The budget talks in Boston

Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino approached our union several weeks ago and asked if we would be willing to sit down and discuss the budget. We told him that we are always available to talk to him and that we were not opposed to exploring cost-saving options with him.

The next thing we know, the Mayor announced to the press that he was asking all of his unions to give up their raises and step increases for one year.

Our union was surprised that the Mayor had already decided what the cost-saving option was going to be (the freeze), and that he needed the press to get his message out, but we are still willing to meet with him because we take the global, national, and thereby local budget problem seriously.

The Union’s Request to be Partners in the Discussion

To make sure that we were fully informed, we requested background data on the budget and suggested that we meet as soon as we got this information. It appears to us that the Mayor has been having a very hard time sharing this information with us.

Instead, he has asked his managers to talk to our members and let them know how many of them will be laid off at the end of June. We have heard stories from almost every city department of managers asking for furloughs or voluntary reductions from full to part time work from individual members. Members have been told that there will be massive layoffs within each department.

Needless to say, these unofficial conversations and planted rumors have caused great distress among the workers. They want to save their co-workers jobs and they are willing to make sacrifices. However, these management scare tactics are back-firing: people start thinking, “what use is it to give up the tiny salary increase we negotiated when it won’t save any jobs anyway?”

Rational, Cohesive Strategy Needed

Our goal, then and now, is to maintain the city’s ability to provide quality public services. If there is going to be pain, we want to make sure that the pain is shared as equitably as possible, by everyone in the system.

Just because we don’t get the high salaries and just because we don’t have the well-known job titles does not mean that the work we do is not important. Boston residents will suffer if our services disappear.

We want to explore ways to prevent service reductions and employee layoffs. There is collateral damage to abolishing jobs.

Role Model?

The Mayor’s next step was to announce a now well-publicized pay cut and that he will delay wage increases for all non-union employees in the City. This story has been well reported and the Mayor’s selflessness in light of the economic crisis has been highly regarded in the local media.

The mayor’s plan seems like a simple and straight forward solution to our short term economic woes that would protect some jobs.

Even if the mayor had not set an example by foregoing 3% of his 17% raise he received two years ago, we know that most city workers would be more than willing to pitch in. Our members know that if a wage freeze would help protect services and prevent more layoffs, it might stop further damage our already fragile economy.

The Sticking Point

Fairness and equity are the two key issues in our desired conversation with Mr. Menino.

The process needs to be fair and the pain needs to be shared equitably. Extraneous expenses should go first. If you announce a hiring freeze, you actually stop hiring, especially high-wage ‘specialists.’

We want the City to be fiscally responsible. We want extravagant expenditures and waste cut from the budget to preserve crucial city services for the citizens of Boston.

The mayor is attempting to share the pain by proposing his own 3% pay cut. However, we all know that 3% of the Mayor’s $175,000 is somewhat less devastating than a 3% cut to someone earning $25,000.

And we have expenses that are not reimbursed. Just because the Mayor gets chauffeured to work and doesn’t have to pay to fill his gas tank does not mean that all of his employees get the same privilege.

The Mayor complains that he can’t hire administrators for salaries much lower than $200,000 because candidates wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the City. Yet most of our members must be Boston residents in order to keep their jobs – some of which pay much less than $40,000 per year.

Our members run the homeless shelters and it looks like we will also be living in the homeless shelters.

Just One Possible Solution to Add to the Mix

There are reports that the City has a cash reserve of more than $800 million.

If city workers are willing to do their part, shouldn’t the mayor be willing to spend some of this reserve?

We understand that reserves can’t be depleted – but do they need to be hoarded?

How much will Mr. Menino allocate from the City’s rainy day fund to keep Boston from falling apart?

Is it raining yet, Mr. Mayor? The men and women of SEIU 888 are committed to keeping a close eye on this situation. Help us by logging onto www.meninowatch.com