UNION TWP. — the 501 people employed full time in the township may pay a new tax in 2011 while their real estate taxes are decreased by .25 mills.last week the township supervisors said municipal expenses continue to increase as revenue decreases. Levying a Local Services Tax is one way to increase revenue without additionally taxing residents or eliminating municipal services.Township solicitor Frederick K. Hatt will draft the tax ordinance for the board to review at its Aug. 16 meeting. the $52 tax would be charged in 2011 to people whose annual salaries exceed $12,500.Township Manager Carol Lewis said the anticipated revenue is $15,500–$17,500 for 2011 and $23,000–$25,000 in future years.the board had also considered levying an admissions or amusement tax that would be added to entrance fees at entertainment venues such as golfing, nightclubs, and possibly a motorsports park planned in the township.also at the meeting:Township engineer Thomas Unger said the low bids for construction of the township’s public works building were $799,185. the project was estimated to cost $1 million.Board Chairman John Salaneck III said the board will act on the bids within the required 60 days after it determines financing options.the board unanimously approved the preliminary land development plans for the Daniel Boone School District’s additional parking plan phase one at the renovated sports stadium.Supervisor Salaneck made a motion to eliminate public discussion prior to each board vote, but was defeated. He said he was trying to prevent soap-boxing and personal attacks on the supervisors through the motion.“our way of doing business now is the way government should work and I want to continue as we’re operating with board discussion and then public opinion,” said Supervisor Donald E. Basile.  “I have no problem with changing. the board can stop the public discussion at any time.”“Municipal government works great and this works well but we need to squash personal attacks right off the bat because that doesn’t work well,” said Supervisor Nelson L. Ott Jr.the board approved for the planning commission to review the township’s noise ordinance and fence ordinance for possible amendment. Salaneck said sound to one person can be noise to another and vice versa. He said the township’s noise ordinance gives certain decibel levels for compliance at the property line but offers no alternatives for abating the sound or noise that is at compliant levels.“although a noise may be lower in decibels it may be just as irritating, depending on the pitch,” said Salaneck. “Metallica, versus Mozart, sound and taste is in the ear of the beholder. I looked at the noise ordinance and the fence ordinance. the fence ordinance is too restrictive. it allows for 6 feet, 8 feet for security.”“We should have a mechanism in the ordinance to reflect what someone is doing next to them,” Salaneck said. “the ordinance doesn’t allow for sound barriers and there should be a provision to allow for that, to avoid people coming in to the zoning board right away. I’m referring to properties with more than two-acre lots.”“A 20-foot wall, 100 feet long, can be very intrusive to a neighboring property when set 20 feet off of a property line,” said Basile. “A sound wall needs to reflect the sound up and off the wall. my overriding concern is the visual impact that such walls would have on the neighborhood. That is why we zone heights and property line setbacks, to not have massive heights and allow for more visual open space.“the issue cannot continue to be a township-wide problem,” said Basile. “We’re not trying to control pitch or that kind of thing, but a solution to allow people to live in harmony and allow the neighbors to do what they like to do. the only mechanisms we have for resolving those kinds of conflicts are the zoning board, the district justice, or county court.”“the zoning ordinance is to protect people’s property,” said Ott. “but it’s happening right now. There are people putting things up and building things without permits, but his neighbor is following the zoning ordinance.”“I put it on the table and I look forward to an enthusiastic discussion by the planning commission.”Lewis and Ott said they have made a list of capital improvements for the township building but don’t yet have project costs. Projects range from new mailboxes to new entrance doors, a microphone system for the meeting room, as well as installing a pathway to the happy Hearts entrance.Information from the News of Southern Berks, www.berksmontnews.com

Union Township to consider Local Services Tax

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How can i find legitimate businesses that can give away my biz services to their customers for free?

SALEM — One day after the leadership of the police patrolmen’s union voted not to bring a contract proposal before its membership, the firefighters followed suit.

Mayor Kim Driscoll said she was told late yesterday that the fire union’s bargaining team rejected the city’s offer and voted not to bring it to a membership vote.

The development is another setback to Driscoll’s attempt to lower soaring city health costs by getting all of the city labor unions to give up $5 copays and accept other changes in the health plan by Aug. 1.

“Needless to say, I am disappointed that they would not even take this proposal back to the membership for a vote,” the mayor said.

The firefighters didn’t vote on the proposal because union procedures stipulate that the membership only votes on tentative agreements that have the support of the bargaining unit, according to Firefighters Union President John O’Leary.

The bargaining unit rejected the proposal, he said, because higher copays and lower premiums hurt the majority of members.

“What they’re offering is actually taking a pay cut for most of (the members) … and why would we enter into an agreement that is going to hurt our members?” O’Leary said.

The union is willing to keep negotiating but doesn’t want the mayor to “dictate” deadlines, he said.

Driscoll said the city offered firefighters a “deal very similar to what other unions have gotten.” She declined to provide details.

“This decision, in my mind, means they are rejecting the agreement,” the mayor said.

More than half of the city’s unions have accepted new one-year contracts that raise health copays to between $15 and $25, make other changes in the health plan, and provide small raises and other incentives.

Driscoll had hoped to get these deals done by the end of June, saying the city would save about $1 million and avoid budget cuts if union workers accepted the new health deals.

Driscoll said she will have to “go back and look at what our options are.”

Salem mayor’s health care proposal spurned by Firefighters Union »
Local News »
SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

The corporate merger of the largely unionized Northwest Airlines and non-unionized Delta Air happened 21 months ago, and soon their combined workforce must chose one path or the other. this is the first big test for the ability of workers to organize under the Obama Administration, and could be a bellwether to the future of labor in America.

Article 23 Section 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, “Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” However, you wouldn’t be able to tell this based on the state of unions in America today. thanks to some severe union busting tactics employed by every President since Ronald Reagan, membership is down to just over 10%.

In the case of the merger that created the world’s largest airline, 17,000 unionized employees that work for Northwest need to convince a far larger non-unionized Delta workforce to either organize, or the NWA workers union will be forced to disband. The Star Tribune reports, “At Northwest, labor supporters see unions as essential to protecting seniority, fighting outsourcing of work, and regaining pay and benefits slashed by airlines bankruptcies.”

Delta has traditionally been the least unionized US airline, and there have been numerous failed attempts to organize the workers there so they would be able to collectively bargain and have an arbitration of grievances if it was needed. Delta has used higher paying positions as a tool to keep unions out, a tactic they used in February where they announces on the day of the vote to organize that all non-union employees would get a raise in the fall.

From the previous Star Tribune article, “The clear message…was that voting for a union could mean not getting a raise. The IAM [International Association of Machinists] lost that election by three votes. [Unions] argue that their contracts also have better work rules, protections against dismissal and other benefits that make up for the lower wage rates.”

Anti-union appointees, particularly under the Bush Administration severely weakened labor protection laws, which made it difficult for transportation workers to organize. this changed under the Obama Administration, so that instead of having to garner a majority of all employees to vote for a union, now it is the majority of those voting. this vote that is scheduled to take place in approximately one month is the first test of the balance between corporate and worker power under Obama, and could set the trend for the future of airline unions in the country.

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First Big Test For Organized Labor In Obama Administration Approaching

Earlier this week, Mark Mix, President of National right to Work, was published in the Washington Examiner warning about the threat the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill (pdf), which just passed the House last week, poses not only public safety workers’ rights, but also state and community budgets. as we noted before, public officials across the country are waking up to the fact that public sector forced unionism is behind the financial crises in their communities.

From Mark Mix’s commentary:

(I)n the 22 states which prohibit forced union dues for government employees and most of which don’t authorize public-sector union monopoly bargaining, fewer than 30 percent of public workers are unionized. Not one of these 22 states was to be found on last month’s Business Insider’s list of the states “most likely to default.”

Business Insider ranked heavily unionized California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, new York, new Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin as the worst default risks. And the Hirsch-Macpherson data shows that an average of 61 percent of public-sector employees in these nine states were under union monopoly bargaining — 20 percent higher than the typical state.

In these nine worst default-risk states from 1999 to 2009, aggregate private-sector jobs fell by 4.2 percent, but heavily unionized state and local government jobs increased by 9 percent. Since annual state and local government employee compensation costs nationwide come to $1.1 trillion, or half of all state and local government spending, it’s not hard to see that the Big Labor-driven growth in government payrolls is a fiscal catastrophe for states like California, Illinois, and new Jersey.

but government union bosses are expecting to have the last laugh if fed-up taxpayers and their allies limit themselves to going after just bloated public-sector payrolls and unsustainable public pension plans, rather than root of the problem itself.

Laws empowering government union officials to negotiate the contract terms for all front-line employees at a public agency, even for those employees who want nothing to do with the union, are behind the messes in Sacramento, Springfield and Trenton. And laws that authorize the firing of public servants for refusing to pay union dues or fees to an unwanted union make matters even worse.

Long-term solutions to state budget crises will require addressing the core problems of union monopoly bargaining and forced union dues in the public sector.

Until then, hopefully the Senate will spare police officers, firefighters, and EMTs from forced union “representation” that will make budget matters worse for the numerous states that have already rejected it.

Read the entire Washington Examiner guest commentary by Mark Mix here.

tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.nrtw.org/en/blog/mark-mix-in-washington-examiner-public-sector-unionism-07092010 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:44:44 GMT 00:00“>Blog

My husband purchased a welders union book last March. Although he has never used it for work, we have been paying the monthly dues and death assessment until about 3 months ago. Can we pay the back dues and be current?

That depends on the union. call the local and ask.

How far behind can you fall on payment of union dues before you are suspended?

As a business owner myself, I cringe whenever I see other business owners – for both online and “brick-and-mortar” businesses – use the free email and website hosting supplied by their Internet service provider (ISP). I am sure you have come across such businesses yourself, ones that do not have their own domain name but rather use that of their ISP, often their cable or phone company. But these business owners do not realize that they are making a big mistake by not getting and using their very own domain name.

There are two major problems with a business that does not have its own domain name. The first is an issue of control and flexibility, the second has to do with branding and long-term marketability.

ISPs love it when you use the free email and hosting services they supply. it hardly costs them anything to support those services and it is an easy way to discourage you from switching to a different ISP.

Think about it: if you have your ISP-supplied email address plastered over all of your business cards, you will hesitate to switch to a different ISP, because you will have to abandon the old email address as part of the process. The ISP effectively holds you hostage because you are using something they control – their domain name – as part of your business operations. Not the best place to be, really.

If, on the other hand, you have your own domain name, you can switch ISPs whenever you want with only minor disruption to your business operations.

Branding is perhaps the biggest problem when it comes to not owning your own domain name. You spent a lot of time choosing the perfect name for your business. so why do you not control the online version of the same name?

Your own domain name is a powerful marketing tool. For one thing, it makes your business seem bigger than a hobby business run out of someone’s house, even if that is really what it is. it also makes it easier for your customers to remember and find you. and search engines will be able to place your business on their maps and provide all kinds of useful information – your phone number, fax number, email address – with hardly any effort on your part.

Registering and using a domain name is a lot easier than you think it is. You can register a domain name for around $10. You can host the domain almost anywhere for less than $10/month, which includes multiple email accounts and a website. Cost is definitely not the issue here.

Every Business Needs a Domain Name

When starting a business there are many important factors that need to be considered, from funding to staffing it is a huge undertaking. And then there is the problem of location; where do you want your business to be situated? What kind of space will you need to run your new company successfully? Will you need any office support when you start out? And importantly what kind of investment do you want to make? There are numerous options available from short term lease to purchasing an office of your own. here we will discuss the advantages of these choices to help any prospective business owner make the right choice for them.

Home Offices Depending on the size of your business, the number of employees, and the requirement to hold face to face meetings with clients it might initially be appropriate to work from a home office space. This would dramatically reduce costs in the initial stages of a business start up and allow you the flexibility to decide what office environment is best for you as your company grows.

Managed Offices Managed offices, often referred to as serviced office space is a good stepping stone when starting a business. these are office environments that are managed by another company, allowing you to rent a single office that suits your needs within their buildings. Serviced offices can be found across a wide range of locations and are frequently found in town and city centres, such as the office space Oxford that we viewed. one of the many benefits of managed offices is the lack of investment required; the offices are rented on relatively short term contracts and come with office furniture provided.

Virtual Offices Virtual office spaces are often adopted by companies who work in a variety of locations. This allows a company to have one centralised office whilst also maintaining a presence within other locations, such as the impression of also working within an office space in Bracknell, without the cost of traditional office spaces. This option offers flexibility whilst still maintaining the business’s professionalism.

Purchasing Office Space You could also consider purchasing, or purchasing a long term lease on office area. Whilst being a lot more costly and requiring a much larger investment this option often gives long term savings and increased flexibility in relation to the control you have over what you do to the interior design of your office. This option if often adopted once a business has been running for some period of time due to the investment required.

The Many Different Types of Office Space

I am having a hard time making my house mortgage payments. what can I do?

Foreclosure Rescue Scams pamphlets.if you negotiate a plan that is not affordable, you might not be eligible for another workout plan later.find out how much your house is worth.if you are a veteran, try contacting the Veterans Administration.many reputable real estate brokers will do this for free.Focus on an affordable outcome.This includes your two most recent pay stubs.Complete the To do List below.Your servicer is the company that collects your monthly mortgage payment.be very careful if you receive calls from companies other than your servicer or mortgage holder offering to refinance.See Does it matter who owns my mortgage?This plan might work if, for example, your company temporarily reduced work hours and there is a plan to increase the hours in the future or if you received a temporary leave from work.Beware of large fees and high interest rates.See our suggestions on bills to pay first and tips to possibly increase your income.To be eligible for these options Important: if you think that you are a victim of predatory lending, get legal help right away.possible changes include reducing the interest rate, extending the term of the mortgage, adding the arrears to the unpaid principal balance of your loan, or even a principal forbearance.you can find their phone number on your mortgage bill.Modification: A modification is a permanent change in the terms of your loan.find copies of last year’s tax returns and W2 forms.A principal forebearance reduces your payment by turning part of the loan into a lump sum you will have to pay at the end of the loan term.if you cannot negotiate an affordable plan, you have other options to consider.Read our Don’t Borrow Trouble!Your loan servicer will need this information in order to help you.Temporary Interest Rate Reduction: A temporary reduction in the interest rate may be enough to lower your payments for the short term until you are able to recover from your financial trouble.See our list of approved agencies throughout Maine.

Call a real estate broker and ask for a market analysis or broker price opinion.It includes any award letter from Social Security or the Veterans Administration, or notice of unemployment benefits or public assistance (such as TANF).call your employer or the agency that pays your benefits.Having good records is important.Decide how much you can afford to pay for your mortgage, taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.

If you can’t get this, you can at least find out the tax value from your most recent tax bill or your town or city office.Housing and Urban Development (HUD): 1-800-CALL-FHA • See our page making Home Affordable Program Proceed carefully.See the options under next heading below.Depending on who is involved with your loan there may be specific guidelines for the servicer to follow and steps they must take. if you don’t have these papers, get copies.See our Sample Hardship Letter.we will review those options below.get copies of your bank statements for the last 2 months.know your options.There are many ways the bank can help you if you fall behind on your mortgage or are having real difficulty making your mortgage payment.notify the “escrow department,” to make sure that they know about the agreement • Make sure you can afford the plan.Make sure you can afford a forbearance agreement before you agree to it.31 = maximum housing costs.keep good notes of all the contacts you make, including the dates and what you were told.A good rule of thumb is to stay under 31% of your total income.be complete, honest and realistic.The list below is an overview of the most common options.do not fudge your numbers.Refinance: Several programs exist that may allow you to refinance your loan under certain circumstances where you are still current on your mortgage.Contact the servicer or mortgage holder right away to see if they can offer any solutions.But you might have to make larger payments later on.Forbearance: The bank agrees that for a limited period of time it will accept a lower monthly payment or no monthly payment.start a file for records relating to your home.Talk to a HUD-Approved Housing Counselor.which one is right for you, or one that the bank will allow, depends on your individual situation.I am having a hard time making my house mortgage payments.you may want to ask for help to prepare the hardship letter.by following the To do List below you will be ready to answer most questions your servicer will ask.A solution that is not affordable will leave you facing trouble again in the future.keep it in a safe place where you will be able to find it easily.you can use our monthly budget form.Make sure you understand the terms of the agreement.At the end of the forbearance agreement you must bring the account current.he can help you decide if a refinancing deal may help you, or only put you in a worse financial position.Write down the reasons you fell behind or can not afford the mortgage.what can I do?get list of HUD-Certified Housing Counselors.be prepared to explain the events that led up to your financial problems. what are my options? A temporary reduction won’t work if the long term payment won’t be affordable later or if there is no realistic plan to increase your income. you need to know this in order to sort out your options.Pay high priority bills first.To do List • Collect all the documents and put them in a file where you can find them.be realistic.Collect your proof of income.if you are able to work out a deal, here are some additional tips: • get the agreement in writing.do a budget.

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I am having a hard time making my house mortgage payments. What can I do?

In the battle against big government and excessive spending, labor unions have increasingly become the point of argument. these organizations, run by some of the most corrupt and self-serving that leftists have to offer, have evolved from meager socialist roots into powerful and money-hungry behemoths, and as this Congress and this President carelessly spend incomprehensible amounts of our children’s cash, it’s no surprise that these unions play beneficiary to those they helped elect. it should be a surprise, then, to no one that these organizations, especially in the public sector, have become a dartboard for the overtaxed and underrepresented.

As unemployment touches 10% nationwide and closer to 30% in areas such as Detroit, union membership in many of these areas continues to act as though the problem is not theirs. in shops where government funds are not being utilized, I could care less. if the UAW wants to continue choking Ford with job bank benefits and the like while it drives up costs, so be it. The effect on their bottom line is of no consequence to the union worker. I’ve been in the factories; I’ve seen union men sleeping on the job because the employer was required to have so many skilled persons on site that do one particular job; I’ve been there when union stewards placed men to stand and watch me work a weekend shift because the union stipulated that the company had to have one of its own for every outside contractor on site. I know assembly line workers who have received virtual full-pay, sitting at home for months on end; and I’ve seen good skilled people kept out of positions because the union fought the removal of its less-than-useful employees. They correlate union and quality, but in truth, it is competition and responsibility that create. if they lose their jobs due to inefficiency, Cadillac-style compensation, and blatant greed, again I say “so be it.”

But I take offense when my tax dollars are being used to keep their jobs; when federal money is the only thing between them and the unemployment line and they’re still out shopping for Harleys. an overwhelming majority of the taxpaying public does not want the government involved in funding or directing the private sector, but since the liberal majority decided to invest someone else’s money anyway, I want the bullshit excesses gone. When you reach solvency and the taxpayers get their money back, you can play spoiled factory kids again.

Even more grinding are the public sector unions, the SEIUs and AFSCMEs of the world. Cities and villages are going broke. State legislatures are pouring through budgets, looking for ways to cut costs and balance their books. But even as the country is spiraling, city workers, teachers, and police and fire unions continue to battle pay freezes or give-backs. in New York City, teachers have voted overwhelmingly to retain their right to contractual raises and benefits, even as the mayor and superintendent warn that 4,000 teachers must be let go as a result. Nationwide, public sector unions selfishly attempt to remain insulated against the economic trends affecting those who ultimately pay their salaries.

Additionally, for those not represented by a union in this tough economy, it’s reprehensible to see our tax dollars being thrown at projects seemingly geared directly at the Democrat’s union benefactors. Bailouts, buyouts, stimulus packages; billions of dollars being thrown around, and the bulk of that money stream flows directly into union pools. even the Health Care Reform Act, which targets as a contributor those with Cadillac plans, is skewed in favor of the unions. a good bulk of union members fall into the Cadillac category (ironic, isn’t it?), but after careful consideration (and a good bit of arm-twisting threats from the organized electorate) the legislation was signed into law with the provision that union members would be exempt from paying the tax until 2018.

All this coupled with the “tough-guy, push your weight around, shut you down and show up in five buses and stand on somebody’s porch with a megaphone” mentality that union members bandy about is going to eventual force a standoff. The attitude is getting just a little old with the rest of us. It’s time to fight back against union rule and the socialist monster that is getting rich while it preaches redistribution and equality. It’s time to institute a little American-way common sense, put up a big “NO COLORS” sign, and turn these people out. if you’re gonna drink the milk, feed the cow.

Union Backlash on the Horizon