I have no
problem with unions per se. Unions may have killed American
manufacturing, but they really only hurt themselves, not consumers, since, in this country, consumers can still choose non-union made goods. As long as there exists non-unionized
competition, whether foreign or domestic, that will always be the case. It's when unions have no competition, when they are actually the monopolists, that
I have a problem, a big problem. Nowhere in our country does that happen except in the public sector, where we hand
over our most vital services--police, fire, education, sanitation--to
unions. Somehow the notion of public
service has been turned inside out to instead become public blackmail:
"pay us whatever we want or we will let fires burn, let thieves roam, let
your children suffer, let garbage pile up on your streets." Any city or state that is foolish enough to
try and cross a public employees' union finds itself terrorized.
Witness
the ongoing Chicago teachers'
strike, where teachers have rejected raises averaging 16% over the next four years--teachers, who on average, have
done a miserable job, Chicago having one of the lowest performing school
systems in the country. This, at a time
when millions are unemployed, many with little chance of ever finding a job
that even matches their previous salary.
The only reason for this travesty is that the Chicago teachers' union
has a monopoly on the provision of public
education in the city of Chicago. In a time where just about everyone is struggling, the
underperforming Chicago teachers' union has the audacity to demand even more than the generous amount its been offered. If the rest of us did our jobs as poorly as
the teachers, we would be on the street.
And they want more.
What is
the most vital public service of all? In
my mind there is no doubt that it's the military, without which none of the
other services would even be possible.
Now imagine a unionized military.
Do you think that would work? We
would never let that happen, yet really, is there any difference conceptually
between a unionized military and a unionized police? Unionized firefighters? Unionized teachers? Unionized sanitation workers? All are vital. All are handled by the public sector. Picture the country's safety held hostage to
union leaders demanding higher wages--which is what every
city, state and town of the country already faces at the hands of its public sector unions. And
that needs to change.
Unions in
the private sector eventually have to be reasonable. Otherwise they kill their golden goose.
Public service sector unions have no such limitations. Left unchecked they will and do kill their golden geese. The financial situation of our our cities,
towns and states attests that the process is well under way. And that is why public sector employees'
unions should never have been and should most definitely no longer be
permitted.
Very interesting post.
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