City of Oakland Chief of Party

Steve Martin · Post by **Steve Martin** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:13 am

Passing this along...

land butcher · Post by **land butcher** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:42 pm

Thank moonbeam for the currant system where public employee pay and benefit contracts are approved by the elected officials who are bought and paid for by the public employees unions.
Just a small conflict of interest.

bruce hall · Post by **bruce hall** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:59 pm

my calling. Should have got that government job 30 years ago when I had the chance. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't.

And LB, what you said really isn't very nice. Not judging, just saying.

JasonCamit · Post by **JasonCamit** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:00 am

Who is moonbeam?

bruce hall · Post by **bruce hall** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:37 am

is refering to Gov. Jerry Brown.

JasonCamit · Post by **JasonCamit** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:20 am

Isn't he presuring the unions for renegotiating their contracts and pushing timelines to the 6 major unions for these contract agreements? Last time I checked he has not held office since the 70's, I could be wrong. Thats 40 years of opportunity to change. Don't get me wrong, I think all politicians are liars with their own agendas to keep their office. Both sides have failed the public with these agendas, lets not fool ourselves.

Matt Cunningham · Post by **Matt Cunningham** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:49 pm

JasonCamit wrote: Last time I checked he has not held office since the 70's, I could be wrong.

Yep, you're wrong. He is a career politician. Two-term governor from 1975-1983, mayor of Oakland 1999-2007, California attorney general 2007-2010. To name a few...

land butcher · Post by **land butcher** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:52 pm

Don't expect to see any real changes, if any, in the union contracts. The majority of moonbeams campaign funds came from unions.

Yep, reelected by a generation that didn't read their history books and were not alive or old enough to remember his first 2 terms.
He renamed Calif Div of Hwys to CalTrans so the money could be used for busways, bike trails, lite rail, etc. His head of CalTrans killed the hwy 39 fwy, the 57 extension to the 405 and replaced ~10 miles of junk spurline track with mainline track and built a RR via duct from the I 10 north along the rio hondo channel just to put in the busway, later changed to carpool lanes, and that was just in the LA/OC area. About 3 years later laid off hundreds of Caltrans employees. The laid off Caucasian surveyors could not get into the operating engineers union because the Feds said they did not have enough minorities as union surveyors.

land butcher · Post by **land butcher** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:13 pm

Bruce

When someone takes money from a entity while in a position to increase that entities size and income and votes to do just that I really don't know another way to describe them.
In all other instances, such as being a stock holder and other reasons, elected officials have to excuse themselves from voting on a item due to conflict of interest, but not union/govt employee wage packages. Look how Chaney has been drug over the coals because of his pre-vice-presidency connection to Haliburton.

JasonCamit · Post by **JasonCamit** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:30 pm

career politicians selling lies to remain in office? They are all like lawyers, if not real lawyers arguing the side that pays them the most. He must be the best liar this time around.

dmi · Post by **dmi** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:21 pm

THE UNION BASHING IS TIRESOME.

Stephen Johnson · Post by **Stephen Johnson** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:52 am

dmi wrote:THE UNION BASHING IS TIRESOME.

but accurate.

dmi · Post by **dmi** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:57 pm

Not accurate in the least. It is just annoying whining. OOOH look that guy has something better than I do boo hooo hooo.
Go join a union , start your own union, demand your employer pay you as well and with as good a benefit package as the union workers have. Start your own business when the boss tells you to put it where the monkey puts the nuts, cuz he ain't paying that.

But please for the love of Pete, stop crying about what somebody else has. Stop being a victim and take personal responsiblity for what you can in your life and stop blaming other people.

KellyW · Post by **KellyW** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:03 am

Lol, Don't hate the player. Hate the game.

bruce hall · Post by **bruce hall** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:20 am

out who Pete is. Is it the apostle who denied Christ or is it Peter Gunn the detective?

Matt Cunningham · Post by **Matt Cunningham** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:52 pm

dmi wrote:Not accurate in the least.

Really? What is not accurate? Trade unions were the third largest financier behind Jerry Brown's campaign committee and the Democratic Party. Jerry Brown has been, and will be as governor, involved in union contract negotiations.

If you have some facts to disprove what has been stated, then please share them. To sit back and accuse others of spewing false-hoods and say they are irresponsible, crying victims because you do not happen to agree with their opinion, nor the facts is a poor reflection on your professionalism.

JLG3RD · Post by **JLG3RD** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:01 pm

Glad I'm in my union.....I remember the days when a private surveyor was making nearly twice what I was but not working twice as much. My decision to work for the State long term has paid off for me in the long run. I still get a pay check every month, and it's a damn good one. When the times are busy I never hear anyone complain about it, only when they are no longer getting the cash!
As for Brown, he was the best candidate for the job, NutMeg wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything, GAS is a testiment to that.

land butcher · Post by **land butcher** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:16 pm

Well check the union pay scale and compare that to the govt job postings. Be sure to compare ALL the benefits such as 15 govt paid holidays vs 7, 2 weeks vac at the end of the first year vs 1 week. 10 years with the same co to get 3 weeks vac in private. Then there are these govt paid professional days, sick pay, platinum pension with lifetime paid medical with 0 deductibles..........

I left govt service for private then moonbeam allowed govt employees to unionize and the elected who approve govt pay contracts accept campaign donations from the unions. CONFLICT OF INTEREST!!!!!!!!
I would have preferred Alfred E. Newman or anyone else to moonbeam, he didn't fix anything 35 years ago just made things worse and he will do the same now.

Private sector has to provide a service that the developers can afford, and their costs are controlled by the economy and exorbitant agency fees. Public sector has no balance sheet. They produce nothing that affects the GNP. Lockyer has already stated that CA does not have a budget problem, the State has ultimate taxing authority. What does that tell you.

DanFrink · Post by **DanFrink** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:42 am

I feel the same way. Funny how everyone has this choice to make for themselves, but some complain about where they end up...

JLG3RD wrote:Glad I'm in my union.....I remember the days when a private surveyor was making nearly twice what I was but not working twice as much. My decision to work for the State long term has paid off for me in the long run. I still get a pay check every month, and it's a damn good one. When the times are busy I never hear anyone complain about it, only when they are no longer getting the cash!
As for Brown, he was the best candidate for the job, NutMeg wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything, GAS is a testiment to that.

JLG3RD · Post by **JLG3RD** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:06 am

Sorry Butcher not buying into your thought on the subject. It's only been a handful of years that my salary has even been close to that if the Unions. It's about time, read it and weep, Unions are here to stay! Regarding the private sector, I can go on and on about our A&E contracts and what a rip off it is for the tax payer. Private firms are there to make money...lots of money and constantly bend the state over for it. Public sector doesn't really affect the GNP but having public workers do most of the work compared to privates, you get more bang for your buck doing it with public resources. The private sector needs to worry about the private sector.

dmi · Post by **dmi** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:43 am

Who exactly are you be to attacking me for my expressing and explaining my opinion? Is there any need to be insulting?
I have no obligation to cite facts and figures to prove my point to you.

My point was a simply a personal opinion, the expression of which has nothing to do with professionalism. I launched no personal attack nor did I impune anyone's reputation as a professional surveyor. I simply stated that I did not agree with the premise and that I am tired of the union bashing.

I have no idea why people think it is a bad thing for workers to contribute to the candidate of THEIR choice and yet there is not a word about a penny spent by other interests. Whitman using her own money in an effort to buy the election, most definately represents a SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP.

JLG3RD · Post by **JLG3RD** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:58 am

Well check the union pay scale and compare that to the govt job postings. Be sure to compare ALL the benefits such as 15 govt paid holidays vs 7, 2 weeks vac at the end of the first year vs 1 week. 10 years with the same co to get 3 weeks vac in private. Then there are these govt paid professional days, sick pay, platinum pension with lifetime paid medical with 0 deductibles..........

Your facts are so wrong dude, get it right before popping off!

pls7809 · Post by **pls7809** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:50 am

I appreciate the differences of opinions expressed here, but is this thread the appropriate place for this discussion? This is a job posting.

bruce hall · Post by **bruce hall** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:08 am

"Private firms are there to make money...lots of money and constantly bend the state over for it." I will try and remember that next time I send my proposal in to the local municipality for surveying services. I will propose to perform the work at a loss. That way JLG3RD can't accuse me of trying to make lots of money or bend the "state" over.

"but having public workers do most of the work compared to privates, you get more bang for your buck doing it with public resources." That may be true. I know that the County of Orange has survey crews that stake infrastructure and if they didn't do it, then someone else would have to. And near as I can tell they do a good job. Is it cost efficient, I don't know.

On the other side of the coin, when there isn't anything to stake or survey, the public sector surveyor still gets paid. When I do not have anything to stake or survey, I don't get paid. At least that is what I have seen and experienced.

Post script: Ryan may have a point. I just checked and there were 28 members and 34 guests visiting this CLSA website at 11:22 am. Everytime I decide to throw in my two cents, it is not just a few surveyors who will view my comments. I Don't have a problem with that, that is just the way it is. We have the general public, land owners and who knows what out there viewing our little conversations. I am certain sure that every one of you commenting on the threads on this site do not need any reminder or help in figuring this out. This is for me only, to remind me that I gotta watch what I say sometimes.

land butcher · Post by **land butcher** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 11:47 am

Your facts are so wrong dude, get it right before popping off!

I'm wrong? Pull up any of these public sector job postings and read it completely. Then call the local union hall and request their pay and benefit packages. Enlighten yourself young butterfly.

While you are researching, research the percentage of hirings by race by public sector in the Surveying and Civil Engineering positions over the last 20 years.
And while you are at it, research the number of personnel laid off in the last 6 years. I am sure the public engineering sections are just as busy checking private development submittals today as they were in 2005

I appreciate the differences of opinions expressed here, but is this thread the appropriate place for this discussion? This is a job posting.

Probably not, but is there another place here? And it is employment oriented.

California Surveyors Forums

City of Oakland Chief of Party

City of Oakland Chief of Party

I guess I missed

Who?

Moonbeam

Unions

Aren't all politicians

Unions

I am trying to figure

Really Matt

Yea, this is a job posting. It's expensive to live in Oakland.