I am a City Employee ( mini rant)

I am a City of Los Angeles Employee.  I work hard for my employer- The people of my City.  Yeah.  That's how I feel about it.  I am sick and tired of being categorized as a lazy person who just sits around all day doing nothing and collecting a fat paycheck and a fat retirement is promised.  I have been paying into the retirement system for 36 years, much like most people in the public sector have been paying into Social Security.  How do YOU feel when the Government says the Social Security system needs to be changed and you  need to keep working at least another ten years past what you had planned because they didn't manage the assets properly; that your retirement is going to cost too much, so we are going to slash it, eliminate the benefits that were promised.   Looks like "retirement" is a joke, as far as I am concerned. I realize that they are saying the changes to the pension structure will not impact current employees.  If you believe THAT I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you.   The Police and Fire Departments will not be touched.  Now, I KNOW that those are dangerous jobs and I am not saying that they should not be compensated, but is the work I do any less valuable to the City?  It must be.  My Union is preparing to go back to negotiations in the Spring.  The way it seems to work, every time, is that as we are "first out of the box" the City gets to use us as an example to other City Unions and gives us a lousy contract.  This year, for instance, I took a pay cut.  Never mind that everyone else got a raise, and I seem to be doing more work as my responsibilities  grow with changes in my department, but a PAY CUT?  I don't mind hard work.  I will do just about any job they throw at me, it's what I signed on to do.  Most of my  colleagues feel the same way.  Sure, like in any industry, there are slackers and goof offs, but the majority of us are hard working people who earn our daily wages.  I resent having to take a cut while others get more.  Don't EVEN get me started about what someone who does my job in DWP gets paid. It's a HECK of a lot more money for the same type of work.  Makes me feel great when I have to pay an increase in fees to DWP, that's for sure.  (Bitter, party of one)

I love what I do.  I think the help I provide the people out there in branches who are the face of our Department, is important stuff.  I try my best to get it all done, sometimes I just can't.  I am only one lowly Management Analyst, working my tail off to provide the best service I can give.