Labor Pains

Thursday, June 26, 2008 | The Mayor Jerry Sanders- Council President Scott Peters pension reform compromise is reminiscent of Orwell’s Animal Farm where all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. New workers in the Fire and Police departments are more equal than new hires working in other City jobs who would be relegated to the bottom tier of a 2-tier system.

If you want to find out more about how two-tiers affect workers simply chat up airline employees or the even handier cashiers in unionized supermarkets. The new hires are likely to be resentful and de-motivated by wages and benefits that are substantially inferior to their more senior upper tier co-workers. Union solidarity is grievously weakened. The rationale for a two-tier system in San Diego may be offered as financial but a major result will be a weakening of the unions.

I disagreed with the Labor Council’s support for Scott Peters at least partly because of his vote against the living wage ordinance in San Diego. In my mind labor applies to all people who work not just public employees. I thought the Labor Council view emphasized the public employee unions, creating its own version of a 2-tier system that left out the many workers who were not organized. I still think this way.

But I do hope and anticipate that the Labor Council will oppose the “compromise” that would divide City workers in San Diego. I also expect that they now regret their support of Mr. Peters who has been again unmasked as no friend of labor.