Return To Bountiful, Part 3: Night of the Carnival

While conducting my bathroom/hall duty, I noticed that the clerk passed by a number of times in order to make sure that I was there. I finished the assignment and let myself into 6R to discover that the room was tiny and sweltering. There was an air conditioner in the window, but it didn't work. I sat on the end of the bed and turned on the television hoping to catch up with the latest news only to find that it received one local station. The station's news broadcast centered only on issues that concerned the town of Unity, and most of the stories revolved around what a terrific job the Unity administration was doing.

After a few minutes, I switched off the television and decided to take a walk to cool off. Once outside I felt better. The evening breeze was a welcome change from the oppressive heat of the room.I wandered the town in a random fashion, going up one street and down another until I found myself at the town athletic field where a summer carnival was going on.

The carnival consisted of the usual summer fare; concession stands sold cotton candy and corn dogs, while hawkers attempted to entice passersby into trying their hand at games of skill. The games, I noticed, were unlike any I had ever seen. One that struck me as especially odd was called "Whack a Member." The game was played on a large brightly colored board perforated with 10 inch round holes through which plastic people would pop up briefly. The idea of the game was to "whack" the person before they disappeared back into the hole. Each hole had a little title painted beneath it along with a point score, one hole read "health coverage givebacks-25 points".The higher the total score, the more the player won. I watched a tiny woman dressed in a blazer whacking the smiling figures with glee. She hit one figure, a bald spectacle wearing man, and turned to he companion and remarked, "Now those bastards will have to go back to work after the fourth of July!" Her companion laughed and winked at the hawker."Give the little lady a 15% increase on her prize!" he grinned. "No problem!" the hawker answered handing the woman a pair of discount airline tickets.

Toward the rear of the carnival, I came upon a large red and white stripped tent with a blue sign that read Col. Casey's Oddity Emporium. A pudgy brightly dressed hawker saw me and immediately began his spiel: "You have never see the likes of what awaits you inside!" he began in a slow monotone. "Inside you will find the amazing, the educational and the unusual! You will witness for yourself the incredible shrinking benefits package, marvel at the "Hall of Retirees" that control your very fate! Look with horror upon the "Incredible Money Magnetic" whose well fed body attracts money and who, although retired, is at work more than any working individual! They're all inside and they're all alive!"

I shook my head indicating I wasn't interested in going in to his tent and turned to leave the carnival. As I walked back into the darkness of the street the hawker called after me: "That's not a very Unity attitude!"

Unity vs. the Nazis

Unity wins WWII, again!
See: nyceducator.blogspot.com

Return To Bountiful, Part 2

The hotel lobby seemed quiet in the early evening. I stood at the ornately carved, turn of the century, oak desk and tapped the brass bell on the counter. After a few moments, a tiny man appeared. I quickly noticed that he was dressed the same as the men I had seen in the restaurant.

"May I help you?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"I'd like a room for the night," I answered.
A fleeting look of confusion crossed his face for an instant and then just as quickly was gone.
"A single is alright?" he asked, turning to survey the dangling assortment of keys hanging behind him.
"That's fine," I answered, reaching into my pocket for my charge card.
"How much will it be?" I asked.
A smile creased the little man's face.
"Well, mister, since I've never see you around here before, I guess it's safe to assume you're not a member of this town."
"Obviously, but what difference does that make."
"Well," the little man said putting his leather bound desk register in front of me, "we get most of our clients from right here in Unity. You know--club meetings, special events, elections--you know, Unity stuff."
"I fail to see what all that has to do with the price of a room," I answered handing the clerk my credit card.
The little man smiled. "You see," he began, "If you were one of us you could stay for free."
"We don't every charge Uninites. We help ourselves around here."
I must have looked shocked because the little clerk added quickly, "We get some outsiders here from time to time, you know, people like yourself, and they do fine as long as they follow the house rules."
"Rules," I stammered. "What rules?"
The little man shrugged, "Standard stuff mostly; no pets, no smoking, no loud noises after ten o'clock and bathroom duty."
"What do you mean bathroom duty?!" I demanded, feeling my annoyance beginning to turn to anger.
"Just a little thing really," the clerk answered innocently. "You'll be staying on the sixth floor and six there's only one bathroom.... So all the guests on that floor take turns watching the bathroom for whomever is using it, for privacy."
"But what if no one is using it at all?" I asked, certain he'd say "bathroom duty" under that circumstance, would be unnecessary, but that was not the case.
"House rules," he smiled. "No sense in having rules if you're gonna break 'em. Your bathroom assignment is from seven o'clock to seven forty five. You'll find a nice chair outside the facility."

The little man handed me a key.

"You're in 6R," he said flatly and walked away.

I put my bill in my pocket and walked toward the elevator feeling twice as tired as I did only moments before.

25/55 OR LIFE

Although Mr. Manson is not on the pension committee, with Pataki's veto, he may see the outside before most veteran NYC teachers.

Governor Pataki vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have allowed teachers and all other non-uniformed public employees with 25 years of service to retire at age 55. Both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill; the Assembly by 138-6 and the Senate by 61-0.

UFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

”We are disappointed the governor vetoed this important legislation. We also think it is very interesting he would find 55/25 okay when connected to a bill on charter schools, but not by itself. Recruiting and retaining great teachers is the number one issue in education today. Research shows that teachers’ careers generally span 25 years, and creating an incentive that recognizes that would be a wonderful way to keep quality teachers.”

"We continue to try to get 55/25 legislation and have been working on two fronts to make that happen.

"We worked with entire public sector labor movement to get both houses to pass the legislation that, unfortunately, the governor chose to veto.

"We also working through the contract-created pension committee, in which the city obligated itself to jointly support 55/25 as long as it is cost-neutral.

"Even before the nationwide assault on pensions, as typified by the MTA's stance that spurred the transit strike, we always knew any new pension benefit would be an uphill battle unless the mayor was in agreement. The pension committee, which I chair, is still working, and the city and our union are making good progress on 55/25 legislation we both can support."

Return To Bountiful, Part 1

Submitted for your approval:
One man’s journey from an idyllic summer vacation, to a waking nightmare in a small town.At the signpost up ahead; your next stop: the Unity Zone.



It had been during the middle of an especially hot July that I, seeking some relief from the climbing temperature, decided to visit the north country. I had been traveling for three days through a forgotten corner of the state passing endless farms and towns some of which were so tiny they consisted of little more than a post
office and general store.

It was toward the evening of the third day that I came upon a road sign alerting me that I was coming to yet another featureless town in what had become part of the expected driving rhythm of farms and towns. The sign that caught my attention had an unexpected peculiarity in its wording. It read: "'Unity': A Fine Place To Enjoy
Your Double Pensions".

A mile later I found myself on the main street of Unity. As a town, Unity was far more well kept than anything I'd seen in my travels. Its fine shops ringed a well manicured village park where colorful flowers surrounded a bronze statue of either a tiny union leader, or comedian David Brenner.

I was growing hungry, so I pulled my car into one of the white lined parking spaces beside the village green. I was stepping onto the sidewalk trying to maneuver the kink from my back when I noticed that across the street was the "Unity Restaurant." I remember thinking to myself that I was fortunate because it looked like a place where I could finally get a decent meal after three days of fast food.

I walked into the dim lighting of the restaurant and was startled to see what appeared to be a group of identically dressed gentlemen sitting at a table. Clearly they were very pleased with themselves for some reason.

"We're so sophisticated!" one bespectacled individual whined in a nasal drone.
"Real intellectuals!" another added.
"We've even heard jazz!" a third exclaimed, clapping the back of the fellow seated next to him.

I was still watching the strange conversation when a tall crane-like woman with a remarkably small head appeared out of nowhere.
"This way," she said and lead me off to a small table beside the bar.
The woman then asked me if I'd like dinner and I asked to see a menu. Suddenly the whole restaurant erupted into laughter.
"Menu?!" the woman repeated in disgust. "We don't need any menus here."
I was about to respond when she continued, "We all eat the same meal, each day. It may be different, but we all eat whatever the meal of the day is."My mouth hung open in disbelief.
"Today," she continued "We're serving Steak Friedman."
"I guess I'll have the steak." I said my annoyance growing, "What does it come with?"
"Hostility Potatoes and Arrogance Asparagus. They are the chef's specialty." she answered.
"Fine," I said. "To drink, I'd like an iced tea."
"Today is lemonade day." She smiled briefly and walked off toward the kitchen.

The dinner, to my surprise, was actually quite good and I enjoyed it even without any A-1 steak sauce, which wouldn't be available to anyonefor two more days. Eventually the waitress returned and asked me if there would be anything else. I asked for a cup of coffee. She said I could only have tea.

Once I was outside, I felt relaxed and tired. The sun was beginning to go down and some people were strolling around the park, while otherssat on benches lazing in the shadow of the bronze statue. I sat down on a bench and lit a cigarette, enjoying the gentle summer breeze. I had decided to spend the night in town and start my travels fresh in the morning. I was debating if I should ask one of the locals about a hotel when one of the men from the restaurant approached me."We don't allow smoking here." he said, the sunset reflecting on his glasses. "We think it sets a bad example for the children."

NEWS

Mayor Vows to Keep Trying for Concessions by Unions
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that he would continue to seek financial concessions from the city’s municipal unions, adding that in particular he hoped to tackle soaring health and pension costs.

Mr. Bloomberg expressed the commitment at a news conference yesterday at which he and leaders of the largest municipal union, District Council 37, announced a contract settlement providing a 10 percent raise over 32 months with no new concessions.

The mayor noted that the city continued to benefit from money-saving concessions in the union’s last contract, like reduced vacation and sick days for newly hired workers.

He added that the city and District Council 37, which represents 120,000 city workers, would set up a subcommittee to discuss pension changes and that he would urge the Municipal Labor Committee, the umbrella group for the city’s unions, to negotiate savings on health coverage.

“We have an enormous need to get our costs under control,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “During the eight years I’ll be in office, paying for pension and health coverage benefits will have gone from something like $13 billion a year to something like $25 billion a year.”

The city’s labor commissioner, James F. Hanley, reached a tentative contract with District Council 37 late Wednesday night. At the time, the two sides agreed not to announce the deal until after the weekend because the mayor was on vacation. Nonetheless, several union officials disclosed details on Thursday.

The agreement includes a 3.15 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2005, the day the union’s last contract expired. The new pact also includes a 2 percent raise starting Aug. 1, and a 4 percent raise starting Feb. 1. District Council officials said yesterday that the union’s members earn an average annual salary of $30,000.

Lillian Roberts, the union’s executive director, said she was not surprised to have reached an agreement that included no concessions. She said the city’s projected $5 billion budget surplus made it harder for the mayor to demand concessions. Moreover, she said her union had shown the mayor that it was cooperative by giving some important concessions in its last contract, including a one-year wage freeze.

Explaining the absence of new concessions, Mr. Bloomberg said: “One of the problems we’re going to have is, it gets more difficult to find ways where you can continue to deliver services and do so with cost savings. That’s just because as we get more refined there are fewer opportunities, and certainly the opportunities are more difficult to come to an agreement on.”

Mr. Bloomberg made it clear that he thought the agreement should set a pattern for other municipal unions, including the new 20-union bargaining coalition that includes the teachers and sanitation workers.

“There is a labor history in this city that people tend to move in lockstep, and I see no reason why that would not continue,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, said, “This sets a pattern of no concessions, and I hope that is part of what he envisions for the other unions.”

Then she added: “The mayor’s position is this sets a pattern. The coalition’s position is it intends to bargain its own agreement.”

Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Roberts agreed that one of the most important provisions in the agreement was ending the requirement that members live in New York City. From now on, they can also live in any of six suburban counties: Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange.

The union had pushed to end the residency requirement because many of its members were having problems finding affordable housing. “I have plagued this mayor to death about the housing problems my members face,” Ms. Roberts said.

Mr. Bloomberg noted that the city adopted the residency restrictions 20 years ago when many middle class families were leaving for the suburbs, but he added that middle class flight has largely subsided.

The mayor acknowledged that one of the city’s biggest problems was the high cost of housing and so ending the residency restriction made sense.

BOXCAR AND LIL' JIMMY

THE UTP PROUDLY PRESENTS
BOXCAR STEViE AND Lil’ jimmy
FLAP JAWING TALES O’ CORRUPTION, greed and power grabbing by the UNITY caucus~


Our little story begins with two former NYC teachers, now hobos because of the Pataki 25/55 veto, sitting by the side of the old Erie Lakawana tracks somewhere in northwestern Pennsylvania. Autumn is approaching. The first cold winds of the season blow down from Canada and across Lake Erie. They fondly remember the warmth and security of their 6R assignment outside the bathroom. Their conversation is typical of those that the UFT has forgotten, those that don't have a double pension.

Jimmy: So STEVIE, WHEN RANDI got over
on
how dem district rep’s ARE PLACED, HOW’D IT HAPPEN?

STEVIE: WELL, IT GOES BACK A LONG way. THE UFT THOUGHT THEY WAS GONNA HAVE A BIG RUN IN WITH THE NEW MAYOR AND THE NEW DOE. ‘COURSE DEY WAS RIGHT ‘BOUT DAT. So the executive bd. Voted to give the president the right to appoint the dr’s .

Jimmy: but what about checks and balances, and preventing the abuse o’ power. Ya know, My pappy used to say absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Stevie: course he did.

Jimmy: And it should come as no surprise to you then that the Executive bd is made up almost entirely of unity followers. Lock -step followers. Soldiers, of a sort. Yes-men--you get my meanin’?
So they gave the president something that in a way wasn’t theirs to give: the right o f chapter leaders and members even to elect their representatives.
It’s a basic fundamental right, of course, and just one of many examples of unity abuse o’ power.
the fact that there is no one to prevent them from doin’ anydamnthing they like--like giving away something to the President dat she aint ever gonna feel
like givin’ back--is sump thin that has to change.
It’s a dang dictatorship at dis point.

Stevie: lordy, dat sounds tantamount to collusion to me. Dat executive bd needs to be seen to, if you get my meaning.

Jimmy: yer right. Its just like getting hit I’ d’ head wif sump thin. Its totalitarianism
And dem unity folk collaborated on it.

Stevie: goddamit nothing’ seems to change. It the same thing over and over. I bet they can vote demselves a raise too. I cantstandit no more. It makes me so mad! well anywho , jimmy, I gotsta calm down . I'm gonna put some neatsfoot oil on my 2nd basemans glove. It helps me relax, but Tell me again about whats it like to be DR, ya know, like ya always tell....

But Jimmy starts with a song:
"My heart begin to roam around and I begin to sing,
If that freight train goes through this town, I'll catch it on a wing;
I pulled my cap down over my eyes and stepped up to the track,
I caught the stirrup of an empty car but never did look back."

Both look up at the first night stars and wonder. They wonder what it would be like if their union really represented them....