"85-15" Protected in Governor Patrick's Budget ? Not so fast!

NAGE's Lying Propaganda website reports.....

"Contending with a $1.3 billion spending gap to close, Governor Deval Patrick filed House 1, officially putting into the record his FY2008 budget recommendation for the Commonwealth. Although his spending plan calls for sweeping cuts across the state, at least one significant budget item remains protected—the 85-15 employer/employee split for state employee health-care premiums."

Don't start congratulating yourself yet, Holway.... As we've all found out in recent years, there's more than one way to skin a cat. The 85-15 premium contribution is only one part of the equation. Increases in co-pays, reductions in service, increases in deductibles are other ways to shift the financial burden of formerly covered health care cost to employees.... let's wait and see what the "Benefit Guide" tells about the hidden costs to employees..... AND What about the huge cut in the GIC line item?

NAGE prevaricating Propagandists report.....

"It's obviously a huge victory for us [NAGE members], given that the governor had to close a budget gap of more than a billion dollars," said National President David J. Holway.

Somebody get me a tissue..... boo hooo, poor governor Patrick has to close a 1.3 billion budget gap..... and I suppose we've got help out by accepting another-below the rate of inflation contract, right Dave?

Here we go again .... NAGE is starting already to soften everybody up and get them prepared for a yet another low-balled insulting contract..... Judas Goat Holway is leading us down the ramp to the slaughterhouse....

NAGE Propaganda website reports.....

When NAGE discovered that Governor Patrick had issued a memo to his Cabinet secretaries directing them to identify ways to cut their annual budgets by up to 10 percent, NAGE lobbyists immediately got to work to make sure that 85-15 would be protected.
"We knew Governor Patrick would be looking at every way possible to cut the budget, so we immediately set up meetings with his officials and with Lt. Governor [Tim] Murray," said NAGE Legislative Director Ray McGrath. "We're definitely pleased that 85-15 remained untouched, and we will continue to keep its protection at the top of our priority list."

Well let's hope that do-nothing, layabout, Ray McGrath ($165,000/ year of YOUR DUES MONEY) at least got a meeting... by the way, People are saying that McGrath is persona non gratis in Therese Murray's office...(the new Senate President) (remember this guy, the idiot that fumbled the funding for the last paltry raise we got? ....and then tried to Blame it on the Senate Way's & Means Committee (Where Therese Murray was Chairwoman?)

..... Do you think we'll be getting another "message" from the Legislature they they've grown tired of Holway's arrogance????

You can review Govenor Patrick's full budget recommendation at http://budget.mass.gov/budget/

How Low will NAGE go on the next Contract?

Let's see, I'm guessing NAGE will settle for 1%, 1% and 1.5% COLA over the next three years....

Oh, and we'll see off-setting increases in our health insurance co-pays and premiums, along with service reductions (previously covered services-no longer covered.... ) Governor DeVille chooses to call them "reforms" in his new budget..... rather than cuts to benefits, which is what they are.....

NEWS FLASH!!!!!
The Group Insurance Premium and Plan Costs Line item for state employees in the new Governor De Ville Budget has been reduced by over $269 million for next year (due to "reforms", yeah, right!).... if reforms mean higher premiums and less coverage, I guess that's right....


I also note that the Insurance Premiums line item for teachers is going UP by $5million..... what do you read into that?

Here are some of the "reforms" were likely to see from the Group Insurance Commission:

......more Tiered- "Select and Save" plans ..... (in english it means THEY'VE selected a diluted health care coverage plan that will put the screws to YOU, so it will save THEM money)

..... one REALLY EXCITING new GIC Select and Save Plan you may be offerred in this years "Benefit Guide" provides that if you're willing to select a veterinarian for your primary care Doctor, and Angel Memorial Veterinary Clinic as your family hospital.... then your out of pocket costs will be held to only a 50% increase this year WOOF!..... hey with NAGE looking out for you how can you lose?

My advice is, that if you've been putting off an operation or other medical procedure..... do it now before things get any worse.... you could wind up bankrupted, or worse, if you wait till next year.... oh and try not to get sick.......

Believe me, Prez for Life Holway and the rest of Burgin Parkway Bandits don't care whether you get a fair contract, they have only one concern:
........keeping the flow of your dues into their pockets!

How much longer will it be before (when out of the blue, with no opportunity for public debate or discussion) we get the ballot asking us to vote for yet another insulting contract?

You know how it always goes, NAGE will once again be telling us....

Well.... it's not a GREAT contract,... ahhh, it's not even a GOOD contract,... in fact it's downright lousy contract..... but the Commonwealth can't afford to give you a fair cost of living adjustment.... just look at the projected deficit.....

Hmmmm.... too bad Holway and NAGE were selling you all down the river for 1.5% to 2% COLAS for all those years......when the Commonwealth was enjoying record high surplus revenues!....

If we'd had a union run by members, instead of self-serving swine interested only in their own obscene salaries, perhaps those contracts would have kept pace with inflation instead taking serious losses in inflation adjusted constant dollars.....

.......put another way, you're worse off today financially than you were 10-15 years ago, thanks to NAGE..... and by the time NAGE gets through "negotiating" the new contract, you'll be still worse off.....

Holway is warming up to do it again with his Judas Goat routine.... where he leads all the other unions to slaughter by settling for a dirt poor contract..... get ready to be sold down the river by NAGE headquarters, once again.....

NAGE will then publish a self-congratulatory piece in their in-house rag, the NAGE Reporter, bragging to the members that they the were the first union to settle! ..... what's really sad is that the SHEEP-LE in units 1&6 will eat this BS right up (hey I'll give a little credit to Unit 3, they at least had a case of temporary sanity when they voted the NAGE scum out in favor of MOSES (a real democratic union that accounts for every penny to their members.)
Alas they soon reverted to form with the rest of the pathetic sheep...

Stay posted and hang onto you wallets.

Governor De ville Patrick is beholden to the teacher's union and the municipalities.... He's got to provide health insurance for illegal aliens..... He's got to pay for those promises somehow.....

By the way, did I mention how tight Dave Holway is with Deval Patrick?.... he'll do real well for us.....

I can just picture it when they sit down to negotiate our contract: ... "Oh hi, Dave Holway, hmmmm... yeah I remember you now.... you're the guy who was busting my ass over the ambassador to the Netherlands... (that reminds me... screw you AND your members.... ")