"Council President Nancy Floreen is introducing a bill that would gut collective bargaining rights in Montgomery County," said Amy Millar, who is the lead negotiator for the UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO union. "The attacks [on public employees] never let up," Millar added.
According to Millar, the bill would reduce bargaining rights over working conditions, and allow the County Executive to ordain a "permanent umpire without union input." That refers to a provision in Floreen's bill that would strip all union power to determine who the County Executive and Council appoint as the Labor Relations Administrator. The LRA is a powerful position, because he or she has the authority to declare that either the executive or the union has violated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. If only the County can choose the LRA...well, you can guess who would be favored.
Floreen's bill would also allow retired judges, as opposed to only those with neutral history in labor disputes, to be LRAs. That could introduce a bias, as judges are appointed by the same government officials who bargain with public employee unions.
On page 5 of the bill, number 17 would allow the County government to "create, alter, combine, contract out (italics and underlining added by me), or abolish any job classification, department, operation, unit, or other division or service, provided that no contracting of work which will displace employees may be undertaken by the employer unless ninety (90) days prior to signing the contract, or such other date of notice as agreed by parties. written notice has been given to the certified representative."
Millar says the bill's language "comes right out of ALEC model legislation," referring to the Koch Industries-backed American Legislative Exchange Council.
Floreen's support of Koch Brothers initiatives is only the latest Council link to Wall Street. Councilmember Hans Riemer's campaigns have been funded by numerous Wall Street firms and their lobbyists, including Mitt Romney's Bain Capital and Danaher Corporation, both pioneers in outsourcing American jobs to China and Mexico.
67 comments:
Once again, there is no consistency to Dyer's positions, whatsoever.
His party wants to abolish unions, especially public sector unions, entirely.
Did Dyer just put Nancy Floreen and the Koch Brothers in the same sentence?
That sign looks like it says "Betrayed by Save Westbard".
Just because someone's a Republican doesn't mean they 100% agree with everything on the party platform. Same applies for Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party, etc.
Koch brothers are just trying to play the Illuminati game.
@7:02
Dyer isn't a true Republican/conservative, and he certainly isn't a Democrat/liberal either.
He pretty much supports the worst policy positions from both parties.
7:13 AM What are the "worst" positions Dyer supports? Or will you rely on ad hominem attacks?
Why make the article about the journalist writing it and not the actual content, which is pretty disturbing if Floreen is aligning with Koch.
Save Westbard would have to be capable of anything before they can betray anyone. The council and the developers have shown that they are little more than a minor annoyance.
7:43 Why are you so pro-county council? What have they done that directly effected you?
Why are the anonymous pro-county council posts so nasty, personal and negative here?
Why is Dyer's shill so co-dependent, defensive and whiny?
I'm 7:52. Why can't 7:43 answer a simple question or two?
I guess Dyer hates the Koch Brothers now that they oppose his hero Trump.
@ 7:52 AM/9:00 AM - Pointing out that Dyer is an incoherent birdbrain does not automatically make one "pro-Council".
The pro-Council anonymous man always resorts to insults.
When did Dyer proclaim Trump a hero? I must have missed that article.
The question here is why is Floreen aligning with Koch?
Nope, not my reasoning.
Disparaging others because they care about the neighborhood where they live is what made me ask. Still no answers.
Dyer doesn't have a shill. It's clearly Dyer himself (or a significant other).
No one else would sit on this site all day, everyday, and defend Dyer so passionately from every single critical comment using Dyer's same illogical talking points.
9:57 AM Why attack Dyer everyday? The conversation is exactly the same and leads nowhere.
If you don't like his news sites, then read the others he inspired.
9:57: No, unlike you, coward, I actually put my real name on every comment I post. I realize the unholy alliance between Floreen and the Kochs has you shaken up, understandably. You'll go along to get along, just as you have with Hans Riemer's Wall Street money machine.
It is sickening that the same Democratic County Councilmembers who cloak their pro developer policies as "progressive" actively work to undermine actual working people.
"I realize the unholy alliance between Floreen and the Kochs has you shaken up, understandably. You'll go along to get along, just as you have with Hans Riemer's Wall Street money machine."
Hahaha woooow.
I'm 9:57. Who exactly is it do you think that I am? You're paranoid delusions are beginning to approach plain insanity.
It's funny though, the "official Robert Dyer" doesn't have any responses in the entire thread above, but as soon as I reveal his plain-as-daylight scheme. He immediately logs back in immediately, and comes out of the woodwork.
Tip for the future: Don't respond anonymously to every single critical post (of which there are very many) sounding like a carbon copy of yourself. Seriously, how many people do you actually think believe the things that you do?
So 10:42am, would you rather have Republicans - like Dyer claims to be - be in charge of the county council? Then it would be a free-for-all for developers. Every square inch of the county to the Frederick County and Howard County lines would be developed. So long Agricultural Reserve. And school capacity? Yeah we know how much Republicans like funding quality schools with small class sizes.
Is that the county you want? Okay, then vote Republican next county election.
10:58 AM You think Councilman Dyer would allow a free for all for developers? lol.
10:51AM - You've got some serious misconceptions. You've just implied that you and Robert Dyer are the only 2 people posting here. That's a crock.
I post here and I'm not you nor am I Dyer. I have no problem claiming all of my posts. I've never met Dyer. Don't believe me? That's your issue. My spouse posts here, again not you and not Dyer. My neighbor, Helen, posts here. Also not you and not Dyer. So do several of my colleagues. Don't believe me? That's your issue.
Who do you think Dyer thinks you are? If you are as you portray yourself, you're a resident of MoCo who has no issues with the County Council and thinks they're doing a great job. But today you got your undies in a bunch with the Floreen/Koch comments. Why?
"If you don't like his news sites, then read the others he inspired."
LOLwut???
12:14 PM will never admit that Dyer has a wide readership and many different commenters that support and enjoy Dyer's content.
In his mind, he is Dyer's only reader and Dyer is posting every comment other than his negative comments.
Maybe, one day, he'll step out of his safe zone and concede that Dyer has thousands of readers in Bethesda alone. Until then, he'll repeat the same claims everyday that he is Dyer's sole reader.
Can someone please fix the timestamps??
THX
12:25
"In his mind, he is Dyer's only reader"
Looks like someone (Dyer) needs to retake 4th grade reading comprehension and Dyer is posting every comment other than his negative comments.
"...concede that Dyer has thousands of readers in Bethesda alone..."
^^^Thanks for providing even more proof that you are in fact Dyer. Only Dyer, or Dyer's lover would post something so pompous. Either that or Dyer's paying you and there's some serious brown nosing going on.
Correction:
"Looks like someone (Dyer) needs to retake 4th grade reading comprehension and Dyer is posting every comment other than his negative comments."
-> "Looks like someone (Dyer) needs to retake 4th grade reading comprehension"
12:34 PM lol...you continue to believe you are Dyer's only reader and that Dyer posts every comment other than yours. Do you know how crazy that sounds?
10:58 AM - This is 10:42 AM. I don't want Republicans on the County Council. I am a Democrat. I am very disappointed in some of the Democrats on the County Council that cloak their agenda in a phony "progressivism". This is done cynically to allow them to set an agenda such as the recent planning and zoning decisions. To imply those that disagree with their vision for Westbard or Lyttonsville or any other development are racist is a cynical ploy.
They know that many of the liberals who oppose these projects will recoil from that label. This in effect allows the phony progressives to shape the debate and buy time so they get what they want. They know that community activism is hard and takes time. They know that most of their constituents are Democrats that work long hours in Washington DC and don't pay a lot of attention to local government and events. Around election time, some of the county councilmembers send out direct mail that claims they are a liberal/progressive Democrats with some key endorsements. They know that their largely Democratic constituents will vote for them while most of the voters' attention is on a higher profile campaign.
As a voter, that is how I approached county elections and I believe I was the norm, not the exception.
I'm in favor of anything to reduce the power of MoCo unions. The reason DLC (alcohol sales) have not been privatized in MoCo is unions. They were worried about losing 300 jobs in the retail stores and warehouses. Why would they be worried, if the proposal was simply to allow private companies to _compete_, not to shut down the existing DLC-run liquor stores?
Ahh, because the unions know those DLC jobs have salaries and benefits higher than the free market, and with less risk of being fired for incompetence.
Let County employees compete just like the rest of us in private industry do -- on merit.
"less risk of being fired for incompetence."
Is Dyer a union of one?
I thought the reason is the DLC is a cash cow for the county. Isn't that income tied to some note or bond or something?
10:51: You're the nutjob - that Floreen's bill uses the Koch Brothers ALEC template was confirmed by the union official. Are you claiming the public employees union is "insane" too? "Hahaha - wooow, indeed.
Also not in dispute, and easily verified via MD campaign finance records, are the Bain Capital, Danaher and other Wall Street checks to the Hans Riemer campaign. In other words, my claims are verifiable - your troll garbage is outside of reality, and you are a pathological liar.
You have been scammed Robert. The "ALEC template" you cite as evidence of a Koch Brothers conspiring with Floreen is standard boilerplate language.
A google search on the phrase returns nearly 4 million examples of your "ALEC template", including from the Montgomery County Code since 1995:
Montgomery County Code § 33-107(b)(17) states that the collective bargaining article and “any agreement made under it shall not impair the right and responsibility of the employer to ․ [c]reate, alter, combine, contract out, or abolish any job classification, department, operation, unit, or other division or service, provided that no contracting of work which will displace employees may be undertaken by the employer unless ninety (90) days prior to signing the contract, or such other date of notice as agreed by the parties, written notice has been given to the certified representative.”
Unless the Koch Brothers have a time machine, your claim is bogus.
"the Bain Capital, Danaher and other Wall Street checks to the Hans Riemer campaign."
Bain contributed $500 to Riemer's campaign. How much was the contribution from Danaher?
Just because you would sell your soul for a free Lobsticle at LobsterME, doesn't mean others would.
Who contributed to your campaigns, and how much?
Bain-Danaher-Koch
The Council has some strange bedfellows! These organizations are the worst of the worst.
"...concede that Dyer has thousands of readers in Bethesda alone..."
I'd love to know where this claim comes from. Does Dyer have any actual statistics on his readership?
Dyer has reached critical mass where the majority of Bethesda residents read him at some point in a 30 day period.
@ 6:54 PM - Source for your claim?
6:54 PM Source: Big Data
6:59 PM Don't tell me...you believe you are Robert Dyer's lone reader? Despite all the data saying otherwise.
"all the data"
Sure. Link?
7:06 PM Even open source data will say that you are not Dyer's lone reader.
Can we please debate the Koch issue instead of your red herrings? Dyer reaches the majority of Bethesda residents at this point.
$ 7:22 PM - Link please?
7:22/7:02/6:56/6:54 - You have an amazing capacity for self-deception.
7:30 PM Open source data says you're not Dyer's sole reader.
I guess I can't expect legacy media folks to know how to access such data.
4:39: That language is underlined as new in the bill. The provisions of the bill you did not list but that are discussed in my article are indeed from the Koch Brothers' ALEC template. Stop lying. I realize it's been a rough day for you finding out that you have to be a paid hack for the Koch Brothers to keep defending your beloved County Council.
5:23: Danaher has contributed $4000+ in known contributions to Hans Riemer.
Perhaps Dyer could link to this "ALEC template"?
You sound like a nut when you claim to be Dyer's only reader across all of his local MoCo digital properties.
Dyer @ 8:50 PM - You dunce, the language in @ 4:39 PM's comment is from Montgomery County Code § 33-107. The section that is proposed to be amended is 33-80.
@ 9:00 PM - You sound like a nut when you say stuff that absolutely no one ever said.
9:02: Why is it underlined then? Staff error? I didn't write the staff report. But all of the provisions mentioned in my report are new additions, and they come from the Koch Brothers template.
Let's see that "Koch Brothers template".
Read up:
http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/What_is_ALEC%3F
http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Bills_Affecting_Worker_and_Consumer_Rights_and_More
The only undue influence being shown in this discussion is that the Union is manipulating you. The language you highlight has been in the present collective bargaining agreement since it was signed in 2013: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HR/Resources/Files/Labor/MCGEO%20Agreement%20FY16.pdf
(The language is boilerplate and comes from State Law: http://marylandcode.org/ghs-16-314/ )
The union wanted to change this section of county law, and was told "No" in February, 2016 at Paragraph 9-18: http://mcgeo.org/2016mocobargainingupdate/Moco%20Ltr%20of%20Non-Negotiability%20Feb%202016.pdf
So in an attempt to sway public opinion, Robert Dyer is led to believe in a giant Koch Brothers/ALEC conspiracy by the Union. Instead of showing that this conspiracy has unduly swayed Ms. Floreen, you have showed that you are woefully ill-equipped to review collective bargaining agreements.
To repeat points made earlier in another comment, this is boilerplate language, found in tens of thousands of collective bargaining agreements in the US, in existing State Law, in existing County Law, and in the existing agreement with County unions, and it has not a thing to do with ALEC or the Koch Brothers.
8:12 - If you say so. What anti-union job do you hold?
@ 6:59 AM - Your first link has over a hundred entries under "Worker Rights, Pensions & Privatization".
Which of these is supposedly a "template" for the Montgomery County law? I don't have time to do the work you were too lazy to do yourself.
@ 8:18 AM - What job do you hold?
@ 11:00AM - Thank you for asking. I've always been in the private sector. I spent 20 years in residential and commercial real estate management mainly assets and cash management. The following 20 years were in public accounting, with a focus on taxes. I currently consult in the field of forensic accounting.
And you?
10:44 - Sorry, little man. I am not Dyer. Just a nice gal who posted a couple links that I looked up.
The lazy one is you.
11:20 AM - Who said you were Dyer?
You're not just lazy, you're paranoid, too.
Oh no!!!! What will I do?!!! Someone who doesn’t know me at all called me names!!!
Signed, The gal who posted a couple links for no other reason than to be nice
8:12: You keep talking about that quote while ignoring the actual provisions of the bill, which are certainly not "in the existing agreement with County unions." These are anti-labor measures being promoted by the Koch Brothers and ALEC.
#winning
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