Midlands Voices: Abolish CIR to restore local control, fiscal conservatism (end public unions in Ne.

[Omaha Steve]

Public workers can not strike in Nebraska. To end the CIR would mean teachers, fire, police, utility workers, and public workers like me, etc. would be at the whim of our employers period.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110423/NEWS0802/704239905

By Mike Groene


The writer, of North Platte, is chairman of the Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association.

The legislative debate concerning the future of the Commission on Industrial Relations (CIR) has been focused on the progressive-led communities of Omaha and Lincoln and their spat with their pampered public sector unions.

The bill by Omaha Sens. Steve Lathrop and Brad Ashford (Legislative Bill 397) would do nothing to help rural communities regain fiscal control of their local governments. Ashford told the Associated Press that “it would be dangerous to (be) going back to giving cities, counties total control.” This makes it clear what his opinion is of us common folks’ ability to properly manage our local governments.

We have a hard time understanding Lathrop’s view that a privileged few of our fellow citizens have special rights due to their occupations. The senator should explain why the rights of, say, teachers or firefighters should trump the rights of a taxpaying citizen.

Sen. John Nelson gets it; his bill (LB 664) to abolish the CIR would give local control back to Nebraska communities.

The CIR’s negative impact on rural Nebraska lies in its power over the budgets of our school districts. CIR rulings trump property tax rates, school programs offered and how we pay our teachers. Local wages are set by CIR-mandated comparisons of salaries among a group (array) of like-sized school districts.

FULL story at link.