Public employees contribute real value for the benefit of all citizens. Public-union bosses collect real money from all taxpayers for the benefit of a few.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Public sector employees are the eyes and ears on the ground for the communities they serve.
Public unions are big money.
Public employee unions, in their defense, say politicians have unfairly made them into simplistic bogeymen, responsible for problems that have myriad causes. Not all government workers receive generous pensions, they note.
Public employee unions are hardly the only group involved in bare-knuckles politics. Businesses lobby fiercely, and executives make hefty campaign donations.
Valuing public servants would boost morale among those on the front line of implementing government policy.
It is only fair to expect public employees like me and others in the public sector to pay something close to what our neighbors and our fellow citizens do in the private sector.
My problem with public sector union leaders, the bosses, has been they stood in the way of protecting the taxpayer.
Union members not only earn higher median wages; they are more likely to have paid sick leave, short-term disability, and employer-provided child care. Giving people a voice at work - the ability to organize and negotiate for their fair share of the value they helped create - is absolutely essential to a growing, vibrant middle class.
Public employees should have the right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, just like all employees do.
I think it's unrealistic for public-sector employees to believe that they are immune from modifications to their pay and benefit packages.