Should never have been permitted.
And now that they are here - they should be Disbanded.
Why you ask?
Because the Employer is You - the Taxpayer but You are at a serious disadvantage - You have no representation at the Negotiations.
Let's look at two examples - Wisconsin and Ontario.
In Wisconsin, the new Republican Governor is attempting to limit the power of its public service unions because his State can no longer afford the Settlements. Now get this - the State is broke - it has a $3 Billion deficit. The Unions are holding firm even though their intransigents will likely result in the loss of employment for many of the Union Membership. How selfish.
Now Ontario.
Ontario's deficit is a whopping $26 Billion accompanied by a total Debt of some $240 Billion which even in this low interest rate environment still consumes some $10 Billion annually in Interest Payments. And yet our dear Premier attacks the imbalance with cosmetic zeal. Even as the former Grit Finance Minister - John Manley is urging the Province to attack the Debt / Deficit on a "war footing".
In both our nations - Canada and the United States, Unions are in the decline and in the minority in the Private Sector. It is in the Public Sector in both countries where they continue to flourish.
It used to be that employees in the Public Sector - the civil service, the armed forces, the hospitals, the schools, firemen, policemen and so on - were paid less than their private sector counterparts on the basis that they had better working conditions and greater job security.
Today they have those latter benefits as well as better pay and more generous pensions in all, their pay and benefits are some 40% higher.
How did his come about?
You were not at the Table - the Negotiating Table that is.
Present were the Politicians and the Unions. The Unions made outrageous demands and the Politicians took the expedient routes and consistently caved. Neither was dealing with their own dough - and of course the Taxpayer Pot was endless.
Harris made an attempt to get a handle on this and indeed when he left power Ontario was still a Have Province with no Deficit (despite the Liberal Claim that they took over $5 Billion deficit).
McGuinty came in and bought Public Union Peace via huge wage and benefit settlements.
I remember a Labour Class in Law School where the Professor (a Union Negotiator) was trumpeting the fact that Nurses had just recently been granted the right to Unionize. I had some knowledge of Nurses - both my Mother and Wife are RNs so I spoke up to ask what would be gained by it and he said it would give them an opportunity to air their grievances and of course to Strike if those grievances were not addressed. I pointed out to him that I was not aware of any such grievances - certainly ones serious enough to warrant Strike - but that Unionization would of itself lead to labour unrest. The Professor was not impressed and not surprisingly I received my worst mark in his course.
And what happened to the concept of essential services. Government employees not only work in the best conditions and enjoy the greatest job security they also work in an absolute monopoly. No one exists to step in and do their work in cases of labour stoppage and it is the poor Taxpayer that suffers from their lack of service.
If a Marshmallow factory goes on strike - there will be other Marshmallow companies that will step in to fill the void - even if the Marshmallow Industry became a Monopoly - the Public could turn to Twinkies - we would not be held ransom.
Even here in Ottawa we have the recent example of the Bus Strike which caused great inconvenience to the commuting public and great economic damage to local business. The Strike was over scheduling - a Management prerogative but one that the Union coveted. This long Strike finally came to an end when it was agreed that the issue of scheduling would go to Arbitration. The Arbitrator sided with Management. The Issue Resolved.
Well not so fast - recent rumblings indicate that the Bus Union is once again considering labour withdrawal based on the Scheduling Issue. Toronto has seen common sense and recently moved to declare Bus Service an Essential Service - as it should be.
Indeed - any and all services provided by those who receive their pay and benefits from the hapless taxpayer should be similarly declared Essential and I would take it a step further and remove their right to Unionization and leave that activity to the Marshmallow factories and to the Coal Mines.
As I see it....
'Galagher'
