Furloughs Are No Laughing Matter
May 21, 2010
It’s no mystery that some lawmakers are completely oblivious to the problems faced by working Americans. Take, for example, the three county commissioners in Pueblo County, Colo. Not content with enacting furloughs for county employees, they recently produced a video poking fun at the situation.
“A video of county commissioners working in an empty county building and making fun of furloughs has county employees upset. In the more than 4 and 1/2 minute YouTube video all three county commissioners are seen doing various tasks around the county building.”
Watch the full story:
It’s tempting to tell the Pueblo County commissioners that when it comes to creating comedy videos, they should keep their day jobs. The problem is, they don’t seem to be faring too well on that front either.
According to an AFSCME Council 76 report, the furloughs amount “to approximately a 4.6 percent across-the-board pay cut to Pueblo County employees.” This, in spite of the fact that Pueblo County workers receive on average a full 15 percent less in salary than similar employees in other jurisdictions.
The video was originally shown at a southern Colorado Press Association event. It also includes “jokes” about how commissioners are trying to find a way to extend furloughs to 365 days a year.
Pueblo County commissioner Anthony Nunez has claimed that the video was misconstrued and that it wasn’t intended to make light of the difficulties faced by county employees. Perhaps the misunderstanding could have been avoided if the commissioners had devoted their energy to finding solutions for Pueblo’s budget crisis. After all, it’s the community and workers who are bearing the brunt of these misguided measures. No matter how you look at it, that’s not funny.
