David L. Pyle – 9/27/06

This page was last updated on September 27, 2006.

Scabs take county jobs; David L. Pyle; Beaver County Times; September 27, 2006. An editor’s note alleges, “The writer is a correctional officer at the Beaver County Jail.”

Though I did not critique them, Mr. Pyle wrote at least two previous letters. His first letter is here and the second (“Misplaced spending priorities,” January 3, 2006) is no longer on the website. As this, his previous letters were name-calling rants.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I can’t believe that Beaver County labor groups and voters are allowing scab workers into the jail to be trained by county workers, on county payroll, on county property.”

[RWC] Scabs used to be replacement employees for striking union members. Now I guess a scab is any nonunion employee, at least to Mr. Pyle. FYI, I refer to people who use the term “scab” as “open sores.”

“CiviGenics, a private company (getting paid $125,000) is training 52 to 54 replacement correctional officers to take over the jail as soon as possible.”

[RWC] What’s the $125,000? The last I read, CiviGenics was being paid about $14.6 million over three years to run the jail.

“Prison board members and the warden contracted with this company to break the correctional officers union even after an arbitrator ruled in the officers’ favor. The union was willing to take considerable concessions, but Commissioner Dan Donatella is determined to get rid of the present work force as a vendetta.”

[RWC] You’ll note Mr. Pyle didn’t describe the “considerable concessions.” According to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, the union was willing to give about $400,000/year in savings. Going with CiviGenics is to save about $1.8 million/year. How could the commissioners justify to the taxpayers spending $1.2 million/year than necessary?

“The commissioners have hired more lawyers and believe they have a blank check for their objective to take even more working jobs from county workers and privatize all sections of county government. They have the bat and ball, and if the game does not go their way, they want to call the game and try a higher court.”

[RWC] Aren’t all jobs “working jobs?”

“Taxpayers, the commissioners’ and the warden’s responsibilities lie with managing the county, not outsourcing, privatizing and contracting to relatives to save money only to blow it somewhere else. Donatella, Joe Spanik and Charlie Camp are in the game for their own gain. They couldn’t care less about the working class or improving Beaver County.”

[RWC] How many people in Beaver County don’t belong to “the working class?”

“Democrats and Republicans are workers, too, and politics are cruel. It’s a shame that elected dictators can rule, and all parties have to pay due to their mismanagement and incompetence.”

[RWC] “Republicans are workers?” Gee, when did that happen? Don’t Democrats always tell us Republicans are trust fund babies who never worked a day in their lives? <g>

“If the commissioners, warden and prison board members must be compelled by law to perform even the simplest of managerial responsibilities, such as following the arbitrator’s decision, what type of managerial supervision have we regressed to?”

[RWC] Though you’d never guess it from Mr. Pyle’s letters, there’s nothing to stop the guards hired by CiviGenics from joining a union.