"This vote signals that our members understand the difficult economic times our nation is facing. We are doing more with less every day but we remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping Wisconsin moving forward," said Council 24 Executive Director Marty Beil.
"We have negotiated long and hard and in good faith to reach a contract that continues the smooth delivery of quality services through difficult times. Our members have voted. We've done our job. Now it is time for the state legislature to do its job," Beil said.
According to the Office of State Employee Relations the total dollar amount for benefit concessions and furlough days by represented employees will amount to $103.2 million for the biennium with the approval of these contracts.
These contracts coincide with the two-year budget established by this governor and this legislature. They are fully accounted for in the current budget.
The contracts between the State and workers cover five state bargaining units represented by AFSCME: Professional Social Services, Blue Collar, Administrative Support, Technical, and Security and Public Safety.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Jersey Shores cont.
At first I thought Obama said "Sookie" and was refering to True Blood. Then someone corrected me and pointed me to Jersey Shores. I actually, out of total inability to cope with not knowing something from the current social meme had to go watch - not one, but two episodes of that show. I watched the first one and couldn't quite grasp what the hell was going on and what the hell the point of the show was so I watched a second episode. I was still scratching my head in confusion over why this group of low class morons were 1) on their own TV show, 2) getting famous 3) why they were in FLA and not Jersey 4) why they seemed to go out of their way to look cheap and sleazy 5) how they managed to live to the ripe old ages of being in their 20's without having constant supervision so they don't kill themselves with stupidity. And, of course 6) were they really real or playing characters?
It confused me. It upset me.
Then I read the last (Oct.) Vanity Fair that came the day after my foray into TV torture and found an excellent article (as if any of his aren't excellent) by James Wolcott talking about this whole new New Jersey thing where he starts with old school New Jersey shows like the Sopranos and moves into The Real Housewives of New Jersey and so on. I admit to watching an occasional housewives show, including a couple of the New Jersey ones that are almost as mystifying as Jersey Shores for their sheer vulgarity and endless dramas.
You must read it.
Thank the Goddess of literacy for Mr. Wolcott because when I read those words I somehow felt vindicated for all the bile that rose in my throat while slumped on my sofa in a sort of daze of confusion over why MTV would choose to air a group of people we used to kindly refer to as *trash*. When I read what he wrote I exhaled that bit of breath I had been holding while struggling with my own bitchy judgements attitude towards the cast. At least now I know I'm not the lone person in America that thinks they are closer to the gutter than to the floor.
Meanwhile, are young people watching this and thinking it's remotely close to a reality that would provide any source of establishing a meaningful life? God, I hope not.
sorry, I would link but it's not up on VF.com yet. Although, there are tons of other great things to read there.
It confused me. It upset me.
Then I read the last (Oct.) Vanity Fair that came the day after my foray into TV torture and found an excellent article (as if any of his aren't excellent) by James Wolcott talking about this whole new New Jersey thing where he starts with old school New Jersey shows like the Sopranos and moves into The Real Housewives of New Jersey and so on. I admit to watching an occasional housewives show, including a couple of the New Jersey ones that are almost as mystifying as Jersey Shores for their sheer vulgarity and endless dramas.
You must read it.
Thank the Goddess of literacy for Mr. Wolcott because when I read those words I somehow felt vindicated for all the bile that rose in my throat while slumped on my sofa in a sort of daze of confusion over why MTV would choose to air a group of people we used to kindly refer to as *trash*. When I read what he wrote I exhaled that bit of breath I had been holding while struggling with my own bitchy judgements attitude towards the cast. At least now I know I'm not the lone person in America that thinks they are closer to the gutter than to the floor.
Meanwhile, are young people watching this and thinking it's remotely close to a reality that would provide any source of establishing a meaningful life? God, I hope not.
sorry, I would link but it's not up on VF.com yet. Although, there are tons of other great things to read there.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Happy Fuckin Labor Day! cont.
Hey, don't get me wrong, Rahm. I fucking like you. You single-handedly got the House returned to the Dems in 2006. But you and your boss better do something fucking quick to put people back to work. How 'bout making it a crime to take an American job and move it out of the country? In other words, treat it as if It were a fucking national treasure like you would if someone stole the Declaration of Independence out of the National Archives or some poacher stole eggs out of the nest of an America bald eagle.
Or how 'bout arresting some of those Wall Street guys who fucking stole our money, the money that ran the American economy. Now that would take some fucking guts.
And maybe, just maybe, that one act of real guts might save your ass come November 2nd.
Oh, I can just hear you now: "Fuck Michael Moore!" No problem. But Fuck the UAW? How 'bout if I just leave off the ‘A’ and the ‘W’?
Yours,
Michael Moore
P.S. I'd like to pass on something that Rep. Alan Grayson wrote today:
Here is what Robert Kennedy had to say on Labor Day, 42 years ago:
"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.
"It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."
When Robert Kennedy said these words, the unemployment rate in America was 3.7%. Today, it is almost three times as high. Too many of our working brothers and sisters are out of work, thanks to over a decade of economic mismanagement. 10% of us are unemployed, and the other 90% work like dogs to try to avoid joining them. Which is just what the bosses want.
But it doesn't have to be that way. I look forward to a Labor Day where every worker has a job, every worker has a pension, every worker has paid vacations, and every worker has the health care to enjoy life. Our Republican opponents call that France. I call it America, an America that is Number One.
Not #1 in wasted military expenditures.
Not #1 in number of foreign countries occupied.
Number One in jobs. Number One in health. Number One in education. Number One in happiness.
As Robert Kennedy famously said, "I dream of things that never were, and ask 'why not?'" Why not? Let's make it happen.
And then all of us who are Americans, including the ones today who are jobless, homeless, sick and suffering, we all can then say, "I am proud to be an American."
Or how 'bout arresting some of those Wall Street guys who fucking stole our money, the money that ran the American economy. Now that would take some fucking guts.
And maybe, just maybe, that one act of real guts might save your ass come November 2nd.
Oh, I can just hear you now: "Fuck Michael Moore!" No problem. But Fuck the UAW? How 'bout if I just leave off the ‘A’ and the ‘W’?
Yours,
Michael Moore
P.S. I'd like to pass on something that Rep. Alan Grayson wrote today:
Here is what Robert Kennedy had to say on Labor Day, 42 years ago:
"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.
"It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."
When Robert Kennedy said these words, the unemployment rate in America was 3.7%. Today, it is almost three times as high. Too many of our working brothers and sisters are out of work, thanks to over a decade of economic mismanagement. 10% of us are unemployed, and the other 90% work like dogs to try to avoid joining them. Which is just what the bosses want.
But it doesn't have to be that way. I look forward to a Labor Day where every worker has a job, every worker has a pension, every worker has paid vacations, and every worker has the health care to enjoy life. Our Republican opponents call that France. I call it America, an America that is Number One.
Not #1 in wasted military expenditures.
Not #1 in number of foreign countries occupied.
Number One in jobs. Number One in health. Number One in education. Number One in happiness.
As Robert Kennedy famously said, "I dream of things that never were, and ask 'why not?'" Why not? Let's make it happen.
And then all of us who are Americans, including the ones today who are jobless, homeless, sick and suffering, we all can then say, "I am proud to be an American."
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