Government Unions and You

By: Randy Feldman broadcast on March 1, 2011

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In Wisconsin and states across America, including Massachusetts; in cities like Worcester and Boston, public employee unions have faced off with government and its taxpayers.

The issues:

(1) Are public employees “paid” too much in health care, sick days and pension benefits?

(2) Should seniority and tenure be the basis of job security instead of individual performance?

(3) Should unionized government workers have the legal right to collectively bargain- meaning negotiate for groups of workers instead of each worker negotiating on his or her own?

(4) How much of the overgenerous grant of benefits and pensions to government unions is “scratching their back”, so that when it comes time for election, unions will support those politicians- usually a Democratic Party politician- who bequeathed the goodies to the union? Or alternatively, are politicians just afraid to fight for taxpayers because they fear being blamed- and not reelected- if the unions were ever to call a strike or slow down, something that hasn’t happened in a long time because no politicians have had the nerve to stand up to government unions.

It is simply irrefutable that government worker pensions and benefits, particularly health care benefits, and paid time off from work benefits- are much more generous than those in the private sector- especially for the vast majority of private sector employees in America who work at small businesses.

Virtually all pensions, but particularly the disability pensions’ of police and fire personnel, which seem so easy to obtain, are way out of line with private industry (even in similarly stressful or dangerous jobs). The early age of possible retirement, 50 or 55 in some cases, and the lifelong health care and pension benefits government workers can obtain are also without analog in private industry.

If the Democratic Party, of which I am a member, is seen by independent voters- the majority of voters in America- as supporting these government worker’s demands- whether unionized or not- it will be and to some extent should be political suicide for us Democrats.

If Democrats want more tax money for government programs and priorities- as I do- we must show that we are responsible custodians of that taxed money. It is sound, effective programs we must trumpet- not overly “taken care of” workers whom we advance. Otherwise, we Democrats will be seen as self- serving actors feeding at the trough. If we need money for campaigns to compete against those financially supported mostly by rich men and business backing Republican candidates, we should have an all out fight for campaign finance reform- a noble, proper and ultimately right and righteous cause- not arm our side in way that further perverts and corrupts of our democracy.

Worcester City manager, Mike O’Brien and Boston mayor, Tom Menino are so correctly concerned about the cost of these benefits they want to go Governor Scott Walker on them- suspending collective bargaining concerning benefits- but not salary like Walker- to gain unilateral power to design benefit plans. Governor Patrick, who has already gone to the mat on pension, ethics, transportation and budget reform, is willing to return to the mat with the threat of making government unions join the state government negotiated health care plans for its workers- called GIC- or have cities, towns and their workers negotiate better or equal price concessions, to save fellow worker’s jobs, so they won’t have to be laid off and fail their public purpose.

The reasonable state GIC plan really just says to government workers: no more old-school Blue Cross/Blue Shield style unlimited access health plans where you pay 20% of your health insurance benefit with few if any deductable and co-pays. Instead, like the rest of us working stiffs, you need to join an HMO, old-school Fallon Clinic style plan where you pay 25% of the health benefit plus co- pays and deductibles, in part so that you feel the effects too of driving up the cost of the health care bill taxpayers pick-up. And 25% is still a lot less than the 30- 50% lots of workers are now paying.

O’Brien and Menino are right. It’s the services that government delivers that must be protected, not worker pensions and benefits and politicians who negotiate them.

Below is the part of the statement that did not make it on air yet, because of time constraints

Conversely, conservatives and Tea Partiers, though correct that the deficit must be reduced, are very wrong to think that the government should be shut down over cuts in this year’s budget.

Deficits must be reduced and financial markets must see that they will be; or we’re in for a very big fall. But with unemployment still very high, showing the markets that our debt will be reduced beginning next fiscal year- which begins on October 1^st of this year- is enough to sustain investor confidence. Government funding of jobs to stimulate the economy and protect well beings should go on for another seven months.

It also must be admitted by all, even the government haters and fiscal watchdogs, that the current deficits we’re running have yet to hurt us in the way it counts most- by causing inflation and crowding out the availability of funds for company growth. There is virtually no inflation to date and companies have more money in the bank than they ever have. Shutting down the government by Republicans now is absolute lunacy, particularly before politicians of either party have shown the courage to cut spending on Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid and Defense or to raise taxes on the rich, goals for which temporarily shutting the government to achieve would be worth it.

This Randy Feldman. To become really happy or angry you can read this diatribe on my website, bigmouthmanifesto.com.