 |
Observer-Reporter forum
Observer-Reporter discussion forums
|
Important Notice:
We regret to inform you that our free phpBB forum hosting service will be discontinued by the end of June 30, 2024.
If you wish to migrate to our paid hosting service, please contact billing@hostonnet.com.
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:01 pm Post subject: Strike protests job cuts in Puerto Rico |
 |
|
The Puerto Rican government laid off 17,000 government employees a few months ago. Many of these employees were professionals that have been working for the government for many years. When the employees protested, the governor told them than 16,000 people will be needed to pick up the coffee beans and that they were welcome to apply for those jobs!!!  And he wonders why the people are so angry!!! BTW, the governor is a conservative...
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/15/puerto.rico.strike/
| Quote: | (CNN) -- Thousands of Puerto Rican workers and supporters gathered Thursday for an islandwide strike over government budget cuts that are leading to the elimination of nearly 17,000 jobs.
Gov. Luis Fortuño's office says that Puerto Rico's economic downturn started four years ago.
Strikers congregated at five points in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, and marched to a noon rally at the Plaza las Americas mall. Organizers said at least 100,000 people took part in the rally and thousands more stayed home from work.
Federico Torres Montalvo, a Puerto Rican workers' union leader said, 200,000 people attended the rally. There was no independent verification of the turnout.
Víctor Villalba, president of the Puerto Rican Federation of Workers, lauded the large turnout and criticized government efforts at privatization.
"They will have to pass over the bodies of thousands and thousands of Puerto Ricans before turning the government over to private businesses," Villalba told the crowd.
Aida Diaz, president of the teachers' union, also praised the large turnout.
"Today we said, "Present.' Tomorrow we will say, 'Present,' because teaching is by the public, for the public," she said.
Don't Miss
Puerto Rico braces for 'people's strike'
University students, teachers and clergy leaders also joined the stoppage.
"We can feel how the soul of a whole people vibrates," said Methodist Bishop Juan Vera.
Protesters shut down all traffic in front of the mall despite efforts by police to keep at least one lane open, the primerahora.com news outlet said.
At least six demonstrators required medical attention for dehydration and elevated blood pressure as a result of the heat and sun, the Web site reported. One woman was taken away in an ambulance.
Jose Rivera Santana and other organizers said Thursday's protest was bigger than a 2001 rally against the U.S. Navy target practice bombing of the island of Vieques, off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. The Navy ended the target practice in 2003.
Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño said Thursday morning he expected no problems from the protests.
"Everyone has the right to express themselves, and we will guarantee that right," Fortuño told CNN affiliate WAPA TV. "The important thing is that we do it with respect, that we do it with order and that we understand that each of our rights ends where the other person's begins."
News media reported a heavy police presence but no major incidents at the protest sites. Police and some University of Puerto Rico students -- several of them wearing hoods -- started shoving each other at the mall before the noon rally, but no arrests were reported, said primerahora.com, which was blogging a live update of the day's events.
The mall was closed Thursday, with its windows and doors boarded up with plywood. The mall has 3,000 employees and 300 stores, restaurants and banks, making it the Caribbean's largest.
Fortuño ordered nearly 17,000 layoffs in March to help close a $3.2 billion budget gap. The public-sector job cuts are slated to take effect in November.
Puerto Rico's unemployment rate exceeds 15 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some analysts said they expect the layoffs to propel that rate to at least 17 percent.
The governor's office issued a news statement Thursday afternoon pointing out that Puerto Rico's economic downturn started in 2005, three years before the recession hit the U.S. mainland.
According to the news release, about 70 percent of Puerto Rico's budget is dedicated to salaries and benefits for government employees. The U.S. protectorate, the release said, has more government employees in proportion to population than any state. And 43 of the nation's 50 states have implemented some form of payroll reduction, hiring freeze or layoffs, the release said.
The government has cut 10 percent in such operating expenses as official vehicles, cell phones and credit cards, and has instituted 10 percent pay cuts for the governor and agency heads through next year, the announcement said. |
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
phonyfeminazi
Expert
Joined: 30 Sep 2008
Posts: 7819
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: Strike protests job cuts in Puerto Rico |
|
|
| OndinitaAKALibchit wrote: | The Puerto Rican government laid off 17,000 government employees a few months ago. Many of these employees were professionals that have been working for the government for many years. When the employees protested, the governor told them than 16,000 people will be needed to pick up the coffee beans and that they were welcome to apply for those jobs!!! And he wonders why the people are so angry!!! BTW, the governor is a conservative...
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/15/puerto.rico.strike/
| Quote: | (CNN) -- Thousands of Puerto Rican workers and supporters gathered Thursday for an islandwide strike over government budget cuts that are leading to the elimination of nearly 17,000 jobs.
Gov. Luis Fortuño's office says that Puerto Rico's economic downturn started four years ago.
Strikers congregated at five points in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, and marched to a noon rally at the Plaza las Americas mall. Organizers said at least 100,000 people took part in the rally and thousands more stayed home from work.
Federico Torres Montalvo, a Puerto Rican workers' union leader said, 200,000 people attended the rally. There was no independent verification of the turnout.
Víctor Villalba, president of the Puerto Rican Federation of Workers, lauded the large turnout and criticized government efforts at privatization.
"They will have to pass over the bodies of thousands and thousands of Puerto Ricans before turning the government over to private businesses," Villalba told the crowd.
Aida Diaz, president of the teachers' union, also praised the large turnout.
"Today we said, "Present.' Tomorrow we will say, 'Present,' because teaching is by the public, for the public," she said.
Don't Miss
Puerto Rico braces for 'people's strike'
University students, teachers and clergy leaders also joined the stoppage.
"We can feel how the soul of a whole people vibrates," said Methodist Bishop Juan Vera.
Protesters shut down all traffic in front of the mall despite efforts by police to keep at least one lane open, the primerahora.com news outlet said.
At least six demonstrators required medical attention for dehydration and elevated blood pressure as a result of the heat and sun, the Web site reported. One woman was taken away in an ambulance.
Jose Rivera Santana and other organizers said Thursday's protest was bigger than a 2001 rally against the U.S. Navy target practice bombing of the island of Vieques, off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. The Navy ended the target practice in 2003.
Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño said Thursday morning he expected no problems from the protests.
"Everyone has the right to express themselves, and we will guarantee that right," Fortuño told CNN affiliate WAPA TV. "The important thing is that we do it with respect, that we do it with order and that we understand that each of our rights ends where the other person's begins."
News media reported a heavy police presence but no major incidents at the protest sites. Police and some University of Puerto Rico students -- several of them wearing hoods -- started shoving each other at the mall before the noon rally, but no arrests were reported, said primerahora.com, which was blogging a live update of the day's events.
The mall was closed Thursday, with its windows and doors boarded up with plywood. The mall has 3,000 employees and 300 stores, restaurants and banks, making it the Caribbean's largest.
Fortuño ordered nearly 17,000 layoffs in March to help close a $3.2 billion budget gap. The public-sector job cuts are slated to take effect in November.
Puerto Rico's unemployment rate exceeds 15 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some analysts said they expect the layoffs to propel that rate to at least 17 percent.
The governor's office issued a news statement Thursday afternoon pointing out that Puerto Rico's economic downturn started in 2005, three years before the recession hit the U.S. mainland.
According to the news release, about 70 percent of Puerto Rico's budget is dedicated to salaries and benefits for government employees. The U.S. protectorate, the release said, has more government employees in proportion to population than any state. And 43 of the nation's 50 states have implemented some form of payroll reduction, hiring freeze or layoffs, the release said.
The government has cut 10 percent in such operating expenses as official vehicles, cell phones and credit cards, and has instituted 10 percent pay cuts for the governor and agency heads through next year, the announcement said. |
|
What? Is the government crazy.....asking people to actually work for their "pay"???
_________________
Exposing the secular humanist liberal "progressives". |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cylinsier
Master
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 13229
Location: Oh shi-
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Strike protests job cuts in Puerto Rico |
|
|
| phonyfeminazi wrote: | | What? Is the government crazy.....asking people to actually work for their "pay"??? |
You must be on crack. The article was about people being laid off. Hard to work for your pay when the folks paying you told you to take a hike.
_________________
The end is nigh! OR forums die APRIL 1. Don't lose contact! Join the forums at bogsource.com now! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: | | What? Is the government crazy.....asking people to actually work for their "pay"??? |
They were working for their pay and got laid off!!! They just want their jobs back, not go pick coffee beans!!!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
SSSS
Journeyman
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
Posts: 3753
Location: Wash PA
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I would like to see that happen to Pennsylvania government employees. But we would STILL have too many!
_________________
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OndinitaAKALibchit
Journeyman
Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 3883
Location: Where the sun don't shine! ;-)
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| SSSS wrote: | | I would like to see that happen to Pennsylvania government employees. But we would STILL have too many! |
HAHAHA!!!!
_________________
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960
Proud Member NDA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
