JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- 秘書及び業務サポート
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M / Year
-
- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
-
- ALT - Mie Prefecture - Yokkaichi City - June start
- NPO法人グローバル教育推進機構（GLAD), Mie
- Salary: ¥230,000 / Month For a full working month. Some months differ.
0
Alphaape
@GJDailleult: That was my point. Just "kicking the can down the road" type of business practices in housing loans, and the way state governemts operate has gotten us into this mess. If the Gov is trying to stop it, I am for it.
Posted in: Facts overshadowed in debate over union bill in Wisconsin
0
Alphaape
So in other words, the state should keep things the way they are, and when the budget does hit a deficit just tax people to make up for it is what the writer is saying? That type of thinking is what has gotten us in the mess we are in now financially. Don't worry about the future, just buy a house that we can't afford and hope that it will work out in the future, or just give beefits away, and rely on an IPO for the Green Bay Packers to bring in revenue.
At least the Gov. is taking steps to prevent future financial problems.
@wolfpacK; Yes and no on this statement. Federal workers in the states below a certain paygrade do have collective barganining rights. They can earn overtime and time and a half and other benefits. But those of us who are Federal employees here in Japan, are excluded from any collective barganing agreements. You aer correct on the wage freeze. We didn't get the annual wage increas this Jan 1, and I believe it will be the same for next year.
Also, I got hit in the wallet by another pay increase taken away from me. Military retirees as myself also did not get a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) this year, and I didn't get one last year too. But as you say, Obama has said nothing about this.
Posted in: Facts overshadowed in debate over union bill in Wisconsin
0
Alphaape
I wonder how many golf balls wind up on the tarmac? That could be a dangerous thing.
Posted in: Fairway, runway
0
Alphaape
Glad to hear that these people will at least have jobs for a few more years. I guess since Boeing is headquartered in Chicago, and the former White House Chief of Staff jsut got elected as mayor sure helped things out a bit.
Too bad Rahm didn't run earlier. He might have been able to get the IOC to consider Chicago instead of Rio for the Olympics.
Posted in: U.S. Air Force awards $35 bil airborne refueling tanker contract to Boeing
0
Alphaape
I wonder if there are any "Engrish" mistakes in his letter.
Posted in: New envoy
0
Alphaape
Why are these people just now demonstrating against Gadhafi?
Posted in: Anti-Gadhafi rally
0
Alphaape
@amerijap: I guess you have not been reading the posts closely. Never did Gov. Walker deny the teachers an opportunity to be in a union. As a matter of fact, he stipuatled in his bill that union membership would be voluntary, and not mandatory like it is now. So teachers that didn't want to join the union would have a chance to say so (whole free speech issue). He did not ever say in the beginning his first choice was to lay off teachers. But the Dem legislators have been absent to vote on the bill, thus maybe forcing the Gov to make that move if he has to.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
That's what they want you to believe.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
@whiskeysour: To add to my previous post, Detroit public schools has yearly costs of $52 million on pensions and $44 million on health care, which is more than their utilities costs and security costs to run the system.
They district has lost over 83,000 students over the past decade, but yet teacher salaries and benefits have continued to increase.
Not to say that teachers are to blame for the economic crisis that the US is facing, but when you get statistics like these, the unions should at least be willing to renegotiate. I would rather take a pay cut than have no pay.
As in true "progessive form" there will probably be calls for taxing the rich to get rid of this deficit. But Detroit is one of the poorest per capita income cities in the US. Who are you going to tax? The city can't levy taxes on people who live outside the city limits, so where do they get the money from?
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
@whiskeysour: Have you heard the latest from Detroit, MI? The city has to close half of it's public schools. The reason why, 2/3 of it's budget is personnel costs (pay, pensions, and health care). The union got too many demands and the city couldn't afford it. So they have to go to the drastic step of laying off teachers and closing schools. They couldn't renegotiate the contracts, so they have to keep paying them.
That is why the WI gov is at least attempting to slow this type of problem down in his state. Nothing to do with ideology.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
@whiskeysour, it is you who must have an agenda with a statement like that. He is not asking for a raise for himself like the US Congress does and gives themselves every year. Also, he is working and earning a salary. Why should he give it up?
Yes they are. Becuase the manufacturing jobs left and went to places like Mexico and other states that had lower costs. Why did the costs in WI and MI go up? Union demands for pension and health guarentees with small worker contributions. Since the auto industry was private busiesses at that time, they did the best to make a profit by cutting costs. These cost savings meant to move operations to area with lower costs. Since you suggest I do some research, why don't you look at the cost to produce a car in MI compared with a place like Tennessee or other locations. You'll see that union demands helped to drive up costs.
If that was the case, then he would have started with cuts vice asking them to contribute more to their healthcare, and limit the size of the raises they can get each year.
I suggest you do. Look at my previous posts at what the governor wanted to pass. It gave clear examples of his plan and his reasons. All you give, are some trumped up postings based on "feelings" and not offering any substantive input.
Do a bit of research. Either chess or checkers, if you clear the board, you still win.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
> >
@whiskysour: 70,000 people can rally against the Gov, but looking at the Nov 2010 election results: 1,128,159 (52%) voted for Walker 1,005,008 (47%) voted against Walker
So having 70,000 protest against him is really not an indication of his unpopularity. How many of the 70,000 were bussed into WI from outside of the state.
Go take a web search and you can see some of the signs at the protest with Walker's face in a gunsight, being aimed at.
So in a liberal state like WI was, they now all want to live under a dictatorship?
What's more un-American is the Dem legislators running away and not sticking their ground and debating the issues. They say that he was "moving too fast" for them to vote on the issue. Funny, how the Dems under Pelosi thought that we needed ot rush the Healthcare bill through real fast so that we can "Pass it and see what's in it" (her words exactly); but now they want to take the slow road. That is un-American.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
In lieu of this comment, let me give you a quick rundown on what Walker wants: - The bill would limit government workers collective barganing agreement (not do away with unions) to pay increases less than the Consumer Price Increase (CPI)unless approved in a local referendum. - Unions could not force members to pay dues, and would force a vote every year to remain certified. - employees would have to pay 5.8% of salary for pension costs (they pay nothing now) - pay 12% of their health care premiums (they pay 6%) now.
That doesn't seem like it is so bad. Especially when the state has to raise taxes to pay for the increasing costs of the benefits, tax raises that the state workers will also be paying too.
What's so bad about that? If if you have valid points, I suggest you email them to the Dem politicians who left the state. They obviously need some help in countering these points.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
I guess "W" was right afterall. Build a democracy in Iraq and the rest of the countries will follow. Of course, they probably were hoping that the mer radical elements wouldn't participate.
Posted in: Gadhafi's son warns of civil war in Libya as death toll tops 200
0
Alphaape
Listening to a WI state representative gave me some insight. When they say that they want to end the collective barganing, they don't mean that they can't organize nor will they loose any benefits. They will still be able to bargin for their wages, but other issues they will not. So underperforming teachers will now be able to be fired, not just in a "willy nilly" fashion but with a due process.
It took them 15 months to get the current contract they are under, and that is not a way to conduct business.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
No it doesn't all I did was give a personal story of what can happen. Of course there are different circumstances, but what people seem to be posting here are only one-sided points, and not thinking things through. YOu cited the one case, and it may have proved your point, but there are other cases also that proves my point. So there is precedent on both sides.
The WI Gov. is not asking for the opportuniyt to take all of the gainst the union has made, only asking that they can be dealt with (i.e. in union negotiations) a bit more fairly than they are now. Where does it say in the WI bill that he wishes to disband the unions? They will still have the right to organize and join unions.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
I'll go one step better, instead of firing the teachers and employees, Gov. Walker should tell those Dem legislators that if they are not back within 24 hrs, they will be dismissed from the state senate. In one week's time, elections will be held in each district that they represent, and the people can choose new legislators.
No need for a long, costly political process, candidates can file, then campaign for 1 week only, and let the people decide who they want to represent them. If the same people get elected the people of that particular district have spoken. But if a new person gets elected, then that will be the case and the people of that district would have said that they want someone to represent them, not run and hide like a spoiled kid.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
There are provisions in the EEOC and workplace laws that prevent that from happening in America. My brother was let go from an exeuctive job of over 20 years, never had a negative review. He fought it, and got the company to admit wrongdoing and won a settlement. Also, he was non-Union so you can make it without a union.
I believe that when he ran, none of the unions really supported him. He made his plan clear when he ran on what he would do, and the people elected him. So, you want an elected leader who responds to what his big donors want, or what the will of the people want.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
Isn't that what the whole issue is here. The unions have the right to determine policy over management. I sugest you watch "Waiting for Superman" and how they explained in Milwaukee each year the principles of the schools have what is called "The Dance of the Lemons." Where each principle moves his worse teacher to another school and so on until all the bad ones in one school are replaced with other bad ones, hoping that the one you end up with is not as bad as the one you moved. Why do they do this? Because under their contract, they can't fire any teacher for bad performance. WI taxpayers have to keep paying for these teachers and all of their benefits while they do a poor job at teaching.
Also, if they wanted to reward teachers for doing well and make a merit pay system, they can't. The union says that would be "unfair" to other teachers, so bad teachers, who can't gt fired, wind up making more money by having tenure, and maybe a good teacher with not as many years can't get rewarded, and thus leave the profession or go teach at a private school.
That is the problem (among others) that the Gov. is facing. There are workplace laws in affect in the USA through the Fair Labor Laws and others that present employees from outright just dismissing workers. I don't mind unions being around to assist these employees in their cases.
But when you come to the table, with an automatic "you can't touch me" card with what they have in place now is not fair. What those Dems who are missing in action should do is present a compromise and try to work it out. If they presented a fair comprimise and it is out right rejected, then you can protest. But to run away like a bunch of spoiled brats shows that they are not really there looking out for the people but themselves and their union donations.
Posted in: 70,000 protesters surround Wisconsin Capitol
0
Alphaape
Don't forget, Jesse Jackson is there too, adding his voice in solidarity and saying that this is the same movment just like it was in Egypt (his words not mine).
Though I may not agree with the Dems and their plan, it just shows a bad performance for them to run away. If they can't get their points across in a reasoned manner for stating their claims, and all they can do is run away, that says that they really have a weak point.
I wonder if any of those Dems will get reelected in the next WI election. All their oppents (including in their own party) have to campaign on is that when things got tough, they ran away. They will not be able to live that one down.
Posted in: 14 Wisconsin lawmakers flee state to block anti-union bill