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Mayor Nagin announces 3000 New Orleans city workers laid off

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Divine Discontent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:22 PM
Original message
Mayor Nagin announces 3000 New Orleans city workers laid off
Edited on Tue Oct-04-05 02:27 PM by themartyred
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9591148/

NEW ORLEANS - The mayor of New Orleans announced on Tuesday the city has to lay off as many as 3,000 employees.

Following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin said he tried for weeks to find financing that would allow him to keep city workers on the payroll.

Nagin said it is with “great sadness” that he announces that the city can’t keep its workers, and he thanked those who have served New Orleans.
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expatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:26 PM
Response to Original message
1. that's quite a few - what percentage of the city work force is this? nt
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Divine Discontent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:33 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. yes it is
I know that the typical city state worker ratio in a big city is around 20% but I don't know how many of that is just city workers.

It's sad to think about their situation! My goodness, if you have several kids and you lost your good job at the city, how horrible. It'd be horrible for a single person, and it's compounded with extra family members.

Of course, these people are at fault for their predicament, as Rush and the other blabbing wingnut heads say.......

I hope they get full unemployment benefits, and some type of state monetary donation from a fund, they are the ones who worked their butts off to keep the city running, that's no small task, even without a killer hurricane.
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AnneD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. These are the poor folks...
have maxed out their cards here in Texas trying to get situated now this.....And the deadline to file bankruptcy is looming. These poor folks are soooo screwed.
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Divine Discontent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:44 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. counting my blessings indeed.
Edited on Tue Oct-04-05 02:47 PM by themartyred
They are in the wrong state, and are mostly of the wrong color for the Republican Party, to get the assistance they deserve.

I'm glad that so many charities are trying to help.

Bushista backers really blow....


http://www.cafepress.com/seeimpeachment
http://www.cafepress.com/bushfairtrial
http://www.cafepress.com/nationalguard05
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KamaAina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:56 PM
Response to Reply #1
9. It is about half the city workforce
I am even concerned about my old buddy who is a city commissioner. Even if his job is spared, he already had an office of three -- himself, the ADA coordinator, and an administrative assistant. I figure the ADA coordinator is history and now he'll have to do that job, too, at a time when thousands of buildings will be built or rebuilt.

This says quite a bit about the country's true commitment to rebuilding, doesn't it, that Nagin couldn't arrange temproary financing to meet the city payroll? :grr:
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stopbush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:28 PM
Response to Original message
2. Nagin: NOLA Lays Off 3,000 Employees - $ Constraints (cnn.com)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/04/new.orleans/index.html
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buff2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:30 PM
Response to Original message
3. Sooo.....where is all the money donated through various fundraisers?
And what about the billions of tax dollars they were awarded for clean-up and to rebuild? Oh,never mind. Haliburton. THAT'S where all the money is going.....and THEIR employees will take the place of NO city workers.

How sweet it is when you have the bu$h/cheney connections. :grr:
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Divine Discontent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. yea, and get this...
even that Phyllis Schlafly (or whatever) from a wingnut "pro family" group said that the only way to get appointed to positions in the Bush White House is to be his close personal friend... HA!

They're eating their own.... weak, sick, cowards.
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Old Vet Donating Member (618 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 02:51 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Laying off 3,000 City workers in NO is nothing less than Criminal..
Nagin said that guard and contractors are filling the gap for now. I just returned from NO and these people are begging for work. I mean theres enough sweeping for a year to be done. Big companies were sending FLEETS of work trucks to do clean-up the people of New Orleans could easily do,How do you think the displaced locals feel about an army of white folk from around the country taking there jobs? People were saying this was gonna happen, But I didn't believe it. Sad day in the big easy!
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bklyncowgirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-05-05 05:43 AM
Response to Reply #8
18. New Orleans has basicly zero tax revenue right now
Nagin controls only the city budget. I don't see where he had any other choice.
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buff2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 03:01 PM
Response to Reply #5
11. They are finally destroying their own party
and I am loving every minute of it. Karma....sweet,sweet Karma.
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Divine Discontent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 05:45 PM
Response to Reply #11
15. at so many millions people's expense!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t
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Mandate My Ass Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 03:00 PM
Response to Original message
10. Let's see. No bankruptcy relief. No medicaid. No jobs. Hmmm.
Bush just hit another trifecta.
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buff2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 03:03 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. We don't need any of those phucking handouts,anyway.
:sarcasm: And Haliburton will take care of the jobs. :grr:
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Dr.Phool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 03:12 PM
Response to Original message
13. Quick! Call Pat Robertson!
He can start dispensing those Operation blessing funds.
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uppityperson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 03:19 PM
Response to Original message
14. Mayor of New Orleans Announces Layoffs
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20051004/ap_on_re_us/new_orleans_70
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday the city is laying off as many as 3,000 employees — or about half the city's workforce — because of the damage done to New Orleans' finances by Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin announced with "great sadness" that he had been unable to find the money to keep the workers on the payroll.He said only non-essential workers would be laid off and that no firefighters or police would be among those let go.

"I wish I didn't have to do this. I wish we had the money, the resources to keep these people," Nagin said. "The problem we have is we have no revenue streams."

Nagin described the layoffs as "pretty permanent" and said that the city will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to contact municipal employees who fled the city in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck about a month ago. The mayor said the move will save about $5 million to $8 million of the city's monthly payroll of $20 million. The layoffs will take place over the next two weeks.
(more@link)
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KamaAina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 07:43 PM
Response to Original message
16. This need not have happened. Once again the feds hung N.O. out to dry.
Edited on Tue Oct-04-05 07:44 PM by KamaAina
bad pun, I know, but seriously:

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_10_04.html#084993

The firing of 3,000 workers, some of whom almost certainly lost their homes to Katrina, comes as the city's $13 million monthly sales tax revenue has shrunk to zero. Intense negotiations for bridge loans from state and federal agencies have proved fruitless so far, and a $50 million line of credit from private lenders remains sketchy, Nagin said.

Why do we even have federal agencies if they can't -- or won't -- come across at a time of national crisis? Of course the state of La. is going to be almost as tapped out as the City itself. So where else is Mayor Nagin supposed to go? To the feds, of course -- only to have them metaphorically point a gun at him as he tries to cross the bridge.

Apparently the $50 million private credit line would be sufficient in the near term. So the repukes' New Math reads like this: $87 billion, with a B, per year to invade and occupy a country halfway around the globe is an allowable expense, but less than 1/1,000th that amount to keep one of our own country's cornerstones afloat (so to speak) is not?! What the hell has this country come to??!! :grr: :banghead:

Edit: No numerals in 'occupy'. I knew that. really.
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cap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-04-05 10:04 PM
Response to Original message
17. why is it so hard to shovel $8 million at the city and keep these
folks employed. They have emergency allocations for that! God sakes, why are we so cheap? $8 million is chump change in the federal budget and they bail out cities all the time!
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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-05-05 06:56 AM
Response to Original message
19. Why doesn't he lay himself off?
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cap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-05-05 10:37 AM
Response to Reply #19
20. why wont the feds bail this city out?
why wont private bankers bail this city out like they did NYC during the 70s?
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