Obviously

You have forgotten that these were employees had furlough days and took cuts for the last 4 years. Which means they were not paid for up to a week each year, They have had lost postions because people were not replaced when they retired, left or let goand have to work harded to serve the public.

Obviously you do not have the facts about these hard working employees. You obviously also dont like unions, But this is the United States of America where the 40 hour working day and good working condition were created by unions.

Oh by the way workers can legally join Unions. Like Policemen, Steelworkers, plumbers, actors & writers. Ronald Reagan was president of a Union of actors.

Not 40%, but I am definitely down 30% from where my contract with the county said I would be today. In years one and two, I believed the "private sector" and "we just don't have the money" hype. This is year 5 and the same old line has grown thin. Anyone who was laid off has had time to start a new job, and jobs are so easy to find in this town that I have three of them. My private sector neighbors seem to be doing just fine. My private sector wife has received a small but consistent cost of living adjustment every year, and we've dropped the county health insurance in favor of hers. What would you do with an employee who became no more valuable to you after five years of experience? What do you call an investment that earns 3% in five years?

Agreed!

It's not the men and women in uniform that I have an issue with. Mike Akers doesn't realize or acknowledge the conditions many citizens have lived through over the past four years. I've continued to pay my taxes and as a result County employees haven't been laid off.

Be thankful for what you have is my message to the union leadership.

This is to Mr. Crumbaker, you need 3 jobs JUST to make it in Maryland? tsk tsk

These are performance based raises. These are not cost of living raises that all employees receive. I know you think that you deserve police and fire protection, trash pickup, clean drinking water, and plowed streets for free but that is not how it works.

No one said free. Don't put words in my mouth sir.

Secondly, if they were performance based! non-union employees would be receiving them as well.

LOL The Unions AND the Gov't are just about on the same level of evil!!

Every employee in these unions will not automatically receive a raise. Only employees that are not at the top of their grade and have a passing score on their most recent performance reviews will receive raises. There are also a large number of employees in Utilities that are already in pay for performance pay scales that are not affected by this decision. Whether or not non reps deserve a raise as well is a discussion worth having but lets get the facts straight first.

HT, why do I have the sneaky feeling that Council Members didn't miss a raise?

Where to start? These raises are earned. There are no race and gender quotas in county government hiring/promotion. Management agreed to the contract language that made this possible but it is the unions that are evil? Government employees provide essential services and expect to be fairly compensated and treated like people not stereotyped and demonized by uninformed trolls.

"Management agreed to the contract language that made this possible "

Perhaps you missed the details regarding the fight over binding arbitration.

Look, i have nothing aainst police and fire fighters. Its a simple problem of economics.
We have no money. The unions are forcing the county into a corner. Now the county will need to either go further in debt, or cut some other worthy program in the budget.

The other problem is fairness. If you are a union employee (sounds like you are) then your getting a great deal, if you are non-union, your screwed. That's fundamentally unfair.

Chris W - I think you are the one that missed the details regarding binding arbitration. Binding arbitration is only available to public safety unions. 582 does not have a right in code or negotiated to binding arbitration. By the way I am not a union member.

"The vote itself was a formality because Maryland's Court of Appeals restored binding arbitration to the county in September—making the Council legally bound by the May decision of a third-party mediator to give the three unions a pay increase."

I did not miss anything. Perhaps you should read the article before posting.

Perhaps you should use more than the article as a basis for your opinion. Public safety unions are the only unions in Anne Arundel County with binding arbitration available to them. Look up the contracts on the County website or you can let the Patch be your sole source of information.

So your saying the article is incorrect? Please alert the editor. I'll wait for them to print a retraction. The editor is Tim Lemke.

What I am saying is that the voters of Anne Arundel County approved legislation that provided for an arbitrator to issue a binding decision in the event of an impasse between public safety unions and county management. Against the will of the public the county council and executive passed legislation that removed this option. The council's decision was reversed by the court. While this was happening other unions in the county negotiated "me too" clauses in their contracts. So when the 3% raise was restored to the police the "me too" clauses for the other unions kicked in.

Lets not forget what arbitration is in the first place. A NEUTRAL third party looks at both sides of the impasse and decides which deal is the most fair. You can't just assume that the arbirator will always side with the union. In reality the unions lose arbitration just as much as they win. The only reason for the county to attempt to remove binding arbitration is so that they can propose any offer they want to our public safety unions without any intention to negotiate in good faith, and no worry of repercussion.

I guess the title should be "County Police receive a pay raise". I couldn't figure out who local 582 and 2563 employees are. If they work for the police department too then so be it. Any pay raise can be justified if you are risking your life, but i guess there is some limit to the hazards of your job. Maybe if we knew what kind of work or service the county employees are providing we could measure their performance as informed citizens. I just don't agree with the concept of a public union. It degrades the sense of public service when you are only required to work as hard as the union contract dictates.

I love unions. They help , the govt WE THE PEOPLE do the moral and right thing in respecting workers for their productivity. They speak for those who would otherwise be silent or afraid. They have lead the way to the 40 hour work week, paid vacation days, fair living wages.. It is disgusting that the private sector has sunk so low and disrespected the backbones of most companies (workers) a big defense contractor who is making record profits and shipping money out of country to avoid taxes has just cut out sick days for their employees. So, now the employees go to work sick or deprive their families. The middle class is shrinking because FAIRNESS is no longer the goal in the work place, it is all about making a few rich and powerful. Adam Smith's capitalism was good for all, there was a legitimate SHARING OF THE WEALTH of productiviy, and as he said out of land, labor and capital, labor is the greates wealth of a nation.

No, The republican Governor Rick Snyder who was busy destroying cities and divesting the "common good assets" under the EMERGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT was defeated in the referendum has moved on to Right To Work (for less) legislation via TORPEDO and dirty trickery. He deceived the people. Republicans cannot advance their fake fiscal policies with truth telling, so they lie.
Unions have been a valuable ally for workers across the country. They have been instrumental in building the middle class and enhancing work place benefits for all who labor. And in ADAM SMITH's capitalist society, it is the worker who are entitled to their fair share of return on productivity. Unions advance that RIGHT to WORK and respect.

TJ, they should't. these "positions" are so close to Elected Officials it's sickening! It's Corruption, Greed, and the Entitlement Gang, and no one can tell me any different. I think Unions should be done away with! Union I was with didn't do me any favors! However, they sure did want their dues paid! I said in an earlier comment that raises should be on MERIT, not one of those across the board deals. The ONLY people IMHO that should have a Union Rep but not a full solid Union are Police officers and members of the Fire Dept/Emts however, that can run into problems as well, as so many with the Fire Dept are Volunteers. I keep yeling Evil, Corruption, Greed, however, I am not off base with this. Also, it HAS come down to the Entitlement issue...I DID NOT want to bring Politics into this, but BOTH parties have not helped in this, in fact, they have made it worse..and shoot, they are the WORSE example of lining pockets in existence...Unions lobby the Elected Official for their specific State, and the Kick backs start right there.....it's a huge problem, just a problem people don't stop and think about, OR do not care about. BTW: Michigan...the Auto Workers Union..the people that are with the union..WANT OUT....Looks like the Union is going down there..and Michigan will start the transition to RIGHT TO WORK. It's a dirty business, it really is.