And now, the unhappy election bits

1. Prop 8. What the fucking hell, California?

2. It would seem that Alaska is re-electing the convicted felon, Senator Tubes. Way to live up to all the stereotypes we developed of you since Palin came on the scene, guys.

In Which I Gain An Object Lesson In The Virtue Of Organized Labor

So, almost everyone at CUNY other than the Big Shot Executives is represented by (and pays union dues to) one of two unions. The faculty and certain random others (e.g., the "educational technologists" downstairs, and the Lab Guy) are part of PSC; everyone else, from $OFFICEMATE to minions to the hewers of wood and drawers of water, are in DC 37. Both of those units negotiated new contracts that just went into effect, so everyone got a nice whomp of retroactive pay in today's check.

Except for three people, that is: $BOSS, spride, and myself. We are "classified managerial" staff. We get benefits like the PSC members, but other than that our salaries are governed by the whims of the CUNY Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Staff Relations. When it pleases him and his court to so do, he issues a "Personnel Policy Bulletin" which declares unto the people that yea, the Classified Managerial titles shall be increased unto 2 or even 3%.

Now, the last one was almost two years ago, so it might be expected that a goodie may be coming down the pike; except that the city and state budgets are both completely in the shitter. The unions, of course, are large and powerful and can say to CUNY "I do not give two tugs of a dead dog's cock for your budget issues, you will give our people raises or we will walk," and CUNY hears and tremblingly obeys. We few haunted spirits do not have this kind of clout, and can go whistle for MOR MUNNEYZ.

(There is also the concept of a "merit increase", which is controlled at the college level, but my gossips tell me that Her Presidentness--a corporate lawyer appointed by Emperor Rudy, she is--has been sitting on the sysadmins' merit increases for, let's see it's now November, so for a full year.)