The Union Problem

Unions have become big enough to be a problem not only for their employers, but for the economy as a whole, inevitably including unions themselves. The resources used to placate the unions and enrich the owners of production and owners of resources are inequitably removed from the rest of the population which has no political clout.

You may raise an accusatory finger and say, “everyone has a vote” which is true, but the vote has no value because money, not the public, controls who gets publicity and ultimately who gets on the ballot.

Groups who have the most money can prop up all the puppets they want because the money that goes into political campaigns must inevitably put food on the family tables of “credentialed” editors, producers and journalists.

Illinois has a small variety of very good private schools, but the quality of teaching and administration at public schools is now shielded from inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act.

The teachers union worked to protect their own upper echelons from public scrutiny, despite the fact they receive public money. Parents are interested in the quality of their child’s education.

The public can’t scrutinize the quantity and quality of information collected in the minds of students. Students’ grades are confidential. The public can already easily scrutinize unclean facilities, incorrectly prepared food and clerical errors on non-confidential documents, they should have a right to know what kind of teacher or administrator their kids are getting.

The state of Illinois has left itself exposed for criticism that says “Illinois hides the performance records of teachers, principals, and school superintendents. Anyone who can’t send their children to private school should now to find another state with more transparency in their education system.

Months after approving what was billed as a sweeping reform of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, legislators, at the behest of teachers’ unions, on Wednesday barred disclosure of performance evaluations for teachers, principals and school superintendents.

The measure doesn’t affect evaluations of janitors, secretaries, teacher aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers or any other type of school employee, nor, as written, does it have any impact on municipal, county or state workers. – Illinois State Journal Register. 01/13/2010. [ http://www.sj-r.com/education/x1409374740/Lawmakers-exempt-teachers-from-FOIA-rules-on-disclosure-of-evaluations. ]

Unions refuse to look over their own private white-washed fences at the crushing poverty experienced by the rest of us. They have become the very thing they sought to overcome. They seem to have no consideration for the apparent lack of tax revenues caused by the economic collapse in the private sector. Without any acknowledgement of the economic pressure on the rest of us, they continue to fight for more money still, and even suggest increasing fees or implementing new fees on the public, parallel to tax collection.

To suggest new fees or increasing fees is to put an idea in the politician’s mind that he can later easily claim that he did not raise taxes.

Ron Stone, the police union’s attorney, said the union has offered the city a number of alternatives to furlough days, wage reductions and layoffs — from charging a fee to businesses for false alarms to seeking a greater fee or full reimbursement for special events when police presence is required.

“With the city council that’s not willing to increase revenue, it’s going to be difficult,” Stone said. – Illinois State Journal Register 01/13/2010 [ http://www.sj-r.com/local/x1689204972/Union-officials-City-has-ignored-their-savings-ideas ]

Unions have such a tight grip on their states and municipalities that even suggesting to suspend raises for unions brings threats of lawsuits for breach of contract, while non-union labor has no choice but to accept minimum wage increase that is far below the poverty level.

Davlin also is asking employees to accept smaller raises, saving $1.25 million for the corporate fund and $1.1 million at CWLP. All of the city’s union contracts call for employees to receive 3.5 percent raises during the next budget year. Davlin has proposed that all employees receive salary increases of only one-half of 1 percent. – Illinois State Journal register 01/13/2010 [ http://www.sj-r.com/local/x1689204972/Union-officials-City-has-ignored-their-savings-ideas ]

Ultimately, unions will self-destruct simply because they refuse to adapt with the rest of us to ebb and flow of the economy. The first to suffer are services to the elderly, developmentally disabled, public libraries, elementary and secondary education among others, including those of us with no voice and no political clout.

Unions, already paid extraordinarily high wages and whose jobs are protected, are now getting a thank-you gift from the Democrats for helping them get elected, in the form of an exemption from paying a tax on their “Catdillac” health care insurance plans.

The best chance for compromise legislation on health care may be a plan under construction in the Senate Finance Committee that would pay for a public plan in part by taxing some worker health benefits.

But the union workers who helped Democrats win Congress and the White House and whose support will be key in getting a health bill signed into law would not pay the tax.

With cost estimates already as high as $1.6 trillion, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has proposed paying for the bill in part by taxing health care benefits for workers who earn more than $100,000, or $200,000 for married couples, according to those familiar with the discussions.

Baucus is also weighing a tax based on the value of health care benefits that exceed a yet-to-be determined cap. A tax on benefits that exceed the cap by a mere $3,000 could amount to $750 in taxes annually for a worker who earns as little as $34,000, say experts. --  Ferrechio, Susan, Chief Congressional Correspondent - Washington Examiner June 23, 2009 “Union workers would be exempt from Dem health care tax” [ http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Union-workers-would-be-exempt-from-Dem-health-care-tax_06_23-48810402.html ]

When you hear the likes of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow decrying the “Teabaggers” understand that they are talking about people who live paycheck to paycheck, people who are qualified and interested in working at a government agency, but who cannot even get an interview because the city or state is borrowing money to pay union salaries and pensions, the non-union elderly and others unable to afford their taxes and fees for property and vehicles, people who can’t afford to send their children to private school and must gamble on the quality of their child’s education.