$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.
Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.
It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.
Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.