Several states are dealing with collective bargaining issues regarding public employees. The basic idea is that legislatures in some states are in dire financial situations and are looking for any place they can cut expenses. The primary target in several states is collective bargaining agreements with public employees.
In Wisconsin, the situation has gotten to the point that 14 Democratic state senators have fled the state, to prevent having a quorum, thus preventing not just debate on one bill, but any bill at all. This is tantamount to a “regular person” refusing to report to work because they didn’t like something. Those of us who have been employed in the real world know what the usual consequences are for that kind of tantrum: we’d get fired. There is simply no excuse for them to behave this way. If they are refusing to do their constitutionally defined duty, and are refusing to conduct the business of the legislature, assume they are resigning their position and move on. There would be costs associated with a special election, but the involved Senators would learn that every action has consequences.
Senate Bill 5 in Ohio is creating similar rancorous debate. Crowds are filling the Statehouse during discussion of the bill. It’s difficult to make any comments about either side of the bill without seriously upsetting someone. Either you’re backing the unions that are bankrupting the state, or you want teachers “thrown back to pioneer times.”
No less a union fan than President Franklin Roosevelt (National Labor Relations Act passed under his watch, remember) wrote in 1937 that “Meticulous attention should be paid to the special relations and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government…The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.” Why? Strikes. If you and your fellow private sector employees go on strike, your company suffers, and runs the risk that a competitor might take over your market share and eventually run you out of business. But there’s no real risk to the public. They might endure higher prices for your product, but they won’t be significantly impacted. But when you and your fellow teachers or cops or firefighters go on strike, the public welfare is impacted. Without teachers, the schools close, affecting thousands of people. Police and fire work slowdowns (“blue flu”) put the public in danger through rising crime rates or slower fire and medical responses.
While I happily concede that Ohio SB 5 is not the best bill it could be, I think it is time for PE unions to realize that there must be some limits to what the public should pay for. I’ve heard teachers complain about having to maintain their certifications out of their own pockets. That’s life in the real world, as far as I know. I can’t think of any career field where you get paid to further your education and training. Your employer might cover part of the costs of the training, but getting paid to go to school? Very rare.
Public employees complain as well about “favoritism and the threat of losing our jobs to a younger, cheaper model, possibly a friend of the powers-that-be.” That’s also life in the real world. If you can prove that it happened, file a lawsuit. You don’t need a union for that. Civil service and age discrimination laws are already in place. Why add an extra layer of people to the process? Why are so many public employees looking to unionize?
I will happily recognize and acknowledge the contributions the organized labor movement has made to worker safety and working conditions, while barely commenting on the bloody violence they have used to meet those ends. But any advocacy organization eventually runs the risk of putting itself out of business by fixing the problem they were formed to deal with. At that point, the organization works more to keep itself alive than to fix a problem, and I think many unions are reaching that point.
There’s great discussion about the union issue over at Global Affairs. Feel free to join in there.
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