by rondelord | Feb 3, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Police, Politics, Unions
The most powerful people in local government are not elected officials. Nor are they selected by voters. Nor are the names of these politically formidable individuals even known by most members of the public. The most powerful individuals in local governments are the...
by rondelord | Jan 27, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
While becoming more and more powerful, public sector unions are losing favor with taxpayers, Daniel DiSalvo, author of “Government Against Itself: Public Union Power and Its Consequences,” said during a forum hosted by The Illinois Policy Institute Tuesday in Chicago....
by rondelord | Jan 27, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Health Insurance, Labor, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
After years of making concessions to Gov. Jerry Brown, California labor leaders had hoped that the fourth-and-final-term Democrat finally would be in a giving mood. But after the governor’s budget proposal two weeks ago, several unions are bracing for tough talks in...
by rondelord | Jan 26, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
When former Enron trader and Texas billionaire John Arnold donated more than $1 million to a November 2014 initiative to reform the public pension system in Phoenix, pension activists took notice. Arnold’s donation to Proposition 487, also known as the Phoenix Pension...
by rondelord | Jan 26, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Health Insurance, Labor, Police, Politics, Unions
A trial balloon is being floated at City Hall which may be a compromise which could lead to talks being restarted. The proposal: that the city should negotiate an end to ‘zero premium’ health benefits for all future police and firefighters, instead of...
by rondelord | Jan 26, 2015 | Fire, Police, Politics, Unions
DALLAS (AP) – An accounting firm’s review of the $3.3 billion Dallas police and fire pension fund has found it overvalued risky real estate investments by tens of millions of dollars. The review by Deloitte focused on the fund’s real estate holdings...
