Most employees work hard to serve posted Thursday, February 16th, 2012 @ 12:00 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Editor: Response to News-Star article January 24, 2012-"Backdoor deals denied" In looking at the article regarding endorsement by the AFSCME Local 2388 for mayoral candidate Mr. (Johnny) Riley, my thoughts are brought back to the time Community Affairs, managed by Mr. Riley, transferred 25 maintenance personnel to the Public Works Department against their will with promises of raises in 2007. The transfers happened but the promised raises did not. Obviously, the leaders of 2388 have forgotten that as the 2 individuals standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Riley were leading the objection to the transfer. In the photo, I see employees that have cost the city 10's of thousands of dollars by their actions that could have been used for raises. In the private sector, they would no longer be employed. Their job has become an entitlement rather than a means to earning a living. I see individuals who entitlement rather than a means to earning a living. I see individuals who have been terminated for payroll fraud, falsifying public documents and drug use and were allowed to vote for the so called endorsement. Many employees of the 72 member union have publicly endorsed Mr. Mayo. The Public Works Department consists of many hard working employees who are among the lowest paid in the City with none making below minimum wage. An example of the hard work is each garbage crew handles 1,000 garbage cans per day. While the pay may be low, we have thousands of applicants looking for work each year. The majority of our employees are appreciative of their job and work hard to serve the public. Tom Janway Monroe