Tag Archives: public employees

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In honor of Huy Pham, late public employee for the City of Costa Mesa

I’m cross-posting this belatedly from Daily Kos, where it is currently one of the top diaries.  That I could put this together in under a half-hour is testament to the strong work done by bloggers here and elsewhere.  If you go read the comments there, you’ll see comparisons to Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian whose suicide as a result of official corruption there sparked the overthrow of two governments and a third, Libya, probably on the way.  I don’t post this hear to politicize the event, but to demand that it receive the attention, and the exploration of its implications, that it deserves.

If I may be permitted a moment of special pleading, though, like the atrocious and venomous anti-Muslim protest in Yorba Linda last month, these are the sorts of things that we face not that infrequently in Orange County.  Just as with Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Rick Snyder in Michigan, Rick Scott in Florida, and pretty much every second Republican politician in Arizona, Orange County is a place where people come to Go Too Far.  We need a vibrant Democratic Party here that is more than a source of funds for the rest of the state.  We need to be able to oppose these things where and when they happen, to make a loud noise.  So, speaking for myself only, I hope that when people read this story they will recognize that the state needs to put the same sorts of efforts into combating hatefulness here that the entire U.S. did with the South during the 50s-70s.

The original diary appears below the fold.  I’m sorry that I won’t likely to be able to monitor any comments as I need to go, much later than I had expected, to work.

Public employee jumps to death after mass layoff

The chances are that you have not been following recent events in Costa Mesa, California, the plateau by the sea north of Newport Beach that contains some of the toniest shopping districts in Southern California.  Get ready to start paying attention.  The Republican anti-public-employee jihadists just laid off 1/3 of the city’s workers — without even the formality of a study showing that doing so made fiscal sense for the city — and one of those workers responded yesterday afternoon with a heart-breaking protest: a suicidal leap off of the 5th floor of the Costa Mesa City Hall.

Local Costa Mesa blog A Bubbling Cauldron offers this report — I’ve left out far too much of this heart-rending personal reportage, so please click on that link:

YOUNG EMPLOYEE COMMITS SUICIDE

Early this afternoon a 29 year-old maintenance worker, identified this evening as Huy Pham of Fountain Valley, who had reportedly been with the City of Costa Mesa for a little over 4 years, leaped to his death from the roof of City Hall. He apparently had been called into work from home, where he had been recuperating from an injured foot, to receive a 6-month outsourcing layoff notice. He never received the notice, choosing to take his life instead.

…

FROM GRIEF TO ANGER

I went into City Hall to console some of my many friends who work there. As I spoke with different people their moods shifted from extreme grief and despair at this tragic situation to almost uncontrollable anger at what they felt was the reason. This attitude grew as the afternoon passed. Without exception, the employees I spoke with blamed the death of their friend on the current elected leadership of our city for the pace at which they seem to be trying to deconstruct the city.

…

A BAD DAY GONE WORSE

Several times earlier in the day I thought about my many friends at City Hall because today was the day of the distribution of the layoff notices. I worried for them and the impact of simply receiving these slips of paper. Even though there is a lot of analysis to be done before outsourcing would actually happen, the pace with which this process was jammed through has made every city employee anxious – understandably so. This would have gone down as one of the darkest days in the history of this city. Now it will stand alone.

FOCUSED ANGER

I understand the anger and despair I saw at City Hall today. Employees, and many of us observing recent events, thought the new City Council majority was moving much too fast in their attempts to re-organize the city. The focus of most of the anger was at Righeimer and his pal, Mensinger. I cannot repeat some of the epithets I heard about those two men today, when emotions were highest. There was also anger reserved for Monahan, too, because he has been a willing accomplice in this new re-structuring – and because he failed to show up at City Hall today. He’s shown the employees very clearly where his priorities lay.

The author of the above speaks disparaging of attempts to “politicize the tragedy.”  Out of respect to this sensibility, I will try to avoid doing so.  But a message was being sent through this action.  I’ll merely quote Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: “Attention must be paid.”  Read on.

For background, I refer you to a couple of posts in our excellent state blog, Calitics, written by a Koster who writes there under a different nom de net and so whom I will not identify.  (The username points to this site, which will probably have good news on this; also expect good coverage from Pacific Progressive and other blogs liked from there and on Calitics.)

The story linked in the intro has today’s events; this background piece let’s you know more about the reprehensible players, primarily a former aide the Dana Rohrabacher who slavers to higher office, name of Jim Righeimer.

I don’t see the need to improve about the above: just familiarize yourself with the situation.  You don’t need a clearer example than this of the devastating effects of amoral Republican policies on the morale of public employees.  (Yes, there would no doubt be more than this going on in the young man’s life that contributed to this tragic action — but the timing and the venue leave little doubt as to what triggered the action.  They are not to be ignored.)

From Pacific Progressive (see original story for links):

Costa Mesa City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Righeimer, is scheduled to give 250 employees lay off notices tomorrow night so their jobs can be outsourced at will.  Tomorrow night’s action is a long-standing goal of Righeimer, who was one of the authors of Prop 226, which would have severely restricted the ability of labor unions to collect political contributions from their members.  Righeimer also helped found the Education Alliance, an anti-public education group which has controlled Capistrano Unified, Orange Unified and the Orange County Board of Education at various times. Righeimer is also on the board of the Family Action PAC.

The plan to lay off almost all the city employees as fast as possible was initially rejected by now-leaving City Attorney Kimberly Hall  Barlow.  There is speculation about why Barlow is suddenly leaving and what is happening at Costa Mesa City Hall.

From Calitics:

Newly-elected Council Member Jim Righeimer and recently-appointed Council Member Steve Mensinger are leading the ideologically-driven jihad, with an agenda item to give notice to 250 Costa Mesa employees that their jobs will be outsourced. This represents a third of the city’s public employees in a wide range of departments. Without any study of the problem, Righeimer has also used local columnist Frank Mickadeit, to float an ill-conceived idea to privatize paramedic service in this column.

Their notice fails to take into account the opinion of Costa Mesa’s City Attorney, which required that notice be given after a decision has been made to outsource, not based on a vague idea to study outsourcing. But, in a move that some see as directly related to the direction of the new City Council, the City Attorney has resigned and the City Manager abruptly retired.

…

You may not recognize Jim Righeimer’s name, but he has been one of the movers of Republican politics in Orange County for decades, managing Dana Rohrabacher’s Congressional campaign in 2008, as a founding member of the Education Alliance, and as a co-author of prop 226. Righeimer and his brother-in-law Mark Bucher have led movement conservatives through groups like the Family Action PAC. Support by Riggy and his regressive allies helped elect wacky movement conservative Don Wagner (R-Irvine), Assembly leader of the Taxpayer Caucus.

We do have “traditional media” in Orange County, and they still remember how to practice journalism when the mood strikes them, so here’s the link to the report from the Orange County Register.  I only have the heart to quote this much:

Helen Nenadal, Pham’s supervisor, described him as “an outstanding guy with many talents who always goes above and beyond.”

Nenadal, who is a member of the Costa Mesa Employees Association, criticized the city’s layoffs and said the city was not concerned about the health and safety of its employees.

“You can’t do this so fast and think that there’s not going to be repercussions,” she said.

I’m off to work; more to come.  Attention must be paid to the death of this man, Huy Pham.

Uncategorized

Wisconsin Comes to Costa Mesa, CA

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As documented at Pacific Progressive and in local Costa Mesa blog, A Bubbling Cauldron, Costa Mesa is at the bloody tip of the spear in California Republicans’ war against public employees.

Newly-elected Council Member Jim Righeimer and recently-appointed Council Member Steve Mensinger are leading the ideologically-driven jihad, with an agenda item to give notice to 250 Costa Mesa employees that their jobs will be outsourced. This represents a third of the city’s public employees in a wide range of departments. Without any study of the problem, Righeimer has also used local columnist Frank Mickadeit, to float an ill-conceived idea to privatize paramedic service in this column.

Their notice fails to take into account the opinion of Costa Mesa’s City Attorney, which required that notice be given after a decision has been made to outsource, not based on a vague idea to study outsourcing. But, in a move that some see as directly related to the direction of the new City Council, the City Attorney has resigned and the City Manager abruptly retired.

As in Wisconsin, Republicans are battling a phantom “budget crisis” which is disappearing after Costa Mesa residents approved an increase in the hotel tax in November to protect public services and as revenues from sales taxes return.

A massive phantom gap in future pension costs for public employees is forecast, although the cost to the city has been flat for years as public employee unions have picked up part of the cost.

You may not recognize Jim Righeimer’s name, but he has been one of the movers of Republican politics in Orange County for decades, managing Dana Rohrabacher’s Congressional campaign in 2008, as a founding member of the Education Alliance, and as a co-author of prop 226. Righeimer and his brother-in-law Mark Bucher have led movement conservatives through groups like the Family Action PAC. Support by Riggy and his regressive allies helped elect wacky movement conservative Don Wagner (R-Irvine), Assembly leader of the Taxpayer Caucus.

State news sources don’t reach behind the Orange Curtain, and the local newspaper, the Orange County Register, uses their near-monopoly for almost daily attacks on public employee pensions, not just with commentary but with daily slanted headlines and news coverage.

Costa Mesa is the beachhead, but other Orange County elected Republicans attended OC Republican chair Scott Baugh’s Pension Boot Camp, and are ready to go on the attack against public employees.

Update As expected, the Costa Mesa City Council voted Tuesday night to issue lay-off notices to over 150 workers and study privatizing paramedic service despite overwhelmingly negative testimony from city residents. Basically saying, “You’re Fired, but come back to work tomorrow”, the six-month notices will only go into effect if the Council approves outsourcing in 18 separate city departments, based on approval of $200,000 to study reorganization of all city services.

San Diego

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s War On Public Employees

The San Diego daily newspaper makes no bones about its position on labor unions and public employees.  A casual reading of the Union Tribune will reveal an anti-union bias that harks back to the early days of the trade union movement.

This week the paper has been presenting a “special three part Watchdog Report” about city employees in San Diego.  Never mind that the report’s numbers are skewed by the fact that the reporters chose to use a Calendar year in stead of the City’s fiscal year to make their comparisons.  Or that city employees received pay in 2007 and 2008 resulting from labor disputes in previous years.

The point of the report is to reveal that city employees are overpaid, union-lovin’ cancers that are sucking the taxpayers dry. To make that point, the paper ran the names and salary information for the City’s entire payroll.

City librarian Anna Daniels retired last week.  It wasn’t something she wanted to do.  But, facing cuts in benefits that would have left her without health insurance coverage if she’d stayed on with the City, she “cashed out”.

She’s written a rather powerful letter to the editor about how the Union-Trib’s decision to publish names and salaries has impacted those employees that have remained with the City of San Diego.

Here are excerpts from the letter, originally published in the OBRag news blog:

The U-T has presented a special three part Watchdog Report about the City’s payroll obligation.  I have spent close to three decades in my public service position answering questions and informing the public.  If someone were to ask me how to find information on this topic I would refer that individual to annual budgets, IBA reports, and labor agreements on line or in our document section.

I would also provide context for that search- that the City operates on a fiscal year beginning July 1; there is a general fund budget which includes departments that undergo annual public review and city council approval; there are quasi-independent authorities and  recovery departments that are not subject to the same policies, restrictions and review as the general fund departments; there are unclassified and represented employees; and there are four unions with different negotiated contracts.

In short, I would inform the individual that a thorough understanding of the topic would take into account these general distinctions.  Unlike the U-T, we respect and do not underestimate the intelligence of our customers.

What I wouldn’t do, and again, I am speaking strictly as a professional, is refer that individual to your “Watchdog” series on the very ground that it did not provide necessary context, despite your claims otherwise, nor data consistent with the City’s fiscal year reporting process.  Therefore your information was inaccurate and as a source you are unreliable.  Ms. Winner, the U-T does not achieve the most basic library information standard of accuracy and reliability.  If you also consider yourself a professional you should be very concerned about that.  I would appreciate a response to this, as one professional to another.

Despite its abysmal failings, the Watchdog Report was not the reason I canceled my subscription.  The bias against unions and the City workforce is pretty much quotidian.  Your decision to publish City employee names and salary information however is beyond the journalistic pale.

Ms. Winner, how much time did you REALLY spend weighing the public’s right to information against individual privacy concerns?  And how much thought did you REALLY give to the fact that “Individual pay for each year can be affected by promotions, partial years of employment, leave taken, vacation payouts and other issues that can cause wide fluctuations.”?  Or to the fact that the 2008 surge was a one time occurrence due to multiple factors?   It is evident that the answer is “Not much.”

I talked with co-workers at the library this morning about your choice.  They were appalled.  Concerned.  Fearful.  Angry.  Every one of us felt that salary information by job classification, with low, high, median and average salaries would serve the public’s right to information.  We felt that making that information available by department served the public’s right to information.  But by name? The women among us felt violated.  Think about that Karin.  We are not elected officials.  Even our name badges don’t provide our last names if we don’t feel comfortable revealing that information. Whom and what purpose are you serving, Ms. Winner?  And please, we are not stupid.  We know you can legally provide this information.  The question is why should you provide this information?

Your note about the wide fluctuations of salaries was reason enough to choose not to reveal specific names.  You did not make that choice.  Here’s my very personal response to your phenomenally bad judgment, to your utterly unprofessional judgment.  I owe you absolutely nothing, but the truth should always be served.

Bay Area, Orange County

Town’s Going Bankrupt? Blame the Workers!

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Much attention has been focused on the lovely town (I’m serious!) of Vallejo as it faces bankruptcy. In a harbinger of things to come for many California cities and counties, Vallejo’s general fund has been hit hard by the housing crash, leaving the city strapped for cash.

A city contemplating bankruptcy has many options. So it’s sad to see Vallejo – and smaller towns like Pacific Grove – blaming workers for their problems. In doing so, they repeat the same destructive policy espoused by Orange County Republicans – choosing to blame public employees and their unions for problems instead of supporting higher taxes, even at the cost of catastrophic disaster.

The first article on the Vallejo cash crunch in the Chronicle set up the dynamic, as city officials blamed workers for the problem:

[Councilwoman Stephanie] Gomes and others have blamed much of the city’s financial woes on police and fire contracts, which she says comprise 80 percent of the city’s $80 million budget.

The starting salary for a Vallejo firefighter is about $70,000 a year, among the highest in the state. Ten firefighters earned more than $200,000 each last year, including overtime, city officials said.

“Of course we value our police and firefighters and the risks they take, but their salaries are simply too high,” Gomes said. “They can afford to live in Marin and Napa, and it’s the very hard-working, blue-collar residents of Vallejo who are bearing the repercussions. It’s unfair.”

Ah, those greedy firefighters. How dare they ask for a middle-class income? What gives them the idea that they can extort such wages?

Firefighters say their earnings are high because the department is so short-staffed they’re forced to work huge amounts of overtime.

Since 2001, 30 firefighters have retired or left the department, and only three have been hired, said Vallejo fire Capt. Jon Riley, vice president of Fire Fighters Union Local 1186. And after rumors of bankruptcy began circulating, 14 more retired, fearing that their benefits and salaries would be cut, he said.

“We’re having to work an extraordinary amount of overtime,” he said. “We make great salaries, but if you’re not able to see your family, what good is it?”

Firefighters typically work 48-hour shifts with four days off between shifts. Many Vallejo firefighters are now forced to work 96-hour shifts with two days off, he said. Sleep deprivation, divorce and child-care complications are common, he said.

“I’d say morale has hit rock bottom,” he said. “But we’re still committed to providing the highest level of service to the citizens of Vallejo.”

Oh. They mean to tell us that firefighting is hard, grueling work, and that they should get fairly compensated for protecting the community?

To most of us, the firefighters’ stand is common sense. Fire protection is something you just don’t skimp on – unless you’re Orange County conservatives (more on them in a moment). And it’s not as if the firefighters are unwilling to help:

Firefighter union President Kurt Hanke told the council that the union reached an agreement late last week with city negotiators for wage cuts that would have reduced Vallejo’s deficit to zero. But he said Tanner on Monday vetoed the deal….Leaders of public safety unions say the salaries of police officers and firefighters are high because they must work large amounts of overtime because of staff shortages. The unions have offered to cut the employees’ pay if more officers and firefighters are hired.

Instead Vallejo’s leaders prefer to play hardball and blame public safety employees for the city’s crisis. And unsurprisingly, nobody in Vallejo seems to be discussing a tax increase to stave off these crippling cuts – which will not only compromise public safety, but further damage the city’s economy. Firing workers and cutting everyone else’s pay is not exactly going to help Vallejo’s restaurants and small businesses weather the storm.

Lest we think this is just a Vallejo problem, the blaming of public workers for city problems is something found statewide – a last-ditch, extremist strategy to avoid a tax increase. Here on the Monterey Peninsula, the small town of Pacific Grove has been facing a $2 million budget deficit, and recently responded by enacting drastic cuts to city services, including fire and police. Last fall the city proposed a modest tax hike to close the shortfall – which prompted users of a local discussion forum to denounce the workers in some rather absurd terms:

Why does our small town have so many firemen? I always see them parked somewhere or doing drills by the high school but not much else. Is there a reasonable explanation that I am not aware of?

How many fires does this tiny town have every year? How many tall buildings?

This town is so overstaffed by Bay Area standards (or other responsible standards) that it is truly disgusting. At least some layoffs are in the works, but the point is, PG should ALWAYS be run lean. There is not enought here to justify so many salaries.

It would not hurt to recruit people who actually have a real track record of successful leadership and money management. If you keep hiring inbred failures, you are going to continue to see a lot of red on the balance sheets.

That’s what I mean about our many firemen. I think they need to cut some of them loose. It’s silly when you go to the PG website and look at all the names for the fire dept. They are about as busy as the Maytag repairman!

In fact, a study of fire protection on the Peninsula showed that the city’s fire department is actually understaffed, but that wasn’t enough to convince folks to approve the tax – instead it was easier to blame supposedly lazy, greedy workers for the city’s crisis.

Where might all this lead? The cautionary tale is that of Orange County, where conservatives and Republicans high-fived each other in 2005 when they defeated a measure to shift already collected tax monies to help produce more fire coverage. As I explained it back in October:

Orange County Republicans campaigned hard against Measure D, a 2005 ballot proposal that would have diverted $80 million in surplus public safety funds from Proposition 172 to help properly staff Orange County fire departments. The failure of Measure D leads directly to the OCFA’s inability to quickly contain the Santiago Fire when it broke out Sunday evening….

To Steven Greenhut and the Register editorial board, the firefighters’ union is merely a greedy parasite on the public, using bureaucratic rules to claim they need more fire crews in a cynical ploy to line their own pockets.

Such is the natural outcome of an obsession with low taxes. In order to defend the untenable position that taxes must never go up no matter the need or the situation, anti-taxers have to lash out at anyone or anything that might undermine their position. If that includes public safety workers, so be it. If that means cutting back police and fire protection, so be it. To the anti-tax zealots, every man is an island unto himself.

Orange County’s experience last fall suggested otherwise. Let’s hope that Vallejo, Pacific Grove, and the rest of California learns the lesson and, like Salinas, looks to new revenue sources to provide for essential services.