- Chicago will trim more older trees, plant more new trees and bolster rodent-control services in response to a rat population surge, thanks to $3.2 million in new spending tied to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2013 budget.By hiring the equivalent of 41 full-time employees, Emanuel hopes to respond to 20,000 additional tree-trimming requests, reducing a backlog that was 18 months long when he took office.“We are [still] behind. But, we have knocked that down dramatically ... We are less behind from what we inherited,” the mayor said.
That must be a "decrease in the increase" that McJerseyShore was talking about on the police side - nice to see Rahm is picking up the lingo. Or did Rahm pioneer it and McCopyCat is parroting the master?
- Laborer’s Union Local 1001 won the citywide tree-trimming competition by bidding $1.4 million, nearly half the $2.7 million bid by the cheapest private sector company. Local 1001 won the right to keep its forestry jobs — and gain 41 members — with help from a series of work-rule changes ironed out in May.The deal allowed newly hired Streets and Sanitation employees to be paid at an hourly rate of $20 — $13 lower than the current rate of pay — and be cross-trained in other jobs so they can be moved freely among those jobs based on the city’s needs.Instead of six months, those new hires now have a four-year probationary period. And instead of pre-negotiated pay hikes, they get raises based on hours worked.
The union "bid" for its work? That's interesting. And at a rate nearly 30% under other Laborers. And a four-year probationary period. And pay raises based on hours worked.
Looks like Rahm got a bunch of indentured servants that he can mess with via bean counting, micro managing and work rule changes. Better hope this isn't catching.