Stop Piling on….

I know Chris Rickert, is fairly new to the Wisconsin State Journal, but I usually really like his columns. Today however, his column today is a huge swing and miss. I am not here to defend Chris Nelson, thats a completely different thing and should not be lumped in with the rest of this story. He did get the Denise Markham and the importance of unions – completely WRONG!

From Rickerts column:

Then “tyrannical” Madison police officer Denise “Mad Dog” Markham gets put on a paid, 18-month leave before agreeing to resign so the department won’t have to go through the trouble and expense of firing her.

Markham’s union attorney, Andrew Schauer, thinks Markham would have kept her job if she fought the charges. More generally, he said public employees like her have exchanged bigger paychecks for bigger benefits — like being able to remain on the payroll during an investigation into their conduct. Markham made $89,160 in 2009.

Two bad apples in what are generally good barrels, to be sure. But their stories are less important than what they reveal about the sweet deals bad public workers can get.

In Markham’s case, the further time and expense it would take to fire her in accordance with her union contract is too much even for a city that has already paid her to do nothing for 18 months and then sends her off with $44,415 worth of accrued vacation, sick and comp time.

This for an officer a city investigation found conducted improper searches and seizures of private property, was given to “overbearing, oppressive or tyrannical conduct” and engaged in other unprofessional behavior.

She’ll even get to collect the money taxpayers put into her pension fund — something few in the private sector are lucky enough to have these days.

While I do not claim to know all of the intimate details of the case, I am betting I have pretty much the same information as Mr. Rickert. So lets look at some things that he hasn’t.

* Yes they paid her “to do nothing” for 18 months but that was not her choice. The State Journal itself,
ran an editorial asking for the investigation to be sped up.

Yes, proper investigations of employee conduct can take some time. And the sensitive nature of police work may complicate matters.

But 14 months and counting? For non-criminal allegations?

Have any supervisor or investigators been held accountable for the length of time it took to investigate this?

* “bad apples” – Maybe she is a “bad apple” and a history of “overbearing, oppressive or tyrannical conduct” is troubling, but what is more troubling is the fact that she has been written up by a supervisor a grand total of grand total of 1 time in 22 years! What does that say about officers who have been written up more than 1 time? Even more so, what does it say about her 22 years worth of supervisors who were in charge of overseeing her complete body of work and felt the need to write her up 1 time(in 22 years)?

* She’ll even get to collect the money taxpayers put into her pension fund — something few in the private sector are lucky enough to have these days.

She actually gets the money from her pension that SHE PAID into it, which she deserves. As the State Journal itself points out –

In resigning, Markham walked away from the city’s contribution to her retirement fund for the 22 years she worked for the police department because she wasn’t yet fully vested, Wray said.

As for the private sector losing their pensions, should she(and all public workers for that case) be punished because overbearing, criminal ceo’s have raided and destroyed private pension funds?

As for question of can the new Republican legislature legislate that pensions can no longer be paid out? I am quite sure that Scooter Jensen still gets his so maybe they can clean up their own house first.

I wish that anyone who was fired after a distinguished 20 year career, would have union representation, when trying to get fired after 1 write up?   Or that everyone had the due process that Ms. Markham had when someone attempts to fire you!

Finally, there is this:

Recent events are conspiring to make me a reluctant fan of Gov. Scott Walker — at least when it comes to slashing the benefits of public employees.

Yes when unions are not involved, we can trust Scott Walker to only hire the best of the best, like here, here, and here and here.

O yeah, I am a fan.