Public sector unions in Indiana, Wisconsin, and closer to home here in New Mexico appear really determined to convince us all how utterly useless–and even dangerous–they have become. More than a year ago, the Cato Institute issued a policy analysis highlighting the problems with public sector unions. Among other obvious problems, the collective bargainingreached with the unions are bankrupting states left and right (just ask California):
High rates of unionization in the public sector have led to very high labor costs in the form of generous collective bargaining contracts. Now state and local governments are under increasing financial pressure, as a worsening national economy has led to decreased revenues for states and municipalities—many of which remain locked into the generous contracts negotiated in more flush times. Thus, as businesses retrench, governments find themselves in a financial straitjacket. In addition, as government unions grow stronger relative to private-sector unions, their prevalence erodes the moderating influence of the market on the demands that unions make of employers.
In Wisconsin, teachers unions (some of the most invidious and truly thuggish unions nationally), have made their priorities clear by refusing to show up to work in the face of efforts by the Governor to implement union collective bargaining reforms. Keep in mind exactly what work these teachers are refusing to do: educate the state’s children. Next time you hear a teacher’s union spout off about how much concern they have for children and the education system, you should hear Charlie Brown’s teacher in your head. For more on the Wisconsin situation and the ongoing efforts of public sector unions to force us all to “go Galt” due to ever-increasing government and taxes, see today’s “The Showdown Over Public Union Power” in the WSJ. James Taranto also has a nice discussion in today’s Best of the Web “The Means of Coercion.”
Indiana Democrats are currently in hiding to thwart a quorum call and avoid a vote on efforts to make the state “Right to Work.” The legislative effort is simply to allow workers to “opt out” of paying union dues, so the Democrats and their union sponsors are opposing the right of the workers they claim to represent to choose for themselves whether to support the unions. This is precisely the kind of behavior that makes them thuggish and pathetic.
Thuggish and pathetic, of course, brings us back to our home state union issues and the action taken by the police union this week against Albuquerque’s Public Safety Director Darren White. Union members voted “no confidence” in White, a purely symbolic vote intended only to bully White into accepting union demands. Two reasons cited for the vote are: (1) a recent 2% pay cut, and (2) a new policy restricting the ability of officers to drive patrol cars home–a policy that will save taxpayers $600,000.
In other words, during a national economic crisis that jeopardizes jobs across the spectrum, White and city leaders opted to implement measures to hopefully AVOID layoffs. For their efforts, police union members have chosen to behave like the spoiled children most unions are comprised of by undermining White’s leadership.
Along with their demands for more money in salary and the ability to drive government vehicles home from work to save their own money, we look forward to seeing the list of fellow officers the union members would like to see laid off in order to pay for these demands.
We would also like to see White take swift and sure action in response to these bullying, thuggish tactics, which will hopefully thwart future similar efforts by public sector unions in the Land of Enchantment.
As we await new developments, a reminder from Reason.tv of the reasons public sector employees are killing the economy:
I found this article while researching a blog post of my own on the unfairness of the public sector unions. There is no point in going any further as you have done and excellent job expressing my view. Your post “Public Sector Collective Bargaining = No Bargain for the Public” is exactly my point. I look forward to reading more.