Loading ...
Antonucci demands union givebacks
31
January
1/31/2009 Update:
Here’s an update from Donna Antonucci (on behalf of the Hoboken Tax Reform Coalition). Four updated slides; two for the HFD and two for the HPD.
HFD: Slide1 – Slide2
HPD: Slide1 – Slide2
1/16/2009 Update:
You can fill out an online petition if you want:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Unioncontractdemands/
Donna says:
“We need your name and address + the email so that we don’t have people filling it out with any address or the name “mickey mouse”. With an online petition the email address acts as a signature otherwise we can be accused of “printing” signatures. If people want to join the cause, they have to be brave enough to identify themselves and online that means your email address. The email address, yes, can be used to contact the signer but is also used to validate that the person did in fact, intend to join the chorus and support the cause. We will likely send an email to validate that the signers used a valid email address. We want to do that so that, again, no one can accuse us not knowing we have valid information. If we ‘ping’ the signers, we can say we did that check.”
1/14/2009:
Hoboken resident Donna Antonucci (who’s been speaking out lately at rallies and City Council meetings) – is concerned that all of Hoboken’s union contracts are bloated and outdated.
In an effort to help curtail excessive spending, she decided to start a “postcard campaign.” Read her letter below:
Union Givebacks Needed
“I am starting a postcard campaign to get at least 4,000 signatures to support 8 union give backs. I need your help!
I hope I can count on you for at least your signature but if you would like to do more how about getting 10 other Hobokenites to sign?
Attached please find a PDF of the 8 demands. You can either print them off on BRIGHT PINK PAPER -or- get supplies from me (1027 Washington St., 2R). I would need them returned to me as we want to hand deliver them en masse with a tally of how many we’ve gotten.
The fax number to send your signed postcard: 201-526-0460.
For your convenience, here they are. Collective bargaining agreement negotiations are expected to begin the week of January 26th. Please help us get the kind of givebacks that will be meaningful in making a dent in your real estate taxes:
- “Right size” govt. Reduce number of workers per best practices determined by outside professionals.
- Share benefits premiums – municipal workers must pay a portion of a High Deductible Medical premiums.
- Eliminate ’special’ vacation days (Christenings, Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings, etc.). – All vacation must be deducted from the employee’s regular vacation balance.
- Eliminate the ability to accrue unused vacation and overtime towards retirement. Limit sick days to 10 per year.
- Re-structure Management Pay – Employees with managerial responsibility must work 10 hours of overtime at the regular rate before they are paid time and a half.
- Re-structure tuition reimbursement -Tuition re-imbursement will only be granted for degrees that will enhance employees’ performance in their current job. The employee must give the town 3 years of service after degree completion or they have to pay back the reimbursement.
- Require all departments which consider full time less than 40 hours a week to bring their work week to a minimum of 40 hours.
- Require full adherence to Hoboken’s Expense Policy and Procedures. Lack of adherence, whether deliberate or accidental, is grounds for immediate termination.
The State appointed monitor sent out an RFP to get a labor negotiator for the town to tee up against the union reps and get the contract process started. The RFPs are due to Tripodi on 1/21. I would imagine by that Friday 1/23 she will have had made a decision on who she will hire to negotiate with the unions on behalf of the city.
We want to march into the town council meeting either 1/21 or 2/5 and throw them on the Councils desk on camera and read on the record what they say. We also want to have a rally at the opening of the negotiations that’s bigger and louder than the last. 4,000 is 10% of the population 20% of households. We are in a unique position this year in that taxpayers truly do not have the capacity to pay. These contracts will obligate us for the next 4 years and their benefits packages are outrageously rich – the types of packages you and I have not seen in 20 years.
The council, nor citizens have a say in what happens. We want to make it clear that public’s interests need to be represented in negotiations. Anything less is taxation without representation.
Can you help?
Donna“
February 2nd 2009 - 01:34:25 |
whitney wrote:
I was at that BoE meeting. I didn’t hear one resident “scream” at the teachers to “give back their raises saying they didn’t deserve them.” It didn’t happen. Some residents stood up to question the amount and timing of a 4.3% raise each year for the next three years. I did, however, hear teachers/clerks/drivers scream at residents and heckle those who questioned their raises.
I believe I was the only person with a child in the public schools who spoke out against the raise. I know I didn’t scream at any teachers. In fact, I made it a point to praise at least one terrific teacher.
So please don’t rewrite history.
You say: “Every year everything goes up. That’s why people get cost of living raises.”
Actually, everything didn’t go up this year. Inflation over the past year was 0.1%. That means a less than 1% increase in prices. So if the unions were getting 0.1% or even 1% raises, that would be considered a cost-of-living raise. At 4.3%, it’s easy to see that the taxpayers are financing a very healthy raise.
And don’t forget that health care costs for the school system went up a whopping 23%, in large part because we continue to offer health care plans that the private sector has long ago jettisoned as way too expensive. So the teachers, who don’t pay a dime towards their health care, get to keep more of their salary than workers who kick in for health care. For instance, if a worker got no raise this year, but his health care premiums went up 5%, that means he’s taking home less this year than last year.
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 08:21:52 |
whitney wrote:
Whitney, how mamy times do people have to tell you that nobody asked to lower the entry-level teachers’ salaries. We are asking to get rid of the unjustifiable overhead, like secretaries making $147,000, armies of directors making six figures with marginal or zero teaching loads, etc. Theses are the things that cause the cost per pupil in the Hoboken school system ($24,949 per pupil per year!) to be almost twice the state average. We could send every eligible pupil of Hoboken to a private school of their choice and save about $10,000 per pupil per year in the process!
STOP MISLEADING OTHER READERS OF THESE BOARDS, NOBODY SCREAMED AT TEACHERS!
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 13:01:23 |
Yeah Whitney – save it – somebody should smack you in the back of the head Ace.
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 10:30:09 |
HobokenReformer wrote:
I couldn’t agree more – we should try ang get information on sucessful school choice programs around the country. Here is a start: http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/vouchers.htm
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 10:50:09 |
Considering teachers are supposed to teach facts, it is funny how many falsehoods come dribbling out of their mouth when they have to defend the sheer amount of waste, fraud & abuse over at the BOE.
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 11:14:04 |
Just want to thank Donna again for her work on this subject although it frustrates me to see the only idea generation coming from private residents and not the administration.
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 17:48:20 |
this comment is directed to ms. antonucci and all the citizens of hoboken old and new.i’ve watched and attended many council meetings. one thing that stood out was councilman russo’s comment about divisiveness. but, here are some facts past and present. many of us have reaped the benefits of no tax hikes for years. where was ms. antonucci then? why wasn’t ms. antonucci demanding a reasonable year to year tax hike to prevent this from happening? she was doing the same thing we are all guilty of ,reaping the benefits of no tax hikes. for every action there’s an opposite but equal reaction. now, ms antonucci no longer feels like she’s benefiting so her answer is to attack the employees of the city of hoboken. the board of ed, the sanitation dept., police and fire just to name a few. teachers deserve every single cent they get. we entrust them with our kids not only with their education but with their future and their lives. as of right now many of us enjoy the freedom of walking or jogging all about the city of hoboken. thanks to the many brave men and women in uniform. there was a time when i couldn’t walk by the projects let alone past them without fearing for my life. i was chased down streets that now is almost unheard of, washington st., jackson st., adams, grand st., and hudson st. just to name a few. now you see police officers everywhere. many years ago my family and i were burned out of our apartment building on bloomfield st. the fire dept. and it’s many brave men and women have come a long way many people lost they’re lives back in the 80’s and today the fire dept is as strong and even stronger then it was back then. we take things for granted it’s human nature but, let’s not make the mistake of cutting back on our safety, our children’s education, our lives. hoboken has come a long way and we can overcome this crisis but, let’s not take steps backwards when there are other means to move forward..
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 20:28:22 |
Mr tribunal,
your argument spells fallacy all over; the taxes should have been lower if anything, given the number of new developments for the past years. Moving backwards is what you’re asking for. I recently spoke to people who moved out of Hoboken to the neighboring towns; when I asked why, they said –‘too much corruption in Hoboken’; they recognized that it wouldn’t take long for this town to degrade – continue like this, and people will move to the suburbia into a nice house, instead of paying exorbitant amounts for a condo.
Why exactly do we need a 50% tax increase, so the superintendent’s secretary earns $140,000 plus a 4% increase????
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 20:47:50 |
drox wrote:
To be honest this is my biggest fear of all of this mess. Hoboken IS NOT immune to something like that, people eventually move out, no new ‘yuppies’ want to move in, home values hit rock bottom, shops close, people start burning their homes to get insurance money, crime rises, etc… etc…
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 21:11:40 |
Don’t walk close to tall buildings.
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 21:12:21 |
To tribunal:
You are yet another one of those people who are either mentally challenged or just playing dumb!
Donna NEVER proposed cutting the salaries of teachers, policemen or firefighters. What she DID propose – AND RIGHTFULLY SO – is to cut the ridiculously bloated overhead of the BoE, HFD and HPD.
Please do yourself (and us here on this board) a favor and educate yourself before coming here and making silly statements, or simply stay away altogether. Most of us here are fairly educated and won’t fall for your nonsensical drivel.
For instance, look at the following link for BoE salary information:
php.app.com/edstaff/results2.php?pa...m_order=DESC&tfm_orderby=SALARY
- Administrative Assistant to District Superintendent (i.e. secretary!): $147,786
- Director Bilingual/ESL (zero teaching!): $140,286
- Supervisors Special Ed (zero teaching!): $112,609
- Supervisors Curric & Instuction (zero teaching!): $111,068
By the way, these data are base salaries without benefits! None of these people are doing any teaching, yet they collect six-figure salaries! Don’t you find anything wrong with that? I AND MANY OTHERS PAYING TAXES IN HOBOKEN CERTAINLY DO!
Also, in case you are wondering, I am the director of a graduate program at a university, so I know a thing or two about education and educational institutions. In my position, I have significant management duties, yet I am teaching a full complement of courses and do research, student advising, committee work, etc. So don’t tell me being Director Bilingual ESL is a full-time job!
Donna made similar analyses for the HFD and HPD. She never said that Hoboken has too many firefighters. What she did find is that we do not need 9 Battalion Chiefs and 35 Captains of the HFD, all making well into six figures plus outstanding benefits!
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 21:21:54 |
‘many of us have reaped the benefits of no tax hikes for years’
So the PIG said: ‘Some people are more equal than others’, so I guess the ‘more equal’ people reaped those benefits!
The stupid ones should just pay up and shut up, right?
Login or Register to reply
February 2nd 2009 - 21:22:52 |
G.R.I.P. Get rid of incumbent politicians 101.5 FM Radio in the am.
Login or Register to reply
February 3rd 2009 - 12:33:10 |
Great picture on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning. Shows a thousand people lining up in Miami to apply for 35 firefighter jobs. The word is out. Get great benefits, job security, and above market salary with guaranteed promotions, join a unionized city or state government department. The taxpayers who are losing their jobs will foot the bill. Plus, didn’t that Thain guy make over a million last year?
Login or Register to reply
February 3rd 2009 - 12:54:23 |
Greetings from Seattle!
Last night’s news: Seattle state ferry workers forgo pay raises. Yes the governer here negotiated with FIVE unions and they mutually agreed that no raises this year would save the city around 18 Million dollars and would hopefully prevent layoffs. This is only the beginning, other city workers are expecting this as well.
So, Bloomberg is cutting NYC budget like no other, Governator is forcing every state worker to take two unpaid vacation days every month, and now Washington governer froze union worker salaries. And yet an irrelevant mile square city in NJ cannot do it. Sad.
Login or Register to reply
February 4th 2009 - 00:03:11 |
Everybody should come out to the city hall meeting this wed. Please show your face: it starts at 7pm, but it goes on until 10pm. We need to show these clowns that it is time to stop taking us for fools.
Login or Register to reply
February 4th 2009 - 09:46:46 |
Attend the council meeting for possible Bout II – Antonucci vs. LaBruno. By the way, other high ranking city officials go at it (1) at City Hall – A Director calling our a Code Official- Corp. Counsel Kleinman investigating.(2) at Elks – The same Director slamming down a former high position non-elected official at a benefit affair. All in the Heat of the City Atmosphere…Judy T. should be the referee in both issues.
LOL
Login or Register to reply
February 5th 2009 - 22:31:59 |
We were informed at last night’s council meeting that the TAX INCREASE will remain status quo (oh, no, maybe another tax increase soon, at the rate of their spending). None of the city council members were able to voice where (if at all) they see cuts in the budget. After all these months, no one had the slightest idea…pathetic.
Login or Register to reply
February 5th 2009 - 23:32:49 |
I think Donna is finding solutions and voicing her opinion to try and lessen the burden on all of us Hoboken Tax payers. I think the ruckus is Donna hitting a nerve IE: Fire Department, “LIVES ARE NOT MUMBERS”. “ITS NOT PERSONAL”. She caught many people lying to the public and called them out on it. Mason seemed concerned and raised an eyebrow, The rest were just aloof. Ponder this thought: Castellano’s husband is on the Police Department and her cousin as well. Michael Russo’s brother is on the Police Department, Terry LaBruno’s husband is on the Fire Department and is neighbors with Ruben Ramos. Cammerano relies on the FD support since he stuck with Lame Roberts through all these years. Nino is Just Nino and in fairness to Cunningham he is a newbie and still wet behind the ears with the corruption in this city. Mrs Zimmer will just Yes everyone at this point for her campaigning for Mayor and Tomato’s on a vine growing in the Housing authority. Mrs Mason, if you read this: STAY CLEAR OF THESE NUMBNUTS, see through all their BS and do what is right. ANNOUNCE YOUR RUNNING FOR MAYOR! WE NEED YOU!!
Login or Register to reply
February 15th 2009 - 16:33:07 |
Mr. Tribunal,
I just came across your post about me reaping the benefits of no tax increases and only ‘complaining’ now.
1. I have been in touch with my councilmember for years. She has known me for years and I felt we were aligned and she represented my POV.
2. taxes have increased since Roberts was in office. They seemed reasonable as inflation increases costs over time.
3. Your argument is ridiculous and flawed. You are saying that somehow if I was ok with moderate increases before, why do I have the right to complain when they go up 87% (99% if the new $4.2MM in factored into our 2008/2009 tax bill). That’s ridiculous. I thought my taxes were too high before. I voiced it just not on tape. It obviously didn’t work and I am not outraged that they went up 87%. As I dug into what happened I became even more outraged when I saw how much was due to waste and was completely avoidable.
4. I have said over and over again, the cuts suggested in my HPD and HFD were management cuts i.e., do not effect the number of police and firemen on the street that is the patrolmen and fire fighter level. By asking for a MANAGEMENT cut I am by no way making the statement that the work they do in protecting us is not courageous or appreciated. What I am saying is ‘how many administrators do we need to run these departments’. All the data I have found indicates that we have far too many managers in comparison to other like, well managed departments. The same is true with their total compensation packages (cash pay + fringe benefits). They are way out of line with comparable, well run departments. What fire fighters and police do is dangerous and is worth a commensurate compensation. We have the MOST EXPENSIVE DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY. Our pay is far beyond NYC and other places that I would think most of you would agree are more complicated, more dangerous (more of a target for terrorism, tall buildings, complex underground structures), requires more specific training, etc.
The question on the table is what is the right organizational structure that we need to run these departments and what is the right total compensation? I think we have too many administrators and too rich of a total compensation packages based on data that I have been able to find and present to the public.
I got involved publicly because I feel that my representation via my council failed. I have voted in every election and have been involved for a long time. I just did it privately.
Donna
Login or Register to reply