Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Politics / Woods Bredesen Threatens Layoffs to Beat Union
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 8:14 PM
OK, I'm confused. Before Christmas, Gov. Phil Bredesen was relatively positive about the state budget. Barack Obama's impending federal stimulus package probably would mean the state could escape big cutbacks. He said only "selective layoffs" might be required, maybe none at all.
"We actually could end up with a decent year," the governor told reporters then in a surprisingly upbeat report. "There will be budget cuts everywhere, but it could be 6 or 7 or 8 percent, and there you're not talking about layoffs anymore. You're not talking about closing down major programs or something like that."But today, in a series of one-on-one interviews with media outlets, he did an about-face, saying 2,000 workers could wind up hitting the bricks. So here is my question: What changed? Maybe it's the resistance he's facing from the state employees union over civil service rule changes he wants the legislature to enact right now.
"Don't let our governor take drastic steps and change laws on a whim just so he does not have to be hampered by the democratic process," TSEA officials said in a news release this week. "TSEA is not asking to tie the governor's hands. We simply want him to work within the laws that protect our state employees and its citizens."In today's interviews, the governor assured reporters there would be fewer layoffs if his civil service changes go through. Sounds like Bredesen is trying to strong-arm the TSEA. He wouldn't do that, would he?
Comments (3)
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The TSEA is a joke. I worked for the legislature from 2000-2002. They were always a joke. What power do the have? None. Their director at the time and main lobbyist was the laughingstock of Capitol Hill. I am a strong supporter of unions, but the TSEA is too much of a farce to even be considered an actual union. State workers would be much better served to disband the TSEA and go with a national union. It can't get any worse.
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This is just Bredesen's attempt to disband civil service altogether. If this law goes through, they will be able to target selected employees for termination and fire people right before their retirement. Bredesen is a Republican in Democrat's clothing.
Who are you kidding, Lucid? State departments can already do just that with firing. You have to sign so many disclosure forms with HR that if you so much as speak to anyone about anything you can be fired. It's the gov't and it's more about who you blow than who you know now and Bredeson is just another politician
