Public sector unions and the mess in Wisconsin.

First the disclaimers, I am from a Union family, my Father and most of the Uncles worked in either the steel industry or mining. I am well aware of the progress for salaries and working conditions that the unions brought, and I fully support them in the private sector.

However public sector unions are a different bird, and in my view they should be outlawed.  Why you may ask, well it comes down to the very foundation of the union versus management adversarial relationship. The push and pull and compromising of each other’s interest is balanced by the need of both of the parties to work together to make a profit.  Remove the profit incentive and the equation changes dramatically.

In the public sector union, the “management” sitting across the table in negotiations is most often an elected official, and are all too frequently “bought and paid for” by political contributions, quite often from the very unions they are supposedly “collectively bargaining” with.  There is no adversarial relationship except perhaps between the union, in collusion with their “bought men” and the poor taxpayer who is left holding the financial bag when the politician is long gone.

When you consider that the average teacher in Wisconsin makes about $90k in a total compensation package it is pretty clear who is greedy, and who is holding the financial bag. Strange that you never hear the actual average salary in the mainstream media  J J !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x2N4bDmzdc