"City of Hayward: Workers launch ad campaign against greedy, hypocritical politicians"

2014-04-16 from "1021 NewsWire"

It’s bad enough that Hayward politicians have hurt families by deeply slashing their salaries. But it’s worse than that.
Already among the highest-paid part-time city council members in the Bay Area, Hayward City Council recently spiked their own pay while cutting worker pay by up to 27 percent. Since 2010, workers have lost more than one-quarter of their incomes while Hayward politicians have enjoyed higher compensation by as much as 45 percent. They receive a stipend and benefits that have only increased in cost over time. 
To make Hayward residents and the business community aware of these and more hypocritical actions by the mayor and City Council, Hayward workers launched a new outreach campaign last week to warn the public of the hypocritical actions of city politicians. Joined for the campaign launch by IFPTE Local 21 and members of the community, SEIU 1021 members marched on Thursday from a local small business to one of the campaign's new billboards.
Citywide billboards and online advertising will feature new revelations showing that the wages and benefits of Hayward politicians increased while at the same time they were using claims of financial pressures to justify deeply cutting the pay of lower-paid Hayward workers.
“They picked my pocket while lining their own,” said Amy Toste, who has been a secretary in Hayward for five years. “We have to let our community know that the Hayward politicians are not just heartless, but hypocritical too.”
The Council imposed these cuts on workers in contradiction to a neutral management consultant, who recommended a reasonable contract. The consultant, agreed to by both the politicians and the workers, noted that the Hayward City Council routinely underestimates revenue every year, a poor management practice that allows unaccountable spending on pet projects.


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"Hayward City Council Slashes Worker Pay Up to 27% While Lining Own Pockets"
[http://www.westandwithhayward.org]:

It's bad enough that Hayward politicians have hurt families and our community by deeply slashing the pay of city workers. But it’s worse than that.
While cutting worker salaries by up to 27%, the Hayward City Council spiked their own pay, and they are already among the highest-paid part-time City Councils in the Bay Area.
Since 2010, Hayward workers have seen their pay cut by at least 17% and in some cases up to 27%. Over the same period of time, Hayward politicians have spiked their own pay and benefits by as much as 45%. The politicians receive a stipend and benefits that have increased in cost over time. The council has not cut their benefits in a manner consistent with what they have forced on other city employees. 

Hayward City Council members do not pay anything toward their pension and can receive benefits without going through an at least 10-year vesting period, which their employees have to do.
Even if politicians serve only one term on the Hayward City Council, they receive LIFETIME healthcare and retirement benefits. It is unfair that employees have to work full time for 10 years to be eligible for the same benefits, but politicians only has to serve part time for five years.
Picking the pocket of workers, while lining their own, is unjust and hypocritical.
In this time of growing inequality, we must stand for fairness and justice! We need real reform by demanding the Hayward City Council stop harming Hayward workers, businesses and the community NOW and end their own hypocrisy.