Stonger Unions and Weaker Government

Weaker Unions and Stronger Government

By Zachary Thoma

To read the title of this article it is likely that one would think I was about to say that not only do I support the plight of the unions across the country, but that the chipping away of the unions’ strength is only putting our government in a better position to hold iron fisted rule over the people of the United States.

That would be incorrect.

With the political maneuvering of the Wisconsin GOP senators came the passage of a bill which stripped the public workers in Wisconsin – with exception being given to firefighters and police – of their ability to collectively bargain for higher wages and forced them to increase the amount they pay into their pensions and healthcare. It should really be made clear at this point that the public workers of Wisconsin are only unable to collectively bargain for wage increases beyond the cost of living and inflation increases. They have also been asked to contribute a whopping 12.6% to their health insurance. There has been talk of the increase in pension contributions for which there really seems to be reason for further investigation and I think the jury is still out on that. For that reason, I’m not going to touch the pensions in this piece. The point is that my heart, and the heart of any private company employee I would think, isn’t exactly bleeding for the Wisconsin government employees. This is a state where the average public employee’s salary is $48,348 according to the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. There are people in the private sector making far less and paying far more for health insurance. I know because I’m one of them. However, the truly incendiary part of this whole thing isn’t the numbers and it isn’t the bill. The most incendiary part of the whole situation in Wisconsin is the sickening behavior of the union.

The union, in this case, has made a joke of their own government and of themselves not by protesting, but by blindly calling out “Shame!” and “War on middle class!” and “R.I.P workers’ rights!” as often as they can. I didn’t know it was a “right” to get those kinds of benefits. They have sensationalized the entire proceeding to the point where nothing they say can possibly be considered valid, yet they say they are victims and the government is oppressing them. Paying 12.6% of your check for healthcare doesn’t sound so oppressive to me and for someone making less than the average Wisconsin employee and paying more for my own healthcare, I find the argument offensive. I find it offensive that these spoiled union workers sit out in the capitol and use the precious gift of public dissent to whine about a few dollars and hold up the entire public process until they get what they want. Then when they don’t get what they want they say that the government is being oppressive and taking their “rights”. Doesn’t the government have a right to run like a business? Doesn’t the government represent more than just public workers, but also the rest of the population who works for the private sector who pays the rest of these peoples’ healthcare premiums? Oh and by the way; where did all these employees find the time to take off work and protest all week long? Did I pay for that time? Well, I didn’t because I live in Iowa, but if I lived in Wisconsin you can bet I’d be asking that question.

The unions have made a showcase out of whining like 8 year-olds and saying that the big bad government is being mean to them. It sounds so ridiculous that I can’t believe it even gets any coverage or support at all. These people are saying ridiculous things that are offensive and wihout honor or integrity while they ask for kindness, honor, and integrity in return. It’s an injustice that they are not held more accountable as any elected official would be for spouting off such remarks. But hey, I guess when you work for a union you can pretty much claim that you’re being taken advantage of by “the man” and then shoot your mouth off about it, whether it’s true or not. I guess we shouldn’t be so surprised, after all unions have been making a living out of this kind of thing for the last couple decades. There was a time when people really needed to band together because employers were exploiting them purely for profit. The pendulum of power was swung all the way to the empoyers' side back then. At that time unions weren’t such a bad idea and really helped the average worker and their family to be treated fairly. Then the unions started getting so much power, businesses couldn’t function as businesses anymore but were rather forced to function as social babysitters instead. Now the pendulum is way over on the other side with the unions. It’s time to put the unions in their place and re-evaluate what is fair. Is it fair that someone without anything more than a high school diploma should get $25/hour to twist on bolts while they pay in next-to-nothing for health insurance and benefits? Is it fair that this person is so protected from being fired that they barley have to perform at all? Is it fair that the person who employs this worker can’t give the worker other more productive workers a raise without giving a raise to everyone no matter how lazy they are? The employer can’t just cut the lazy unproductive workers either because the union won’t let them. Man, if that’s how it is to be in a union then I guess that really is the American dream; don’t work much, get a great wage and benefits, and be protected from being fired.

The bottom line is that the union argument in Wisconsin is nothing but cowardice. It’s cowardly to fight selfishly for 6% when that 6% could really help the greater good of your state. It’s cowardly to shout irrational comments at people just to get your way, regardless of whether what you’re saying is sensible. It’s cowardly and reckless and that kind of behavior should NEVER be rewarded. It’s cowardly to let your employer fail financially instead of pitching in and making some sacrifices for the good of everyone, especially when the “everyone” is your neighbor. As far as the senate democrats go, that’s an entirely different subject but to summarize it I basically think they should get painted with the same brush as the unions. The unions could have earned SO much more respect and affection if they had come out and volunteered to take this increase and said they were doing it for the greater good of Wisconsin. That would have turned a few heads, and in a good way too. The union should fire their PR person for missing the opportunity…then again their PR person is probably union and I bet he/she can’t be fired. This whole debacle has shed some serious light on who the unions really are, and it isn’t a pretty sight.