You Knew the Deal...
We've gotten a lot of these comments in the past few days. It appears a troll or two have popped up, attempting to discourage participation in the picketing today and spouting off with the tired old saw, "You knew what you were getting into when you hired on. If you don't like it, quit."
When we signed up, we knew we weren't going to get rich. But we knew it'd be a steady check, decent benefits and a nice pension at the end. In the intervening years, the buying power of the check has declined, the benefits are eroding at a rapid pace and the pension is funded at 42% while Daley's relative steal huge portions of it. It wasn't us that reneged on the agreement - it was Daley, the Machine and the City.
When times were good, we didn't see the City beating a path to the FOP's doorstep saying, "Times are great! Let's reopen that contract and get you a better raise." Government doesn't usually work like that. And when times were good, we saw people laughing at us for accepting a menial civil servant type job, calling us dumb, uneducated, unambitious. We've heard those all and more. Now that times are bad and the private sector is experiencing layoffs, we have to listen to the jagoff mayor telling us we're greedy, unrealistic and how the taxpayers have been very generous to us.
Last time we checked, we were required to live in this "workers paradise" and that makes us taxpayers, too. Taxpayers who can't leave. And government has increased the tax rates how much in the past 20 years? In the past 10 years? How about in the past two years? And we don't see anyone else being asked to eat shit. Aldercreatures - 6% raises. Aldercreature staff - 5% raises. Teachers - 4.5% raises. Superintendent - 100% plus raise over the last man to hold the job. Cops? Firefighters? Screw you.
So we'll continue to delete those trolls as we see fit. They're part of the established political order that nips at the heels of those trying to make a difference and sniff at the asses of those screwing up this once proud Department.
When we signed up, we knew we weren't going to get rich. But we knew it'd be a steady check, decent benefits and a nice pension at the end. In the intervening years, the buying power of the check has declined, the benefits are eroding at a rapid pace and the pension is funded at 42% while Daley's relative steal huge portions of it. It wasn't us that reneged on the agreement - it was Daley, the Machine and the City.
When times were good, we didn't see the City beating a path to the FOP's doorstep saying, "Times are great! Let's reopen that contract and get you a better raise." Government doesn't usually work like that. And when times were good, we saw people laughing at us for accepting a menial civil servant type job, calling us dumb, uneducated, unambitious. We've heard those all and more. Now that times are bad and the private sector is experiencing layoffs, we have to listen to the jagoff mayor telling us we're greedy, unrealistic and how the taxpayers have been very generous to us.
Last time we checked, we were required to live in this "workers paradise" and that makes us taxpayers, too. Taxpayers who can't leave. And government has increased the tax rates how much in the past 20 years? In the past 10 years? How about in the past two years? And we don't see anyone else being asked to eat shit. Aldercreatures - 6% raises. Aldercreature staff - 5% raises. Teachers - 4.5% raises. Superintendent - 100% plus raise over the last man to hold the job. Cops? Firefighters? Screw you.
So we'll continue to delete those trolls as we see fit. They're part of the established political order that nips at the heels of those trying to make a difference and sniff at the asses of those screwing up this once proud Department.
Labels: from the comments
posted by SCC at 12:02 AM
21 Comments:
Fuck Daley!!!!!!!!!!!
Could not have said it better, SCC. You hit it on the head.
Thanks again for everything SCC, one of the best posts ever!
teachers big raises,daley is wasting billions on building new schools for illegals and the daley crime family continues operations!
We've gotten a lot of these comments in the past few days. It appears a troll or two have popped up, attempting to discourage participation in the picketing today and spouting off with the tired old saw, "You knew what you were getting into when you hired on. If you don't like it, quit."
When I signed up you didn't need a collage degree to take a promotional exam...When I signed up you didn't have to pay for your health insurance…when I signed up there was no merit promotion to sgt. or lieutenant and most important when I signed up Daley was not the Mayor. I should quit if I don’t like it….why not change it like it was changed on us. Pathetic.
Yup. I knew the deal. But the City has reneged repeatedly on the deal.
Basta. Enough.
"If you don't like it quit"! This is the answer most given by employers and supervisors who are ignorant and arrogant. They have no answers to your concerns and don't feel you are deserving of one. Little silver spoon richie throws that phrase around regularly . Let's all stand tall tomorrow and show these motherless fucks what we think of them. If the don't like it they can quit!
dumb, uneducated, unambititious??
does that mean i get free housing, free welfare/medical and a link card too? damn, i want more fo free. this type contract is good. hwere's the place and time is it going to be? also, i vote, but not for free.
No one told me that I might live 7 - 10 years less than normal, that most police officers get divorced, that you cannot make mistakes or else....hopefully you get the point. Being the Police is not paradise. It is an honest train ride with many bumps along the way.
shock and awe baby-- we need at least 4000 down there on 02 apr.. if we don't get a fair raise the mayor better get a bunch more of those red light cameras because the blue boys pens have run out of ink-- mr daley-- you have brought a knife to a gun fight.
oh, things change, just not in our favor.
eliminate residency and we can be free !
"If you don't like it, quit" gets real old. You and I have all heard it, not only as to police work, but to all kinds of jobs. Same phrase could have been applied to the sweat-shop workers or coal miners in the early and even mid-1900's. I suppose those men (and women) didn't have a legitimate beef either.
What's new? Long hours? Insufficient pay? Poor working conditions? Shoddy equipment? Good chance of being injured or killed? Bosses who care only about production? Crooked management? Nothing is new.
What's the difference between old-time workers being forced to live in company towns like Pullman and CPD (CFD, too) being forced to live in Chicago's city limits? Sorry, but the difference escapes me.
Why would anyone want to quit when we are living here in the best of all possible worlds? I don't know, so you should probably ask CEO Daley.
from a police officer's family member: worst of all is the understaffing due to attrition.
Would Richard Francis be alive today if he had a partner that night??
we need fucking term limits.how many real jobs has daley held,zero.
I don't always agree with the police (or SCC, though your blog is always insightful), but you are absolutely right on here, SCC.
I signed up Daley was not the Mayor.
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An old timer, huh?
The current Daley has been in office 20 years.
Quite frankly, none of the mayors between RJD and RMD were anything to cheer about.
Has every one forgotten the decade+ of chaos that started when old man Daley died?
Not really saying anything nice about the current Daley, but Chicago could easily have gone the way of Detroit, and ended up much worse off. Maybe a deal with the devil, but one that resulted in a situation that is a lot better than it could have gone.
Even if Daley goes, do you think things have even a slight chance of getting better? If you do, you may be smoking something that is affecting your judgment.
Lower my salary. Give me less pension. LET ME LIVE OUTSIDE OF THIS CITY!
Would Richard Francis be alive today if he had a partner that night??
------------------------------
Who knows?
It did not help the two Oakland motorcycle cops who were murdered last week. Or the two Oakland SWAT cops that were murdered a few hours later.
Dear Anti-Picketers,
Yeah, we knew what we were getting into with this job. But let me say this. The reason why we all have what we have today is because people before us fought for it. They didn't just say well I will take whatever. Wrong, when you put your heart and soul into something, when you are so passionate about something, you need to fight for it. You need to stand up for yourselves any way possible. It's the people that say quit are the ones that should truly quit. This is our livelihood. We are entitled just like anyone else to a pay raise. How long would it take before each and every one of us would be in the poor house without a pay raise every few years with the way taxes, gas, milk, bread, movie rentals, water, electricity, etc. is going up. Its bullshit. Noone truly got on this job to get rich but to make a decent living we did. Benefits and job security were the two biggest factors in my decisions, but the city wants to take that away slowly too. To the trolls, I say this. You probably never fought for anything in your life. The info. picketing was a great turn out. 022nd District needed two trips to pick up officers. Great turn out, but it could've and should've been better. The "It isn't going to do anything" people are the very pussies that will sit back and take whatever contract we get and then bitch about it. Where were all the midnight officers? Where were all the tact and gang officers? Many were there. Many were not. Use some comp. time.
Anyways, I'm done. Great experience downtown. It truly felt like a brotherhood. This is what unions do. *If you don't want to participate then why dont you just quit! Go work for a non-union job. Lets see how that works out for ya.
"Who knows?
It did not help the two Oakland motorcycle cops who were murdered last week. Or the two Oakland SWAT cops that were murdered a few hours later.
4/02/2009 04:41:00 PM"
Asshole.
"If you do, you may be smoking something that is affecting your judgment.
4/02/2009 04:34:00 PM"
You would be the one to know about that.
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