Our tax dollars at work - the IRS gives its employees a bonus
From
Yahoo/Associated Press:
Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees' union on Wednesday to pay the bonuses. Grassley says the bonuses should be canceled under an April directive from the White House budget office.
A bit more:
"The IRS always claims to be short on resources," Grassley said. "But it appears to have $70 million for union bonuses. And it appears to be making an extra effort to give the bonuses despite opportunities to renegotiate with the union and federal instruction to cease discretionary bonuses during sequestration."
The IRS said it is negotiating with the union over the matter but did not dispute Grassley's claim that the bonuses are imminent.
The IRS has about 90,000 employees -- this bonus would amount to about $770 per employee if distributed evenly. I doubt that this will be the case so we are looking at a minimum of tens of thousands for mid-level management and even more for the higher-ups.
The union is famous for litigation -- from their
Wikipedia entry:
The NTEU has been famous for aggressive use of the courts to supplement their statutorily-limited powers to bargain and restraints on traditional labor tactics such as strikes and boycotts.
So, when they do not get what they want, when what they want is illegal, they sue. This union was founded in 1939. The President? FDR. No big surprise.
Posted by DaveH at June 20, 2013 3:02 PM