The Coming Budget Brawl

robinia, (0.00 / 0)

your thoughts?

TODAY is day one. It always is.

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by: phillip anderson @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 15:55:39 PM UTC

oh, ok.... (0.00 / 0)

... I have been reading the fool thing (budget docs-- get 'em at this site)
Couldn't agree more about Dennis Rivera and that crew; paying down the debt if there is money available makes sense, too.
But, it is not always in the people's interest to ignore the positions of unions-- sometimes they are, in fact, watching out for us, as well as the state's workers.  What I wrote to Spitzer about is a $44 million "reappropriation" in capital projects under the Ag and Mrkts. budget.  This is for a new Food Safety Lab-- that's the place, for instance, that tested that lettuce from the Taco Bell that was making everybody sick last fall (bagged spinach before that...) remember?  Well, the money was appropriated last year, and then Pataki shocked the socks off folks by announcing that the new lab would be in Geneva, NY, not Albany where it has always been (and where they can easily collaborate with State Police, Health Dept., the rest of Ag and Mrkets, etc.).  It was widely viewed as a parting gift to Pataki's buddy Nozzolio, and Hevesi (I MISS HIM) put a hold on the project, after formal complaints from the union of the food scientists who work there.  They say that having the lab located in rural Western NY will impair program effectiveness and cost the state lots more money, as most food that is inspected comes from downstate population centers. They also don't want to lose their proximity to other agencies in Albany.
Spitzer, however, has decided to move forward with the bad location, anyway (spoke to director of the food lab and asked).  So, I wanna know why.  Unfortunately, I think I know: Cornell wants it there, to shore up a failing biotechnology incubator they have invested in, that was supposed to attract private biotech companies, but seems instead to mostly farm the government...

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by: robinia @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 17:45:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm not sure (0.00 / 0)

that you can count looking out for their own best interest, which happens to benefit the public, "watching out for us."  People who worked at the food lab are not looking forward to either losing their job, or relocating to Geneva.  Let me tell you, if I was in that position, I'd raise a stink about it too.  But if (especially) a union organization whose exclusive goal is to look out for me and my job fights for the lab to stay in Albany.. you can better well be sure that the union isn't doing so with the public of New York in mind.  It may be part of the argument, but it isn't the goal.
That is to say, if in all other ways it would be cheaper to move the lab to Geneva and the benefits clearly outweighed the costs (which in this case, they don't), the union would still be pushing to keep it in Albany.
Similarly with the 1199SE, their interest in not that of the patients.  It's not even their charter.  Their goal is singular in nature and singular only:  To protect the (perceived) pay and benefits to their members.  Done, over.

I got the kettle corn... mmmmmmm

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by: reinmoose @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 21:08:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

touche (0.00 / 0)

yeah, probably true-- I would agree generally that unions are out for their members only, for sure.  But, some of the individual union members involved are pretty upset about the idea that the public at large gets shafted by this deal, as well as the food scientists.  Some, of course, won't go if the lab moves-- so, then, we can end up with less qualified staff, as well as more expensive and less effective operations.

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by: robinia @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 23:05:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think we're just missing each other's (0.00 / 0)

points by a little bit, but that we generally agree.  I think the difference here is that unions do not equal union members.  I don't doubt for one second that healthcare union members feel dedication towards the patients they serve, but "unions," meaning the organization and union leaders, aren't functioning with that same concern.  They're exploiting the people who they represent to accuse Spitzer of attacking the individual healthcare workers by implying that they don't care about their patients.  In reality, Spitzer was going after the unions, as in the union leaders/organizations, for resisting anything less than a continued billowing of funds, which Spitzer rightly identifies is not proportionally benefiting patients.

There's no doubt that union members are just as likely to be reasonable, thoughtful people as are non-union workers, but the organizations themselves, like all political bodies, aren't permitted to act on humanist principles toward anyone but their own members.  That is, in fact, what I believe the governor was eluding to.

And yes, the food lab workers are getting shafted, as is the public.  This actually tics me off a good amount as it just seems so obvious to me to locate the building near other buildings that use the services of the food lab, not Cornell (who already gets piles of money from the state).  It's very inconsistent with other reforms we're seeing implemented for the sake of the public good.  Do you know, robinia, is there someone I can contact/write to express my dissatisfaction on the matter?

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by: reinmoose @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 17:26:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

100% agree (0.00 / 0)

I think that the Spitzer team has basically been schmoozed into seeing this Food Lab thing as an economic development boon by Cornell, in concert w/local officials in Onondaga Co./Geneva.  Unfortunately, when I spoke to a Spitzer staffer about it, he had Marc Smith (Cornell's Geneva schmoozer)right on the tip of his tongue; obviously, we citizens were not the experts in that competition.  So, I'm looking at other approaches; first off, the econ dev pitch suggests that there is a "growing food technology sector" in Geneva-- that is actually all smoke and mirrors... while the web site and Cornell Chronicle depict lots of activity, the real-deal federal Dept. of Labor stats show a different story: too few food scientists to report the information (suppressed for corporate privacy protection)in the entire Rochester MSA.  And that, it turns out, matches the "parking lot test" for real jobs-- even the director, former Assemblyman Dan Fessenden, had to go find real work elsewhere. Who else cares about this?  I'm planning to feed the info to 2 groups: Metrojustice in Rochester, that bird-dogs econ dev in the Rochester area, and NOFA-NY, whose large statewide membership might object to the NYS food safety lab getting too cozy w/a biotechnology incubator facility primarily oriented toward GMO-creation.  Then, the legislature and/or Dept. of Agriculture are the people who can really make any changes.

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by: robinia @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 18:15:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

correction; sorry (0.00 / 0)

That would be ONTARIO county, not Onondaga.  Rushing, sorry.

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by: robinia @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 18:17:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Who else cares about this? (0.00 / 0)

I imagine those who send samples to the food lab and expect results.  I imagine the department of Food Safety and Inspection probably cares about this.  Other than that, I can't see a whole lot of people on whom this will have a direct effect.  It's not as though there isn't a common-sense place to build the new food lab in Albany because there's a parcel directly in front of the Department of Agriculture and Markets building that the developer is trying to sell.  I'm sure the development company probably cares...

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by: reinmoose @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 20:54:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good thinking! (0.00 / 0)

Allright!  You finally figured out somebody important who might care!!! Thanks so much; will see if I can get in touch with them...  and, come to think of it, Hooker might like a monument across the street, too....

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by: robinia @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 23:31:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Help! (0.00 / 0)

I'm trapped in a tiny little box here!

Seriously now, I'm very appreciative that people here understand the budget process, because I can't make heads nor tails of it. Much appreciated, thank you.

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by: Michael Bouldin @ Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 18:48:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And the armies will be many... (0.00 / 0)

...for instance, 1199 and CSEA are drooling at that extra cash. This from Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

The Civil Service Employees Association and the 1199 Service Employees International Union of United Healthcare Workers East held a press conference Monday in Rochester to protest Spitzer's proposal to cut $1.2 billion in health care costs statewide. The cuts would largely be done by freezing Medicaid reimbursement rates to hospitals and nursing homes.

And this is the best exchange:

The 1199 SEIU and Greater New York Hospital Association launched a statewide television ad campaign last week blasting Spitzer's proposals. Spitzer responded in a release which stated, "This is a predictable response from groups dedicated to maintaining a status quo that does not work for anyone but them."

(emphasis mine)

This all comes at a time when hospital adminitrators are receiving millions in compensation, and after years of Pataki rolling over and buying elections with hefty pay raises for the unions.

In my mind, why not take that "extra" income and pay down some of the $50 billion debt New York has run up?

Popcorn, indeed.

We've got some work ahead of us.

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by: NYBri @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 16:37:55 PM UTC

Robinia (0.00 / 0)

My name is Peter Olsen, and I am currently employed as a Bacteriologist in the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Laboratory. You claim to have spoken to our director and heard from him that the move to Geneva was going forward, but when asked about this, he has said he hasn't spoken to anyone about it. Moreover, he's been under a gag order for quite some time. Additionally, your claims go against the claims of both Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Eliot Spitzer. I'd like to know frow where you are getting your information, who you represent, and what exactly is your interest in all of this. All of us in the lab have seen your comments, and none of them have been confirmed by our higher-ups.

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by: TheWhaleShark @ Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 16:04:28 PM UTC