Unlike private unions, public unions aren’t “bargaining” or “negotiating” with anyone. The politicians who vote for these sweet deals are sitting on the SAME SIDE of the table as the unions. This is vote buying, pure and simple. Wisconsin is not some bellwether state, blazing a new trail and seeking to bust unions. Only half the states have a collective-bargaining agreement in place, and there is plenty of data to support the fact that the states that don’t, like Virginia or Indiana, are in fact able to deliver effective services and at a lower cost.
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And therein lies the problem. The adversarial relationship that exists between private unions and their employers does not exist between municipal unions and those they are negotiating with. They are sleeping in the same bed. And in most cases the negotiators for the taxpayers are in line for even larger pensions than the union members. That is why we end up with these ridiculous contracts with benefits and retirement packages virtually unheard of in private industry. It’s also why so many states don’t allow collective bargaining for their municipal unions. It’s a recipe for fiscal disaster.[/quote]
Not necessarily true. In many cases, you can have politicians who are very adversarial WRT unions. Like I’ve said many times before, unions have been making concessions for YEARS now. What’s happening in Wisconsin isn’t about concessions; it’s about collective bargaining and eliminating unions.
These local government representatives are in their positions because VOTERS put them there, not unions. Are unions a special interest group? Sure, just like all the private enterprises who seek taxpayer money, too. At least, with public unions, we are getting something for our money. They provide the physical, social, and legal infrastructure which all people and employers rely on in order to make our economy work. Without them, there would be no middle class, no democratic laws, no emergency services (good luck calling 911!), no free/low-cost public libraries, far fewer literate people, etc.
With private entities in control of our public resources, the money that gets funnelled to the very top (which will be most of the wealth) can go anywhere it wants — overseas, or in commodities which push prices up for poor people around the world, etc. — whereas a public employee’s salary tends to recirculate back through the local economy…the economy that benefits all those taxpayers who pay for their services.
Like it or not we need a balance of power. Right now, the financial elite/corporatists have FAR too much power. The only entities with the size and power to counter them are the unions. For as long as that’s the case, we need to support unions, or else risk total privatization of all public assets and services; and I guarantee you that won’t end up being either cheaper or better. Joe Sixpack will NOT benefit from that arrangement.
