Listen and weep employees, and by all means keep coming through for the company and the leadership that is trying to strip you of everything.
Mcfarlane intends to get rid of unfunded liability by getting rid of the benefit from al m on Vimeo.
Mcfarlane intends to get rid of unfunded liability by getting rid of the benefit from al m on Vimeo.
6 comments:
Thats why our saving grace is binding arbitration, he knows that and his solution is bankruptcy protection, "when" "the win" is nulified.
HB
I think he is heading straight for bankruptcy, head first full speed ahead, no doubt.
I've said before that the only thing stopping TriMet from declaring Chapter 9 is that it will spell the end of the light rail building - since TriMet won't be able to sell the bonds needed to finance light rail.
Since there is heavy opposition to light rail to Tigard and Sherwood, and the Columbia River Crossing project is skeptical at this point, it may just be a matter of straggling along enough to get Milwaukie MAX completed and running. At which point, Chapter 9.
Bam - all the debt goes away, all the unfunded liabilities go away, and all the labor contracts go away. TriMet could then just outsource everything and be nothing more than a management entity that oversees transit and owns the light rail. (Heck, with contracting out, TriMet wouldn't even need to own the buses, but it probably would so that federal funds can buy them.)
Look at Phoenix, Arizona...it's the exact same model they have. Denver is largely contracted out. Parts of LACMTA are contracted out. It's not "IF" TriMet will declare bankruptcy, but "WHEN". And I project after Milwaukie MAX is opened.
Definition of 'Chapter 9'
A bankruptcy proceeding that provides financially distressed municipalities with protection from creditors by creating a plan between the municipality and its creditors to resolve the outstanding debt. Municipalities include cities, counties, townships and school districts.
Chapter 9 and Arbitrations:
http://alleghenyinstitute.org/component/content/article/9/991.html
Last October we wrote in a blog about the Supreme Court decision that said an "arbitration award" was not the same thing as an "arbitration settlement" and the impact that small distinction would have on communities in Act 47 distressed status. Language in the act stated "a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration settlement executed after the adoption of a [Act 47] plan shall not in any manner violate, expand, or diminish its provisions".
Under Act 111 of 1968, the collective bargaining law that outlines binding arbitration procedures for police and fire employees, the Court's decision would have far-reaching consequences for communities in Act 47. Left unchanged, there would have been an incentive for combing over old arbitration proceedings to see if anything retroactive could be awarded. There would also be motivation for public sector unions to get to arbitration so as to fall into this grey area.
In the blog we noted "the onus is on the General Assembly and the Governor to act quickly to amend Act 47 language so that ‘awards' are covered as well as ‘settlements'...A few word changes should do the job...The need for the Legislature to move as rapidly as possible cannot be more clear."
Legislation that has been signed into law does just that, adding language that defines an "arbitration settlement" to include that a "final or binding arbitration award or other determination" would be covered by the definition. The act allows for an arbitration award to deviate from the plan as long as it does not jeopardize the stability of the municipality and does not prevent relieving the distress (note that only six municipalities have emerged from Act 47 status, 21 are currently in). Deviation requires an evidentiary hearing.
Another significant change as a result of the act is on municipal filings for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Now municipalities that want to file will have to apply to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Secretary will make a "yes" or "no" recommendation on filing after weighing the criteria contained in the statute. As we noted in our 2009 report, states are free to place as many restrictions on their local governments when it comes to filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, including prohibiting them from filing.
Bankruptcy Courts and Enforcement of Arbitration Clauses: Recent Developments 2006-07:
http://www.abiworld.org/committees/newsletters/adr/vol4num1/adrvol4num1.pdf
Court Analysis of Motions to Compel Arbitration in Bankruptcy
Courts facing a motion to compel arbitration engage in a two-step process.
• Did the parties agree to arbitrate?
Sometimes this is clear; sometimes it is not. In Tittle v. Enron Corp. (In re Enron Corp.), 463 F.3d 410 (5th Cir. Tex. 9/1/06), for example, the insured and the insurer so agreed, but the issues before the court would bind third parties, who had not agreed to arbitrate. Result: arbitration clause not enforced.
• Does the bankruptcy court have discretion to deny arbitration?
And if so, when? This is the question addressed by the rest of these materials.
Soo, chapter 9, may or may not be the be-all-end-all, it may be challenged in court.
HB
I admit my use of the terms, "Chapter 9" and "Bankruptcy" are, in these recent conversations, used as figures of speech to paint a picture of particularly dire consequences. Oregon is one of 26 states in which municipalities cannot file for Chapter 9, specifically. But, IMO no one should doubt that TM will pursue some other form of Insolvency or Receivership that will have an equally devastating effect on contractual agreements, working-class careers, and public pensions? What makes you so sure this isn't the path the henchmen are taking to finally bust the union? And is saying, "It's not gonna happen," a responsible position on which to rest when years of legal proceedings to simply clear up the technicalities loom menacingly over the heads of wage earners with families to feed, mortgages to pay, and fixed income retirees being gouged with higher percentages of their limited income by 3rd-party insurance profiteers?
Well, hopefully if my little pension goes, hopefully all the so called execs can wave bye-bye to theirs too.
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