Bain-Blog

Friday, December 22, 2006

Picnic Point follow up

Good news! As follow up to a previous post, I have been informed that the State Building Commission unanimously approved the transfer of Picnic Point to the state DNR. This will allow for the preservation of the 117.5 acres of land, which includes approximately 3,000 feet of undeveloped Lake Winnebago shoreline, several Native American archeological sites and a cemetery.

-Bryan

posted by Bryan L. Bain at 12/22/2006 10:33:00 AM

1 Comments:

  • Just another example of what is happening in the private sector, and how the public sector union members seem to be insulated from much of this:

    Trouble at Ford, GM and Chrysler-
    Talks are already under way to replace a UAW contract that expires in September, and some argue that additional union concessions are the only way the Big Three can remain competitive with Toyota and other Japanese rivals.

    “These discussions will be very significant because the domestic manufacturers have their backs to the wall, and so does the UAW,” said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, which tracks the automotive industry. “We have had recessions and cyclical ups and downs before, but today we have consumers looking more and more at overseas manufacturers, and that has shocked [U.S. automakers] significantly.”

    Automakers want to secure significant concessions in benefits granted for current and retired unionized workers, especially for health care, which the industry says are too expensive and put them at a disadvantage with their Asian rivals.

    But UAW President Ron Gettelfinger already has said he intends to fight to keep health care benefits for both active union members and retirees. Gettelfinger also has said he will aim to preserve the so-called “jobs bank” — a program that guarantees pay for laid-off workers.

    The Big Three already have won significant concessions from the UAW, with GM and Ford negotiating changes to health care packages and worker production programs that have allowed them to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs through buy-out programs. And after the steep losses Chrysler sustained in the third quarter, the UAW has said it will consider extending similar breaks to the DaimlerChrysler unit.

    One area to watch in the contract negotiations is benefits for retires workers, said Mike Hudson, an automotive analyst at Edmunds.com, a Web site offering car-buying advice.

    “Retirees can’t actively vote in the union, so there’s always the threat that they will be disproportionately hurt, and they are the most expensive in terms of loss to the companies, so they ripe for cost-cutting,” he said. “This is a key area to watch. They have the least protection, and the company gets the least from them.”

    The high cost of health care for employees and retirees, which adds some $1,000 to the cost of every car they make, is one of the biggest problems the Big Three face. GM, the nation’s largest private provider of health care, spent $5.3 billion on health care last year for 1.1 million employees, retirees and their dependents.

    Japanese carmakers, by contrast, are not contractually obligated to provide health care for legions of retired workers.

    With the new Democratic-controlled Congress, the issue of health care could explode onto the national stage again, Hudson said.

    “This is a place where the union and automakers can come together to get sympathy from the general public,” he said. “I think people will be stunned to hear how much GM and Ford have to pay for health care. The numbers are staggering, and the cost is putting American companies at disadvantage.”

    Oshkosh taxpayers pay a huge part of the heathcare for public employees. This has to change. Private industry is changing, so must the public sector funded by taxpayers.

    How do those running for Council intend to address run-away heathcare coverage? How do you intend to secure a better ratio (employee/taxpayer contribution) for the taxpayer?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at January 03, 2007 5:06 PM  

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