COLLECTIVE INTEREST VS SELF INTEREST

The recent contract negotiations between a public union and New York state reflects all the elements of the relationship between government, the wealthy and the middle class that have given rise to the Occupy Wall St. movement nationwide in the form of an ambitious politician, the interests of the already well off, a union leadership eager to settle rather than fight for a shared sacrifice to address an economic problem which its members did not create and the people whose fate hangs in the balance culminates this week when the votes of union membership are counted.


A few weeks ago New York’s Public Employees Federation union voted against Governor Cuomo’s contract offer which included no pay raises for the next two years, an increase in employee health care contributions, a 5 day furlough in the first year and a 4 day furlough the following year and no guarantee of job security for the duration of the 5 year contract.

Governor Cuomo stated 3500 PEF employees would be laid off if PEF didn’t accept his contract offer as such PEF’s leadership agreed to the contract and presented it to its membership for a vote. Nearly 70 percent of PEF members voted of which over 19,000 voted against the contract and 16,000 some voted in favor as such a majority of PEF’s membership rejected Governor Cuomo’s offer.

Feigning concern over the fate of the recently 3500 pink slipped PEF employees local talk radio 1300 entertainers expressed shock that PEF wouldn't have a do-over vote on Gov. Cuomo's contract offer. Anyone who ever listened to that station is well aware of the anti-union, anti-public employee animus these power elite sycophants repeat ad nauseam 24/7 so expressing insincere interest about the plight of the 3500 PEF members who received pink slips seemed disingenuous at best and hypocritical as usual.

PEF’s leadership recently claimed that the reasons workers voted against the contract were the added health insurance costs, the furlough days, and that workers would have limited layoff protections for the next five years. Interestingly PEF did not cite the first 3 years without a pay raise as one of the reasons they rejected the contract yet that didn't prevent Gov. Cuomo from showing his contempt for the union by blaming those who voted against the contract claiming they were influenced by a "forget the collective - it's all about my self-interest" ethos and as such decided to sacrifice thousands of workers in order to preserve their self-interest.

The Gov. claimed that since the largest public sector union in New York (CSEA) agreed to the contract between New York State and the public employees PEF should follow CSEA in agreeing to the contract “or else” a few more thousand New Yorker’s would become unemployed. The printed media and what passes for local news never informed the public that Governor Cuomo’s argument neglected to mention that only 45% or only about 30,000 CSEA members bothered to vote and those who favored the contract was less than those in PEF who opposed it.

Gov. Cuomo expressed sadness at putting people out of work and casting blame elsewhere begged several questions: Was Gov. Cuomo concerned about "the collective" during the spring when he rejected a tax increase on millionaires? Will Gov. Cuomo be showing his concern for "the collective" later this year when he proposes an additional 4.5 billion dollars in tax breaks to the already well off because they are "job creators"? Is Gov. Cuomo merely looking out for his own self-interest by providing millionaires with more than generous tax breaks today for the sole purpose of insuring their continued financial support for his future political aspirations?

A new contract would have to be negotiated between the Governor and PEF leadership. The Governor was adamant about guaranteeing job protection during the entire period of the contract placing PEF in the position of being held responsible for any jobs lost now or accepting a new contract with a few concessions to ease the pain of sacrificing for the collective.

The impasse provided PEF with an opportunity to protect all of its members including those 3,500 or 7% of its membership certain to be laid off now and/or in the future by accepting the contract as is with the minor modification of having employees contribute a more equitable share of health insurance and in return demanding nothing more and nothing less than securing Gov. Cuomo assurances that those millionaires, those "job creators" who are benefiting from his tax breaks pony up and find jobs in the private sector for each of those laid off by the state or hold the “job creators” financially accountable for the economic mess they created when they acted in their self-interest by “forgetting the collective" when they kept the money instead of creating jobs.

Indeed the current standoff between PEF and Gov. Cuomo was one of those rare times that an opportunity arises where rhetoric and reality meet by providing Gov. Cuomo a chance to act in the best interest of "the collective" or act in his self-interest by acting in the best interests of the wealthy few rather than the collective. Within weeks there is a strong possibility that at least 3500 more people and their families will suffer as a result of what is or isn't decided upon yet the situation provides the possibility of a win-win-win scenario. Gov. Cuomo wins by proving through his actions his primary concern is as it should be as governor, the wellbeing of "the collective". PEF wins by proving a union can indeed represent “the collective” of workers". And the wealthy can win by creating more jobs or paying more taxes if only to stay out of jail.

The new contract which was recently approved by the PEF leadership and presented to their members included no pay raise for 3 years, employee health care contributions would be more equitable, furlough days would be reimbursed, the life of the contract would be 4 years and more importantly there would be no job security. For his part Governor Cuomo explained this was an opportunity for PEF to accept financial reality.

The votes of the PEF membership were cast and the results are expected to be announced this week meanwhile the unavoidable conclusions are that PEF leadership accepted Governor Cuomo’s perception of financial reality a perception that the workers, the collective, must sacrifice to fatten the financial portfolios of the parasite class when Governor One Percent proposes additional tax cuts at the end of the year to the “job creators” who will in return contribute to his 2016 presidential campaign. The results of the vote will reflect whether PEF membership will gives its consent to be a complicit participant in their own oppression or the courage to object to the status quo and demand that sacrifice be equitably shared in a just society in which “job creators” are responsible for creating jobs and held accountable when they don’t.