Drescher's Benefits & Salary Cuts Vrs. Aesop's Wisdom

Regarding the Newcastle News Q & A for Position 6 candidates, John Drescher answered the question about cutting the city budget by saying, in part, that he wants to cut the salary and benefits of underperforming staff.  For one thing, it should be the city manager's prerogative to discipline underperforming staff, if any, which N.P.R. doubts is a big problem in Newcastle.  Moreover, Drescher's idea smacks of overreaching management retribution to deal with problems and would create problems with the unions.  Generally, the City Council should not be trying to micro-manage how the city manager commands and disciplines his staff.  The Council gives broad guidelines to the city manager, but neither they nor the manager should be using salary and benefits as a tool to punish underperforming staff, but instead should use positive steps, such as setting goals, to improve performances that don't meet standards.  Improvement letters or talks, and goal-setting, that's it, not threatening to diminish the living standards of workers.  The city must abide by the agreements with the unions in spirit and in practice, and avoid costly legal entanglements.  Has Mr. Drescher ever read Aesop's Fables?  If so, he should re-read "The North Wind and the Sun," and he would find that positive influences work much better than trying to blow the cloaks off of workers that he may come to disapprove of.

Update:  "Here Comes the Sun": a new post on the Commons blog, "Groundswell."

[updated on 10/11/13]

Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified. If GM food is the greatest thing since sliced bread (according to them), then why don't they want it labeled?