shop" states, FL being one, you do not have to be a member of the union to receive the benefits, but if you choose that path (the "scab") the union does not represent you in any job action. You are on your own. The National Labor Relations Board recognizes the term "scab" as a legal term describing such a situation, and not as a derisive name for someone who benefits form collective bargaining but does not contribute financially to its cost.
Over time, benefits accrue to the employees. They see benefits come and go, and now there are benefits being changed as the economy staggers along, a primary change being a switch from "defined benefits" pensions to "defined contributions." Also, costs for health care are being paid for in greater part by the gov't. employee compared to in the past.
The whole idea of who is your employer forces all types of dynamics. When the economy was moving ahead, wages in the private sector usually outstripped public sector compensation. One way of compensating the public sector employee was by paying a greater share of health care insurance costs, retirement plans, and yes, paid holidays. Still, many people chose private sector employment because they could make more money there. Did the public sector employees demand that the private sector surrender their pay in-excess of what the compensation was for a similar job in gov't? So, now why do private sector employees demand that benefits be stripped form the public sector employees? The longevity of employment in gov't. service has always been an attraction. Now, with revenues declining compared to before the housing bubble burst circa 2005, many public employees are also voluntarily agreeing to wage and benefits concessions to avoid wholesale layoffs. Meanwhile, the tax breaks for businesses continue, jobs which paid middle-class salaries to private sector employees keep getting shut-down as companies choose to "embrace the world-economy" and get their work done overseas rather than stay here. Companies are not hiring new employees, new manufacturing facilities are no-longer being built domestically, and "information stocks" are valued more-highly than bricks & mortar businesses which actually produce concrete goods instead of spreading data among those who consume it. Corporations and financial institutions are sitting on great reserves of money and are not re-investing in the communities. That is their choice. Is it the right choice? We all have opinions.
Ayone who has recently tried to get a mortgage, a home-equity loan, or another individual loan, including a small-business loan can attest to the difficulty of attaining financing.
Come Labor Day, I say prayers for the hard-fought battles whereby all members of the workforce saw their jobs become safer, where government involvement has helped to address environmental issues endemic to the population, and where all people whoever their employers are, can look back on a path of advances in labor management and with hopes for a better future for our children, something that has many parents feeling pessimistic about that.
I don't begrudge the government worker his holiday. I have worked through many holidays in my profession, and was compensated for doing it. I am glad to be employed.
unk:
