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Marin County
County pay pact raises questions about costs
MAPE's chief, Rollie Katz, undoubtedly feels pleased and proud of the results of his strong armed "screw the taxpayer" tactics. After all, he and his union members got a great deal, although less than demanded.
READ THE MARIN IJ EDITORIAL HERE
Was it worth it? I don't think so. Their tactics are rightfully exposed and criticized by our local newspaper and more attention than ever before is focused on the inequities of public versus private sector employees. Calling attention to the fact that the evaluation of performance isn't part of wage increases granted is telling - and infuriating to those of us who work, or have worked, in the private sector.
Was this done to convince county employees that paying union dues pays off? Probably.
Speaking of performance, how about those supervisors? It was preordained that they would cave in rather than have the public at the County Fair witness county employees striking for higher wages right on the heels of data showing they already make more than their counterparts in neighboring counties.
This series of negotiations has, more than ever before, caught the attention of Marin County residents. We thank Transparent California for their timely release of data reflecting that Marin County employees are among the highest paid in all counties nationwide. We also thank the Marin IJ for staying on top of this story and for its straight-forward reporting of the lack of transparency and the bullying strategy MAPE used in pushing their salaries 8% higher over the next three years.
More than ever before, we need to demand transparency from our county government.
www.facebook.com/citizens4pensionreform