City of Memphis Fights Pay Cut Lawsuit Filed by Union Employees

So Haven: Excuse me you nit wit, fatheaded boob! My husband is a city employee and before that held the same job for decades before getting let go and why, he was older, and before that, he served in the US NAVY for 20 years protecting your sorry behind so your bundling of all employees as not being able to get other jobs is ludicrous. On top of that, your facts, are not correct so you are shooting your mouth off about something you know nothing about obviously. This is a right to work state so the unions here CANNOT STRIKE, WALKOUT, THREATEN TO STOP WORK, or anything else. There is money to pay for this moron move by the city council that could be used easily without cutting workers pay and not squeezing the city's finances, but now they have decided not to use it when before they were handing out cash like it was candy. The problems are the dopes city at the city council table and the total idget in the mayor's office, not the employees. Get your facts straight bub before handing out your suggestions on what to do!!! Missy22: You are correct as far as it goes, but there is a legal document that was signed at the beginning of the year by the clueless city council and their dopey friend the mayor that agrees to no pay cuts or holiday cuts for TWO YEARS! I find it funny that if you or anyone else had a legal document saying you could or could not do something you would fight tooth and nail to make whomever stand up to their obligations but because it is the lowly city employees we should stick it to them so you people feel better about a property tax increase that frankly, is just money the city council several years ago gave back to you. Everyone is going on and on about the unions, but the fact is, in Tennessee their power is pretty much non existant because of the right to work laws. Agreements were made and should be adhered to. It is the ethical and legal thing to do and if the CC and Mayor didn't want it, they didn't have to sign the contract!!

StrayMom here! What.s with these damn Unions? Protecting those lazy Low-Lifes like the Scumbags working at the Memphis Animal Shelter...I tell you how to save money...FIRE ALL THOSE PEDESTRIANS/ANIMAL ABUSERS/FELONS AT AT THE MEMPHIS SHELTER...THEY DO A LOUSY JOB ANYWAY, THEY GET PAID GOOD PAY AND SIT ON THEIR #@@@%%%5 'S....$40,000 a year to be exact...LOOK AT THE WEB- CAM IF YOU WANT TO SEE HOW THEY ARE CARING FOR THE ANIMALS...EMPTY WATER BOWLS, EMPTY FOOD BOWLS...AND THEY PICK UP INNOCENT ANIMALS LIKE THEY HAVE AIDS OR SOMETHING AND THROW THEM IN GAGBAGE CANS, IN THE CAGE WITH ANGER...MAYOR!! FIRE ALL THOSE SCUMBAGS AND START OVER WITHOUT A DAMN UNION!!!

Most of us aren't in a position to be able to sue our employer for much of anything, let alone pay level. No matter how heroic and necessary some city employees feel themselves to be, they still work for the the city, and the city admin./council should be able to make the calls. You're free to leave if you're unsatisfied.

A lot of good points have been made, but no one seems to want to admit that unions in modern times have in some cases extended their reach way beyond a FAIR and SAFE workplace, closing companies and forcing others overseas. I know of memphis sanitation workers making ludicrous salaries driving street sweepers. Look at the UAW, $75/hr putting parts into robot magazines? I won't work in a union shop. I believe they have outlived their purpose and now days inflate the price of our products and cost more jobs than they protect. They are no longer about the employees, but have become mini-corporations of greed and power and spend more time in the whitehouse than the president. All their rules and regulation impede manufacturing and progress of anything, just like big government has killed our nation.

What the public does not understand is that there is plenty of money in the city to cover the employees. Businesses told Wharton to do this, so he did it. He is not,in my opionion, looking out for the best interest of the people. He is cutting city services and police and fire pay and benefits. He is making these jobs undesirable. When this happens we will have poor hiring and we will take what we can get. The city made a contract after weeks of negotiations an agreement was made. Now the city wants to renig on that contract so they can fund some project like the riverfront development. That project is a 50 year project. Most people reading this will be dead before it gets done. The private developers should foot the bill for that. It will make them money one day. It is called capitalism. You can demonize unions all you want, if you are to blind to see it, they are protecting you too. When benefits are taken anywhere all businesses love it. They do not want to have to give them either. They wont have to be competitive with jobs that do, so they wont. So in the end they can pay their CEO more money, you didnt think that money really trickled down did you?

I moved to memphis in 1995 to start my CAREER in law enforcement. Police and fire are lumped into the "pool of city employees" when they put their life on the line everyday. City employees continue to benefit with their "me too clause" "Unions" which the police departemnt is not a part of...went on good faith during negotiations. They did not ask for raises, benefits, ect..If the city would go after deadbeats who dont pay fines, traffic tickets,ect they wouldn't have to go after tax paying city employees. A "FEW DOLLARS" which we complain about is around $225 a month for me. BTW police and fire "Top out" in pay after 3 years of service. This means a 3 yr patrolman makes the same as a 20 year patrolman. The private sector wouldn't go for that now would they??

I am fed up with these unions holding every US city hostage while they complain about a few dollars. There are people who cannot find a job due to the economy and these union thugs threaten work stoppages and reduced services because they have to start sharing the pain that others have been feeling for years! The irony is that some of the people who are complaining and shouting about this pay restructuring are going to be the same ones who will be making $0 if this lawsuit goes through. The other irony is that this lawsuit will cost the city even MORE money, reducing the general fund and the city's ability to pay MORE people, resulting in MORE lost jobs!

I am fed up with the mayor and the city council making threats about the employees. I am fed up with the lack of integrity by anyone in the city management because they are two faced and disreputable. They seem to think the right answer to the mess the city council got us into is to do it on the backs of the employees and then if they don't all cower like whipped dogs, to threaten them with firing. Maybe the slimeballs that run this city ought to give up their salaries, perks, car allowances, holidays, etc to pay back the city. After all, THEY are the ones who greedily kept the Memphis School monies and then instead of banking them SPENT IT ALL!!! Why should the employees who work hard to keep services going to all of you have to pay for their dishonesty!!!!!