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So Here’s a Thought

The union appears to be a little riled with Governor Richardson over the nonnegotiable forced furlough of state employee’s as one tactic to plug the state budget gap:

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 18 says Richardson’s administration violated the law by refusing to bargain with the union over five unpaid furlough days Richardson ordered for 17,000 state workers in December, January, March, April and May.

“It’s a fairly simple complaint,” said Albuquerque attorney Shane Youtz, who is representing AFSCME and its 6,000 members. “We asked politely to bargain and were told no.”

State Personnel Director Sandi Perez said the state fulfilled its legal duties by discussing the furloughs with union leaders in November.


Well, here’s a fairly simple idea for union leaders. Next time, the government starts promoting spending gobs and gobs of money (translation: hundreds of millions) on things like Spaceports and trains, you might want to voice your opposition. After all, it’s things like the ongoing tens of million of dollars in losses incurred by the Rail Runner that are causing your union members to have to take unpaid furlough days:

The red ink lubricating the wheels of the Rail Runner is getting redder. Its operating deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, topped $19 million. It collected a mere $1.9 million in fares against $21 million in operating expenses. The losses are greater than we reported in August. Based on information provided us by the Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments, we reported then that the Rail Runner’s operating loss through May 31, 2009, exceeded $13.4 million. But data for the entire fiscal year, ending June 30, 2009, reveal a number almost 42% higher.

Now, I realize there are several members that might be taking that train up to Santa Fe, but I’ll bet you there are even more that are not. Which mean, that the vast majority of members are going to see a cut in pay, so a handful can pay less than their full share to ride the train to Santa Fe.

It’s just something for you to consider.