Tag: chicago unions

Rahm Emanuel released a list of all the current employees on the public dole. I guess Rahm wants to make an impression he is trying to change things. Several names are missing. I noticed some names on workman’s compensation not listed. See list
http://data.cityofchicago.org/Government/Current-Employee-Names-Salaries-and-Position-Title/r3km-swf6? Rahm tells us he is for change but he knows he must play ball. Rahm is quietly putting another couple of million dollars of payroll and political payback on the backs of taxpayers at the Department of Water Management. Rahm forgot to list some former Alderman’s kid’s raises and all the new mystery employees Daley packed on last year. Rahm is keeping these big rollers despite claiming cutbacks. For starters, union office workers were tossed out of water department satellite offices and the workers were replaced by Laborer 1092 ditchdiggers to handle office chores. I do not think the Chicago Taxpayers want to pay someone $35.10 an hour for data entry. I do not think politically connected laborers should enjoy air-conditioned offices to answer phones. More stunning is the attempted hire of an additional 10 Plumber’s Local 130 members at $44.00 per hour. Plumbers are at an easy $100,000.00 per year. A raise is due very soon. Rahm knew when he got in bed with Plumber’s Local he would need to step to the plate and pony up jobs. A large percentage of the dues Plumbers pay is filtered back to politicians. Many of these Plumbers sit in an air-conditioned office all day and do relatively few chores. One example is former Alderman’s son Paul Hansen, making a whopping $107,000.00 thousand answering phone calls and data entry. Paul Hansen was just promoted despite formal complaints to the Office of the Inspector General and the Shakman Monitor. The position of Superintendent was not filled for many years with great savings and success. It looks like the Office of the Inspector General is just another tool of the Mayor’s office. The Commissioners on a routine basis shut down investigations, rendering the OIG a waste of taxpayers’ money. The Laborers Union was rewarded for support to Rahm Emanuel by the addition of at least another 10 construction laborers paid to inspect the same holes in the street day after day. In fact, construction laborers drive air-conditioned pick-up trucks doing very little wasting precious gas. It is all an act, the public think work is being done. These workers were hired to repair and install sewers, not drive around and look at them. The only major improvement was the General Superintendent that enforced work rules. Workers were busted for sleeping on the job because the Office of the Inspector General was a no show. This was again covered up and the taxpayers got screwed. I suggest the millions of wasted money are invested in new investigators at the Office of the Inspector General. But we must immediately stop commissioners overstepping OIG rulings and tell the OIG not to recommend every violation a termination. Patrick McDonough.