Cheesehead and Hoosier Legislators...Get out of Illinois!

My wife and I worked for IBM for 17 years before we just couldn't take the BS anymore. She was working with a China team who expected her to work on their hours - meanwhile working for a US team who expected her to be online during our normal hours. I was working for a crazy team who expected 70-80 hours a week to get projects out on unrealistic schedules. No one was looking out for us - we made our own decisions, we made our own retirement contributions and ultimately decided the corporate life was not for us.

I worked for IBM in MN and they did the same to me. A few years ago they got hit with a class action suite about OT pay and salary -vs- hourly. I was wrongly classified as salary so they owed me OT. Then a judge in MN ruled that I could only collect 2 years back from the date of the initial class ruling, which gave me 7 months of qualifying hours. So instead of being owed $108,000. I ended up getting about $800.
 
I wonder how "forced" the governor actually is.

It's not like the unions have been unwilling to negotiate wages and benifits has it? Is legislation required to negotiate a union contract? I suspect not.

My impression is that the Governor wants to act UNILATERALY, which requires a change in law. The "being forced to impose layoffs", I believe, is coming about because the Governor doesn't have the authority to unilaterally change compensation and he won't agree to bilateral discussion.

Am I incorrect in this assessment?

Zipping up flame suit now. . . .
Comsnark, I think you're absolutely correct. I used the word "forced" to see if it would ilicit any responses. It worked, and for the record I agree with you. This is the Gov's way of opening the door to substantial change in the way government employees at all levels are dealt with. I suspect we'll see him on TV in a few days saying he has "no choice" but to start laying off workers, and then the onslaught will continue.

He will lay the blame for the layoffs at the feet of the missing Dem senators, and maybe rightly so. If they had been around to negotiate a settlement things might have turned out different. As it is, they've given him the opportunity to cut employees and not suffer the blame for it.

The missing Dems opened the door by absconding, he stuck his foot in and now he's going to push some of his programs.

I tend to agree with the Gov that there should be more parity between what the union workers receive in pay and benefits and what private sector employees receive, and what each group pays into their benefit programs. I think the Gov is going to make some sweeping changes, and I think it's about time.

BTW, I have held both union and non-union jobs. I would never again belong to a union if I were not forced to.
 

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