MOSES holds out for better deal and gets it ..... 7.36%

Their hands were tied by the early and easy concessions that SEIU and NAGE eagerly gave to Deval (at members expense).... but MOSES was able to do little better for their members, with some shrewd bargaining. 

They got a slightly better raise (7.36% vs NAGE's 7%).... hey think how this will continue to pay dividends when the contract runs out and we go year after year without a raise or a contract.... the pattern that has been established as the norm by NAGE shill Prez for life Holway..... oh, that's right NAGE didn't get the 7.36%, they settled for 7%.


And they didn't concede to stop payments into the Dental and Optical Trust funds (like NAGE did)....


I'm sure this is due to the fact that MOSES is an independent democratic union, that has to answer to the membership.....

Not like NAGE  which is only in business to clip your dues for their own high-living salaries and junkets, and transferring what's left  to Andy Stern at SEIU so he can fund his campaign to give amnesty, welfare, free healthcare, housing and college tuition to illegal aliens, or as our Governor calls them "new Americans".

NAGE  does not have to answer to the membership, they answer only to the handpicked "executive board members at all expenses paid vacations in Disney World resorts..... these cowardly scum never have to face the membership.

These NAGE cowards won't even provide a discussion board on their web site....COWARDS!

Anyway, MOSES was able to negotitate 3.36% increases in the final year fo the concessions contract (compared to what NAGE and 509 settle for--3%)


And NO AGREEMENT to reduce optical and Dental Benefits (that NAGE gave up without a fight)

KUDOS to MOSES for a job done well (as good as could be gotten under the circumstances I guess....with NAGE and 509 having already given away the store...)

Update #2....509 sheep vote for concessions ... count so close Union won't disclose it....update

Boy-oh-Boy!...... poor old Dave "Judas Goat" Holway must have a RED FACE...... for the first time in recent memory he got beat in a race to the bottom.... that is...to sell out his membership in a concession contract..... 

I hereby declare the new ruling champion in the "Judas Goat Derby" to be Mike Grunko!..... President of local 509  ......congratulations Mike..... a dubious distinction if ever there was one.....

Hello, Local 509 members.... You've been PUNKED!..... ha, ha.....
 
.............................................the Sheeple from NAGE would like to WELCOME YOU TO THE FOLD!....(as in an "an enclosure for sheep or, occasionally, other domestic animals.")

The 509 web site says only that the concessions contract amendment was ratified....nothing about the count of the yays and the nays..... Why? I'm guessing the vote was so close it was an embarrassment to the union bosses..... if it was so close, it diminishes their credibility when they claim to be able to deliver th votes....

Well, well well..... I guess that concession vote did have something embarrassing about it!.... Presto Change-O....Now you see it now you don't.... 
Mike Grunko must have found the lukewarm voting margin a little, well if not outright embarrassing, then at least NOTHING TO BE VERY PROUD of!..... 
They've taken the vote count down off the 509 web site.... don't worry, we'll leave it up here.....

Meanwhile, narry a whisper from the Burgin Parkway Bandits about their "agreement...ALL BUT Written!"..... how pathetic.

OK.... here's the update from 509 giving the count, they must have been shamed into it.... but only 74% voted in favor, hardly what I would call "overwhelming".... especially when one considers how the union had gulled them into thinking the contract was going to avert 509 lay-offs....obviously 26% of the members were not fooled..... we'll see.....

.......Oh and one can't help but notice how 509's numbers are dwindling...... the administration is cutting them down like wheat...... and it hasn't stopped yet..... the administration's sinking ship is desperate to fund fat raises for the municipal unions..... in an attempt to curry local favor in the upcoming election....

Contract Ratification

On December 17, 2009, state workers voted overwhelmingly to ratify their contract. The agreement: delays a cost of living increase, authorizes a modest furlough program and applies these savings to prevent layoffs.(Really??....no where in the agreement does it mention averting 509 layoffs.... oh and the non-binding "side letter?"..... that doesn't mean anything, and it doesn't say anything..... nowhere are the "averted layoffs" identified, specified, or quantified.... you folks have been punked!......) 

Members of Local 509 provide support to persons with disabilities, at risk families and others in need. These vital services now will not be disrupted as a result of this vote. (Oh really?..... based on what?.... got ay actual facts to back that up?) 

The ratification results were:
Unit 8:

YES: 2369

NO: 619
Unit 10:

YES: 257

NO: 15509 declares that the concessions made will save jobs (yeah maybe they'll save the 1,300 new hires done by the governor in the last year)....

BUT JUST LIKE THE NAGE CONCESSION MOU, THERE IS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT SAVING 509 JOBS, nowhere are the "to be saved" jobs, identified, quantified , or specified..... Notice how carefully parsed the wording is on the website.....

Members of SEIU Local 509 voted on December 17 to ratify an agreement with the Commonwealth to save jobs, protect services,.....blah, blah, blah (yeah, but whose jobs, if it was agreed they'd be 509 jobs why doesn't the agreement say that...in fact the agreement makes no mention of any jobs at all...)

At least it has a requirement that the Legislature funds the contract prior to the furloughs taking affect..... the NAGE plan seems to be to take the furloughs and then get contracting funding later.....

IF the legislature does pass a funding bill (and that is a BIG IF, based on their recent actions).... then you'd beetter pay real close attention to the language to make sure it is specifically authorizing payment of the future 3% raises.... if there is no specific intention that it funds the future 3% raises then that leaves it an open question of interpretation..... you ought to no how that will go..... you'll never see the two 3 % raises.

Well.... I thought the 509ers had a little more intelligence and back-bone than the NAGE Sheeple, well.... I guess I was wrong about that..... welcome to the fold... fellow sheeple!

Here's a comment lifted from the Globe story:

jgattijr wrote:

Shame on SEIU 509 and AFSCME

Once again the so called public employee union bosses continue to sell out to their endorsed political candidate at the expense of the career state employees struggling to provide services with taxpayer dollars. The union bosses continue to promote by inaction of starving state agencies and allowing their membership to dwindle. The Union Bosses are too allied with consultants, vendors, and providers that have raped the taxpayers, legislature for too long and are unaccountable trying to organize them while the delivery system fails. Apparently dues are dues for the union bosses to play politics and their dedicated membership are expendable.

Governor Deval Pattrick Threatens State Employee Cuts While insuring His Political Appointments Are Safe! That is an outrage. The place where there are the real Savings which could be at least $750 million to $1.5 billiuon+ Alone In The State Budget. .....Massachusetts Non Profits, Not For Profits, and Foundations Must Now Clean UP Their Own Management Greed As What Was Exposed In The Banking And Insurance Industry.


Government,Foundations, and Citizens all struggling in our nation's failed economy caused by unmonitored corporate financial greed and failed government oversight must show additional compassion and dig deeper into their pocketbooks. Compassion, Care, and Concern are needed to guarantee what is funded is precisely spent as intended.

However, the time has come that the non profits and not for profits be held to a higher standard also. Greed CEO salaries.golden parachutes, fat expense accounts, and interrelated sweetheart contracts must be addressed. Direct care services advertised must be maintained with need sincerity and actually being provided as funded.

Estimates not taking in consideration the $$$$billions in private giving accounts in the state budget alone if waste, fraud, abuse corruption and doing proper oversight could recover $750 Billion+ to $1.5 Billion + alone in State budget Expenditures by holding the non profit and not for profit Human Services Industrial Complex were properly audited and monitored.

I challenge to be corrected.

http://oversightwatchmassachusetts.blogspot.com

509 does a little better...

But not much..... it will still leave you social workers worse off than you are now.
You can review the 509 package yourself.... here

509 would see their stinkin' 1% raise 6 months earlier than NAGE...by December 31, 2009 (NAGE waits till June 30, 2010) ...so put another way 509 gets 1/2% for FY10 and NAGE gets another goose-egg....zero percent for 2010.

Both agreements contain meaningless unenforceable language concerning the two 3% cost adjustments (509 "gets" theirs 6 months earlier on 12/31/2010 and 12/31/2011, NAGE waits till 6/30/2011 and 6/30/2012).....

The 509 agreement does not even bother to mention the worthless promise to "file" an early retirement package.... which proves, I guess, that Mike Grunko does have a sense of shame, unlike Dave Holway who will shamelessly promise the the ERIP package when he knows it doesn't have prayer (the Gov, the Senate Pres and the House speaker were all going to make liars out of themselves and reverse their earlier statement about NO ERIPS, right?.... in deferenc eto the powerful negotiators at NAGE?....come on)


IT NEEDS TO BE NOTED that neither of these amendments are worth the paper they are printed on..... the Commonwealth has a long and growing history of simply reneging on agreed upon raises.... don't forget the same folks that want that want you to agree to these concessions just screwed you on the current contract (oh, they did provide the zero% in year one...)

Furloughs.....
509... <$40k=1 day, >$40k and <$50k=1.5 days, >$60k= 3days
NAGE...<$50k=0 days, >$50k=3 days

Simple arithmetic.... value of the concessions:

New deductibles, co-pays, etc....approx value 1%-2% pay cut depending on what you make and what medical services you an dyour family are likely to use.

Furloughs.....................................approx value 1.25% pay cut

Cuts to Dental & Optical plans..........Value?... remains to be seen... need more info

Value of NAGE raise in FY10 =0%..... another goose egg for NAGE
Value of 509 Raise in FY10   =.5%

So the value of the concessions package, for you, is roughly equivalent to a 2.5% to 3.5% pay cut..... this on top of two years of no cost of living raise.......

NAGE is killing you financially..... the cops don't get this kind of raw deal, the municipal unions don't, the nurses don't, certainly the teachers don't, the MBTA doesn't ....why? because they don't suffer the burden of being "represented" by NAGE....

VOTE NO on this concession contract, consider it a vote of no confidence in the people that have been screwing you over for years...... send them a wake-up message

MOSES & Local 509 getting better deals?

Local 509, remains silent on what is going on. They have nothing  on their web site informing the members of any "deal."
(This in spite of news reports indicating they have knuckled under to the same lousy concession agreement that NAGE "negotiated" with A&F.)

Some are interpreting this to mean that they are getting a better deal than the NAGE shills have put before the NAGE membership. If true, then Mike Grunko stood up for his members (unlike Holway)..... if not true?.... well we'll see.

Did 509 manage to get their raises without giving up furloughs, dental & optical benefits? The word is that the 509 "better deal" is being quietly introduced to members in local meetings, that ballots will be hand carried to local work sites, and the deal is being kept off the web page....in order to keep things on the "Q-T".... so that poor NAGE sheeple don't get to feeling bad.

The idea is to keep things on the "low down" until after the NAGE sheeple have voted to the accept the furloughs, pay cuts and benefits cuts endorsed by NAGE to their members.

After the sheeple take it in the neck, by their own hand, then Local 509 will unveil the much better deal they negotiated for their members..... details are not yet available.....

Likewise MOSES has, thus far, refused to throw their members under the bus..... they have refused to endorse the NAGE-Holway concession plan. Negotiations continue between MOSES and the Commonwealth (though NAGE has already thrown in the towel.....).... we'll have to wait and see....

Don't get fooled again- Vote NO! on Concessions

Remember the Contract (the current Contract) NAGE gave us those "solid assurances" that the Commownwealth would live up to it? ... We were going to get: the following:

• NO Retro (O% raise for FY 08).... "Check".... that happened alright
• 1% Increase on July 1 2009, fro FY 09..... NEVER HAPPENED DID IT!
• 3% July 1st 2010.... .... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
• 3% July 1st 2011.... NAGE has already sold you down the river on this one too, they're proposing you give further concessions..... Furloughs, give back optical and dental payments already agreed to.....
  

Remember how NAGE announced the SIGNING of the CURRENT AGREEMENT with such fanfare?

A real Historic OCCASION!..... or should I say HYSTERICAL OCCASION!.....

From the expressions on their faces I can only imagine how the dialog must have gone between EL Presidente' for Life David Holway and the Governor:

NAGE Hedging on the Concession Agreement before it's even unwrapped

NAGE IS hedging (what a surprise!).... though they made no mention of it before (not till after it was pointed out here on this blog):

Remember anything you think you're getting in this concession agreement is SUBJECT TO BEING FUNDED by the Legislature (Yeah the same legislature that refused to fund the current agreement.)

So NAGE is now admitting it......
Here's what they are now saying about the stinking concessions contract they have "negotiated", but which they still have refused to share with the membership apparently preferring to keep it under wraps as long as possible, lest the members think about what it really says...:

(NAGE admits it):It is also important to note that the legislature must approve the agreement, and NAGE is working hard to make sure that happens.....

Gee I thought you were working hard on the current agreement getting funded, I guess you were only "hardly working" on that stinkin 1% raise.....

YOU KNOW WHAT?.... I'd rather see you working hard to get the current agreement funded by the Legislature, rather working so hard to get the concessions approved!!!!!

no kidding, the NAGE sheeple might be stupid.... but they do catch on after a while

YET ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO VOTE NO!.... on this stinkin' contract....

So what to make of it?......

The concessions WILL be taken and you WILL take payless work days, see increases in you health care costs, outright lose optical and dental benefits.....
yet the other end of the bargain will never be lived up to.....

YOU WILL NEVER SEE the PROMISED PAY RAISES, YOU WILL NEVER SEE, the healthcare reimbursements.....

......AND NAGE's likely response will be to go back to the bargaining table OFFERING YET MORE CONCESSIONS!.... time will tell folks, but based on recent and current history.....that's what will happen...

New dedcutible= 1% pay cut

The new GIC $750 deductible is the equivalent of a 1% pay cut (if you make $75,000 per year).

Let me do the math for you ignorant sheeple:
If you make:
If you make:$70,000 the new deductible equals a 1.07% pay cut
If you make:$60,000 the new deductible equals a 1.25% pay cut
If you make:$50,000 the new deductible equals a 1.50% pay cut
If you make:$40,000 the new deductible equals a 1.88% pay cut
If you make:$30,000 the new deductible equals a 2.50% pay cut

Hey President "give away" Holway, where is the real concession contract? the one you've been keeping under wraps (that "tentative contract" was nothing but a piece of garbage.)

POST THE REAL CONTRACT AMENDMENT, So we can see what other concessions you've given away.

MORE STINKING LIES from NAGE

Remember that "tentative agreement" that NAGE published and made available to the members?

Guess what? That piece of garbage was not the agreement.

According to Geg Sorozan the ACTUAL AGREEMENT has not been shared with any of you morons.
You'll have your first look at it when the ballot comes in the mail.

Obviously NAGE is up to their usual tactic to keep the members IN THE DARK, as long as possible, and provide as short a timeline as possible to vote up or down ....
....with NO Democratic Forum to discuss and debate the merits.....

How much longer will you Sheeple put up with this kind of treatment?....======>

Here's what Greg is saying on his Blog: (has he gone off his meds or what?....sharing anything with the members?..... Holway will have to take him to the woodshed for this....)


AGREEMENT NEXT STEPS AND GIC INCREASES
 In a meeting today (Nov. 20), the Group Insurance Commission voted toincrease co-pays and deductibles (no kidding, what a surprise.... got to pay for all the free health care for those "New Americans"the Gov is so worried about....screw you NAGE Folks) for participants in GIC plans.

Co-pays for primary care physician visits, specialist visits, and retail clinic visits will increase $5;
co-pays for outpatient surgery will increase $10;
and co-pays for emergency room visits and hi-tech imaging, such as MRIs, will increase $25.

Wait for it....here's where they are really putting the screws to you....

Deductibles of $250 for individuals and $750 for families will be imposed for the first time!!!!

These new co-pay and deductible rates go into effect February 1, 2010.

That’s the bad news....It sure is Greg....thanks for nothing NAGE....


The good news is that, in the tentative agreement (really? there is nothing like that in the agreement that has been shared with the members) reached between NAGE and the Commonwealth, there is the following provision:


“Should the GIC raise co-pays or deductibles in FY 10 or FY11,
employees represented by NAGE will be reimbursed for the difference
between current rates and the revised rates. (Oh that's rich, so we're supposed to believe that they are screwing us to save money, but then they are just going to reimburse us for the difference?....come on, what's really going on here?)This agreement is in effect through June 30, 2011.”

This provision, of course, will be in effect only upon members’ ratification of the agreement.
Here it comes:


The reimbursement process for the co-pays and deductibles will be cumbersome,(oh, do tell....) and the details of how the reimbursement program will operate are not final, but NAGE bargaining unit members in Units 1, 3, and 6 "have assurance"

(OH REALLY? only assurance?.... NOT EVEN "SOLID ASSURANCES?".... sounds pretty weak to me....OH IT just came to me.... the reimbursement mechanism will be SO CUMBERSOME, that they are counting on you sheeple to be TOO STUPID and LAZY to figure it out....meaning you'll never get reimbursed.... yeah that sounds right!)
...that they will be held harmless in this event of the GIC’s increases and any future increases through June 30, 2011.

On another note, we expect to be notifying members in the near
future of the new dates for the mailing of the ratification ballots and
the new date for the counting of those ballots. It is our hope to
complete the ratification vote by mid-December.

OK, when you get the ballot VOTE NO....
don't give up your optical and dental benefits,

don't take furloughs, and get laid off anyway....

don't say thank you for getting screwed out of your stinkin' 1%.....

stand up on your hind hooves and VOTE NO!

Remember anything you think you're getting in this concession agreement is SUBJECT TO BEING FUNDED by the Legislature (Yeah the same legislature that refused to fund the current agreement.)

SO don't be so gullible to think that just because you have a signed agreement that the Commonwealth will live up to it's end of the bargain, THEY HAVE ALREADY SHOWN THEY WON'T!

You won't get any of the "benefits" offered (like those "reimbursements of medical deductibles that shouldn't have been imposed in the first place..... BUT, for damn sure you will lose your optical and dental benefits and you will take those payless furloughs, OH...and the "handful" of layoffs avoided.... it won't help you.

AND Most importantly!..... Folks STAY HEALTHY!..... you can see the way this is going, if you actually need to have access to medical services...IT WILL COST YOU, at least until rationing begins under OBAMA-Care, then you may not get it at all...... 

Next step Health Insurance for State Employess via the "Health Connector"....mass health..... that will do till OBAMA-Care, then the Cdommonwealth will be able to dump your coverage completely..... you heard it here 1st....

NAGE is keeping you in the dark

NAGE had a meeting at their headquarters at Burgin Parkway last Friday.

There they laid out further details of the "tentative agreement" for concessions to the Stewards of Nage.
Among other things they gave out a chart showing the economic value (tens of millions according press reports) of the concessions they are foisting on the members..... WITH INSTRUCTIONS NOT TO SHARE THIS INFO WITH THE MEMBERS!..... you should be outraged!

The rank & file dues paying members have as much right to the info as any of the Burgin Parkway bandits, or the stewards and other assorted toadies.

I call upon Pres Holway....post this info on the web site and share it with the dues paying members!, we've got a right to know what we're voting.... how much lower can you sink...

VOTE NO on Conncession Contract...it is a SHAM!

MOSES is not so anxious to sell out their members as NAGE is (because, unlike NAGE they actually have to answer to the members.)

The MOSES negotiated agreement on concessions actually contained language that would ensure that NO CONCESSIONS would be made until the COMMONWEALTH actually lived up to their end of the bargain.

Specifically, MOSES took the position that NO FURLOUGHS would be taken UNTIL AFTER the Commonwealth filed, passed and IMPLEMENTED the promised Early Retirement Package.

Contrast that to the meaningless language NAGE has accepted: that the administration will only have to "file" the ERIP legislation (which is "filed" every year anyway, and never goes anywhere except the trash can.)

So what happened?.....   faced with MOSES language requiring that they would actually have to live up to their end of the deal in order to get the concessions, the Commonwealth promptly withdrew the "offer" of an ERIP ....why? (read about)
......I think it's fair to infer it was because they never had any intention whatsoever of living up to their end of the obligation.....

Remember this posting on the NAGE web site?, I do:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
JOINT STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK, SENATE PRESIDENT THERESE MURRAY,
AND SPEAKER ROBERT DeLEO
BOSTON – Wednesday, July 22, 2009 – Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo today announced that the Commonwealth will not adopt an “early retirement incentive” program, as it has during past fiscal emergencies.
The leaders do not support an early retirement incentive program, for either state or municipal workers, because, based on experience with previous efforts, such programs have not saved substantial operating funds and have proven too costly to the state retirement system.

So why the Hell would NAGE give any creedence whatsoever to the Governor's alleged offer to implement an ERIP...... you can't make this stuff up folks, NAGE and the Governor are just laughing at your gullibility....

If they lied about the ERIP, then they are more likely than not lying about the layoffs....

Remember those 1,000 layoffs that will be "avoided" as a result of concessions, (oops, now it's down to only "hundreds" of layoffs, what's the next statement going to say "dozens" avoided, or a "handful" avoided?).... they are laughing at you

...it's nothing but baloney folks , you probably believe in the Easter bunny too

There is not ONE SINGLE WORD IN THE  CONCESSION AGREEMENT, THAT IDENTIFIES, QUANTIFIES, OR SPECIFIES... WHERE EXACTLY THESE LAYOFFS WOULD BE AVOIDED.....
IF THEY WERE REAL ...THEY WOULD BE SPECIFIED FOLKS, SO I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY, IT'S NOTHING BUT SMOKE AND MIRRORS

In other words, the layoffs will happen regardless, yet you will have taken furloughs, cuts in optical and dental benefits, cuts in health insurance benefits, and wage cuts.... for NOTHING. NAGE has sold you down the river, for nothing....and acting in typical Judas Goat fashion, they have led the other weak sister unions (509 and AFSCME) down same road.

VOTE NO! on this underhanded scheme cooked up by NAGE.

The STATE POLICE UNION, LIKE MOSES IS NOT READY TO SELL THEIR MEMBERS DOWN THE RIVER....taking an even harder line, here's what they have to say about furloughs:

(The State Police Association) wants to see more cuts made at the management level before furloughs, because everyone is under tough times.

“Taking 3,4,5, even 6 days away from someone, especially someone new, you can cost them a mortgage or a kids school or some of the expenses we all have to pay.” – Jeffrey Gordon, State Police Association of Massachusetts

They are not slinging any of the NAGE BS to their members.....

CONTRAST THAT WITH THE KIND of SNIVELING, WHINING, and PRATTLING THAT WE HEAR FROM NAGE:

..."BOO-HOO ....it's not really a "GOOD DEAL" and we certainly can't call it a "victory" but it's the best deal we are willing to try to do for you fools who provide us with million$ in dues each year, for which you receive virtually nothing in return..... thanks chumps ....and keep those due$ coming."

By the way, I'm looking into recent municipal collective bargaing agreements across the state..... they continue to get fair wage increases, cost of living increases, even "longevity bonuses!"..... they aren't losing benefits, taking furloughs or pay cuts.... local aid is the Governor's sacred cow.... you are expendable..... more later

VOTE NO! on the Contract amendment

You will soon be getting a contract amendment voting ballot from NAGE.
(supposed to be going out Dec 14th, I've heard)
NAGE is, once again, asking you to vote against your own interests by:

taking furlough days (which contractually you can not be made to take).... so don't take them....VOTE NO!.....

cutting your optical and dental benefits.... coverage has been shrinking every year thanks to NAGE back room deals.... what will be left, if anything, of your optical and dental plan if you volunteer to cut your benefits even further?....VOTE NO!..... don't believe any malarkey that NAGE will be putting out there about a "surplus" in the Trust Fund..... NAGE has no credibility.... they have never provided to you the members, any accounting whatsoever of the status of the Trust Fund, or how the decisions get made to continually reduce the benefits and increase the co-pays.....

Layoffs will proceed in spite of concessions made.... sorry to tell you this folks, but conceding to give away the wages and benefits you have "won" with NAGE at the bargaining table WILL NOT SAVE any of YOUR jobs..... there is not a single word in the amendment that says anything about saving any of YOUR JOBS..... VOTE NO!.....

YOU will be far worse off than you are right now if you ratify this stinker of a contract.....VOTE NO!.....

I think NAGE is lying about what's in the Tentative Agreement

Here's a comparison of the WHAT NAGE CLAIMS is in the tentative agrement versus WHAT IS in the Tentative Agreement.... hey I'm getting this right from NAGE's own publications

What NAGE Claims:
1) Any agreement had to guarantee that we would receive the full 7% in raises during the original term of the contract (ending 6/30/2012), even though they might have to be somewhat delayed.....

What it really is:
What, guaranteed like we we were "guaranteed" 1% as of July 1st 2009?
Since there is NO SUCH THING as guarantee, and the admin and legislature have shown themselves only too willing to Welsh on a signed deal (to swindle by failing to fulfill an obligation) .....THERE IS NO Guarantee in the TENTATIVE agreement, get it?

What NAGE Claims:
2) No mandatory furloughs would take place unless a new contract were negotiated and funded by the legislature.

What it really is:
How stupid are you?.... Funding the full 7% means the legislature would have to appropriate funds to pay for all three raises...... IN ADVANCE!..... that means some kind of special appropriation that would span three Fiscal Years.... this is a virtual impossibility.... there is absolutely no guarantee of what will happen in future fiscal years...

But here is what NAGE will likely do: if the Legislature (which has already made your current contract worthless) does appropriate funds for the 1%, then NAGE will declare the contract "funded", you'll take your involuntary furlough....and you will never see the other 6%.

What NAGE Claims:
3) No concessions would be made unless we had solid assurances that the premium split on our health insurance and the co-pays and deductibles we are responsible for would not increase for FY 10 and FY 11.
What it really is:
Solid assurances?.... are you kidding me?
The health care premiums, co-pays, premium splits, etc. are set by The Group Insurance Commission and the Legislature..... are they going to sign the contract? Of course not, they are NOT BOUND BY ANY PHONY "ASSURANCES"...... past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior by these Independent bodies.

The Supreme Judicial Court has already determined that these matters are not subject to collective bargaining for state employees (not so for municipals which is why so many of them have refused to join the GIC which has continually jacked up co-pays and premiums while cutting coverage.)
So this "assurance is nothing but a worthless sham, it is completely unenforceable, and designed only to gull you into voting to cut your own pay.....how stupid are you people?

What NAGE Claims:
4) The savings from any furlough program would have to be used to reduce layoffs in NAGE units
What it really is:
THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE WORD in the "tentative Agreement" which quantifies, identifies, or states in any manner whatsoever, whose jobs, in which bargaining units, in which agencies, will be spared, not to mention for how long (till 6/30/2010?) by your furloughs. NAGE's claim appears to be a flat out lie.

What NAGE Claims:
After intense negotiations, we believe we have reached an agreement with the Commonwealth that passes these four tests.
What it really is:
Read the "tentative agreement" yourself...... These folks at NAGE will say any damned thing they please.....

NAGE Judas Goat Performance in full swing

There goes trusty old Dave from NAGE, the Judas Goat... doing his best to lead the other unions to slaughter..... by poisoning the well with easily given concessions

I see nothing on the Local 509 web site about making concessions in their contract.
Likewise there is nothing on the MOSES web site.

They are no doubt scratching their heads wondering how they will deal with the usual NAGE betrayal. NAGE is always first in the race to the bottom among unions when it comes to concessions.

I can guess, from the pissy posting Holway had up on the web site whining about Mike Grunko having called him out on NAGE caving in to furlough's while getting nothing in return.... , that Grunko is not relishing the idea of having concessions and furloughs crammed down his throat.... his members are already hurting enough, though they were among the Gov's earliest and stongest supporters 509 doesn't seem to be having much luck with the current administration.....

.... hey, endless chin-music concerts and whining about in-door air quality don't add up to much, compared to having rank and file members getting cut down like wheat..... 509 is starting to look more and more like NAGE!.....  pluggin away at the non-issues....while giving up on wages and benefits....


I'm still chuckling at how Holway bristled at Grunko (seems to be gone, now that the cat is out of the bag and he has no choice but admit to it):

SEIU Local 509 President Mike Grunko has sent an email stating that
NAGE has accepted an 8-day furlough program for NAGE-represented state
employees. Unfortunately, Mr. Grunko has created much unnecessary
anxiety, fear, and anger with this falsehood....(let's not split hairs Dave, so it's three days and not 8.... but you've also given away the negotiated raise and optical and dental benefit.... thanks for nothing)

NAGE has performed the Judas Goat routine well..... showing, as always, they willing to give back more from their members for less in return, than any of the other unions...

.. doesn't make it any easier for 509 and MOSES to hold out..... they've got a few sheeple too.....

The ONLY THING NAGE is NEVER willing to concede, are the obscene dues they collect from state employees..... How long will it be before they'll be looking for another dues increase, telling you that the last sh*tty deal they got for you could have been worse... so it's time to pay up.

NAGE DoubleSpeak, don't believe it!

I know I'm wasting my time on you sheeple, but for crying out loud, use what little brain you have and VOTE NO on this stinker of a contract amendment!

Let me highlight some of the issues I see with the proposed concessions, and the "Solid Assurances" NAGE has received

(SOLID Assurances?.... kidding right?, talk about a contradiction in terms....)

Pay cuts.....Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice shame on ME
NAGE already agreed to a Zero increase in the first year of the current contract, settling for a very modest 1% in year two (which is the current year.) The raise was due to be implemented on July 1st. Now NAGE advises us that the duly executed contract will not be honored by the Commonwealth and we should now agree to a second year of no raise, and we should trust the same folks who have reneged on the current contract, that they'll actually live up their end the next time.

Preserving the total of 7% raises?
Come on now, this goes to credibility once again. The Commonwealth has just reneged on a very modest 1% increase. Do you have any reason, whatsoever, to believe they will honor 6% additional..... it will never happen..... NAGE will just be telling you again, when the time comes, that they have agreed to concede the previously negotiated raises again, and the Judas Goats will lead you to more pay concessions, furloughs, and pay cuts via benefits cut...... like sheeple to the slaughter....the pattern is pretty obviouss.

Furloughs won't take affect unless the Contract is funded?
Another fairy tale..... Do you think this means that the legislature is going to fund all three of the raises in advance?..... it's not going to happen. Perhaps, just maybe, the Legislature will agree to pass the 1% on June 30th 2010.... but you'll never see the other 6%, and yet you'll have taken your involuntary furloughs... I'm sure NAGE, and the Admin negotiators had a good laugh over the thought of the sheeple biting for this fast one.

Who's getting saved by your furlough?

There is not one word in the "Tentative Agreement" about exactly who and how many positions the furloughs are allegedly going to save ..... you might want to ask yourself.... who exactly will the furlough save (anyone you know?) how many positions and in what agencies?.... this looks like more NAGE Smoke & Mirrors folks

How about the comp-time option
NAGE can't even get standard comptime (standard comptime can be "carried" until retirement, it's not subject to "use or lose").... but the NAGE "losers" have agreed to a use or lose deadline.....WHY?..... you mean to tell me the current admins is really worried about the comptime bill coming due years down the road?.... they'll be long gone.

Meaningless blather and flummery
Suffice it to say that the remaining "solid assurances" are just a lot of BS.

Early Retirement?-- come on...."The 'State' has agreed to 'work with NAGE' to 'develop an early retirement incentive program?....what does that mean?, what is the "state"?

..... remember it's the legislature that has to create an early retirement program, and they'll have to be bound to go along with the concessions contract amendment right?, just like they went along with the1% raise in the current contract, right?, oh...that's right they didn't did they?...never mind....not going to happen.
Both the Legislature and the Administration are already on record saying very plainly that there will be NO EARLY RETIREMENT PROGRAM.... so HOW STUPID does NAGE think you are?... you are gullible sheeple.

Units 1 & 3 Recruitment issues?...what is this garbage?
Some kind of BS good enough for the sheeple in unit 1 I guess, you don't even have to tell anybody what the hell it is, or whatever comes of it (want to bet nothing?) Sounds like some kind of local spitting contest.... How about throwing in some more of that "domestic violence leave," that's usually enough to suck in the  sheeple.

"Address" the Management to employees ratios, 120 day retirees
Oh boy, that is rich.... NAGE really knocked themselves out on that one..... I'm guessing that there wasn't a dry seat in the house when Holway and OER negotiated that one.... they probably all pissed in their pants  laughing at what easy marks, the NAGE sheeple are, when you've got a real cooperative union like NAGE.

"Address the ratios.... reminds me of the old Jackie Gleason/Art Carney golf routine:..."well, go ahead and address the ball!"...."OK, Ralph old boy....." "HELLO BALL"...... that's all the admin is going to do..... "hello Management employee ratios..."

Meanwhile NAGE keeps collecting millions in dues from State Employees while delivering nothing in return....they are laughing at you all the way to bank

NAGE declares defeat, offers one-sided concessions, decreases dues?

NAGE sells you out at the bargaining table.

NAGE declares they have been defeated, and has conceded the current contract will not be honored by Commonwealth....so they have negotiated and new even crapier contract with the same folks that have refused to live up to the current contract!

Here are the highlights

Agrees to pay cut (it's not a delay, it's a cut.)

Agrees to involuntary furloughs.

Agrees in cuts to Dental and Optical Plans

Gets NOTHING in return, except more phony promises (of the same sort that have already been broken.)..... the following

NAGE truly lives up to it's reputation as JUDAS GOAT of the unions... pathetic.

This is what you Sheeple get in return for the million$ in dues you pay to NAGE!

How about NAGE agreeing to a reduction in dues equal to the the total economic value of the concessions they've agreed to!....maybe they'd try a little harder at the negotiating table if they had some skin in the game!

Furloughs done deal NAGE sells you out

OOps! while the NAGE main web page is denying that they have sold out on the Furlough issue (Denying that Grunko was right to say that NAGE has agreed to furloughs)..... the Local 282 web page is proclaiming it is a done deal:

We got word back from the Governor that he has responded to our Counter Proposal. Our Negotiating Team will be meeting on Friday, November 6 to discuss the response and to plan next steps.Several previously planned Reduction in Force Meetings with State Agencies have been suspended pending review of agency budgets, plans and anticipated budgetary impact.

On Friday, 11/6/09, our Negotiating Team favorably responded to a compromise worked out with the Administration. Details with explaination(sic) will be posted on www.nage.org/state . A Notice Letter will be mailed (very soon) to all our members announcing a forthcoming vote, by ballot . Ballots will then be mailed, collected and counted. (That’s the formal and legal process we adhere to in matters pertaining to our Contract Bargaining Agreement.)



I believe that our members will quickly understand the value contained in the Agreement. It is a very smart agreement and it distinguishes us from other unions, while at the same time working in harmony with our brothers and sisters toward the common good.

Indeed.....what kind of crapola is that? Why not just put the govenor's letter up. Why not jsut put the proposed concession contract amendment up? NAGE distinguishes itself alright..... 1st union to sell out, the perennial Judas Goat.

What did the union get in return for the concessions?.... more domestic violence leave, another vacation buy-back that can not be exercised?......

Just remember sheeple, the layoffs are going to happen anyway..... these NAGE contracts aren't worth the paper they are written on.....

NAGE Furloughs on the way

Expect to see Pres Holway soon preforming, in his role as the Judas Goat of State Public employee unions.

How long can it be before NAGE cooperates with the Governor to snooker you sheeple into throwing your contract out the window, and submitting to payless furloughs, and to give up your stinkin 1% (which in case you haven't figured out, you are not getting anyway) and accept yet another year of no pay increase (while health premiums and co-pays go up, up, up, and coverage goes down, down, down.)

Mike Grunko, Pres of Local 509 seems to see the writing on the wall.....NAGE has this post on their web page:

It has come to our attention that SEIU Local 509 President Mike Grunko has sent an email stating that NAGE has accepted an 8-day furlough program for NAGE-represented state employees. Unfortunately, Mr. Grunko has created much unnecessary anxiety, fear, and anger with this falsehood.....apparently the only falsehood was in saying that they were state employees... they work at the Trial Courts.....close enough if you ask me..... you'll soon be getting the same recommendation from NAGE

NAGE will soon be telling you that they (once again!) will be recommending another round of concessions.... they'll be using the same old scare tactics (otherwise you may face lay-offs.)..... bunk....

I've got some unpleasant news for you: the layoffs are going to happen regardless as to whether you give up your 1% (really 1/2%) raise or not, and regardless of whether you willingly accept pay-cuts in the form of furloughs.

The Governor has higher priorities..... no cuts in local aid (by the way Municipal Unions aren't taking furloughs, or cuts to their health care, and they're not settling for zero pay raises, are they?), $50 million to pay for health care for non-citizen aliens (largely financed by cuts to State employee health benefits already.)Not mention that layoffs will be more politically beneficial than furloughs. What the administration is proposing is furloughs with no specific promises as to how many(and just as importantly, exactly whose) jobs are going to be "saved."

Ask the registry of motor vehicle clerks who are being mowed down like wheat, what NAGE has done for them.... How's NAGE working out for you?

NAGE wins retro pay raise---zero percent! Dues increase pending!

NAGE continues their role as leader in the race to the bottom. They just settled a contract for zero percent and it's retro active for one year.
The latest contract is a disgrace.... merely continuing a long history of selling out the members by "leadership."

How long have the NAGE shills been feeding us the same tired old litany..... "Well, it's not a GREAT contract, but its all we can get during these tough times....." Whether the Commonwealth is racking up record surplus revenues, or as now when the economy is in the crapper.... it's always the same from NAGE..... there's nothing for you.....but from you we expect your dues
How long can it be before NAGE is looking for yet another dues increase, everytime they sellout on a lousy contract they raise the dues.

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.... ")

Dave Holway--- Judas Goat of the State Unions, Romney Shill

The NAGE spin on the lack of funding for contracts screw-up is that "NAGE was a victim of it's own success!! What a laugh....

TheNAGE line of crapola goes like this:

NAGE was the first Union to cave in to Willard Romney and meekly accept a contract for a measly 3% raise during a time of record high revenue surpluses and when inflation is running at 4.15%.... and they're PROUD of that???? (not to mention increases in health insurance premiums and co-pays.....more on that later.)

By doing this they set up the other unions....to be played both sides against the middle:

Romney won't negotiate, because his trained "Judas Goat" Dave Holway has already settled for 3%..... Romney just points to that as says:, "They settled for 3% and that's all your going to get"

Even if a decent union such as MOSES, is inclined to fight for a better contract for their membership, they're in trouble because --they have Sheeple too [Sheeple are humans with the brains and temperament of sheep.]

If MOSES leadership hangs tough looking for a fair contract, eventually the Sheeple will begin to whine and bleat..."NAGE got their contract, why can't we settle?"..... the pressure on the other unions to throw in towel after Judas goat NAGE does, is irresistible.

This has been the pattern for a number of years.... NAGE settles for an insultingly unfair contract and leads the other unions to their slaughter...... this is SHAMEFUL..... and if NAGE membership fails to step up, it will be repeated again this year.....

Dave Holway/NAGE is a Judas Goat and a Shill......

"Judas goat" is the official slaughterhouse term for a trained animal used to lead others down the ramp to their death.

(This may apply to "Sheeple" as well....) Sheep can not be readily driven to their death, especially in modern slaughterhouses where they may have been trucked beforehand for as long as three days, wide-awake and without food or water (Or for years without a decent contract for the case of Sheeple).

Judas goat is also a term that is occasionally used to refer to the shills at crooked carnival games who attempt to convince observers that the game is not only winnable, but easily so.