Petitions Delivered in Milwaukee Controversy

February 15, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The group trying to recall County Executive Tom Ament for his role in inflating county pension payouts for top officials, handed 181,957 signatures to the Election Commission.

The group charges that Arment and other Milwaukee County officials pumped up the county’s pension plan to provide politicians with million-dollar retirement payouts at the expense of salary increases for ordinary workers (see Pumped Pension Payouts Prompt Resignations ).

Sheriff’s deputies stood by as the recall group, Citizens for Responsible Government, turned in boxes of petitions at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. The deputies then took the boxes across the street to the graphics department where workers began validating the signatures.

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According to WISN 12 News, the local news station, Ament, who has dropped his lawsuit against the recall effort, has 10 days to decide whether to challenge the signatures.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee County board’s finance committee has voted to reduce pension and sick-leave payouts for non-union employees and has approved negotiations to possibly modify union contracts.

The board passed a separate resolution to rescind some benefits for the county executive and the supervisors, according to the local news station.

The issue now goes to the personnel committee.

Unemployment Claims Continue Downward Trend

February 14, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The number of Americans seeking first time unemployment benefits shrank by 8,000 in the week ending February 9, according to data from the Department of Labor.

The number fell to a lower than anticipated 373,000 from its revised 381,000 level the previous week.

Though the number is on a downward trend, it is still well above that reported the same time last year, when initial unemployment insurance claims were 344,000

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The four-week moving average, considered a better barometer of the unemployment situation because it irons out weekly fluctuations, fell for the fourth week in a row, to 376,000 from 381,500, its lowest level since August last year.

The states with the largest decreases in initial claims for the week ending February 2, the latest week for which data are available, were:

  • Georgia, where claims fell by -5,677, as layoffs in the textile industry moderated,
  • Texas, where the figure dipped by -2,577, as layoffs moderated in the manufacturing, information, and wholesale trade industries, and
  • Pennsylvania, down by -1,530, as fewer jobs were axed in the construction, food, primary metals and transportation industries

The latest report comes on the heels of yesterday’s data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed a significant increase in mass layoff actions in the fourth quarter of 2001.



 

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