[Vision2020] War on Public Unions is an Attack on Democratic Principles

[nickgier at roadrunner.com]

Greetings:

This is my radio commentary/column for the week. 

On many fronts it is looks like the right-wing is overplaying its hand.  Polls now show that Walker would be defeated by 7 percentage points by his Democratic opponent from November. Also surprising, given the lack of labor history in the schools and anti-union propaganda, are the large margins that collective bargaining rights are supported and the 40 percent that would pay for taxes to keep them from getting fired.

Here is the key paragraph from the full version attached.

THE WAR ON UNIONS IS AN ATTACK ON DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES 

Liberal democracy is one of the greatest achievements of human civilization. The most successful societies have been those in which free people elect representatives to decide how to use government expenditures wisely. If the people are not satisfied with their performance, they have the option of voting them out in the next election. 
The democratic process is not always very efficient nor is it free from corruption.  In ancient Greece and early America the franchise was also limited to propertied males, but now women and minorities have the right to vote.  
Americans did not have the right to vote in their workplace until the passage of the 1935 Wagner Act, which allowed collective bargaining for private employees only, not those in the public sector or in agriculture.  
Starting with Wisconsin in 1959, public employees in many states now have democracy in their workplaces. President Franklin Roosevelt believed that the idea of government workers striking was “unthinkable and intolerable.” In 1962 President John Kennedy took care of Roosevelt’s concern by banning strikes for all federal workers. 
In nearly all jurisdictions it is illegal for firefighters and policemen to strike, and in 18 states all public sector strikes are proscribed. Many other states have no legal restrictions, but courts have ruled that strikes do not constitute free speech. 
Public sector unions have been responsible both in terms of requests at the bargaining table and in rare work stoppages.  For example, the number of teacher strikes in the nation’s 16,000 school districts fell from 271 in 1975 to 15 in 2004.  
Public employee strikes in Ohio were much more frequent before collective bargaining, because the workers were able to negotiate their grievances rather than vent them in the streets.  
It is important to correct some other errors and distortions of fact that one hears on the talk shows. First of all, most public sector unions do not negotiate pensions.  Most pensions are set by non-partisan retirement boards, whose recommendations are confirmed by legislative vote. 
Furthermore, most public employee pensions are modest. They range from a high of  $41,000 per year in Illinois to a low of $12,000 in Montana. It is significant to note over 6 million public employees in 15 states must give up federal social security as a condition for a government job.
Distortion also abounds about public employee salaries. Keith Bender and John Heywood, economists at the University of Wisconsin, have studied this issue in depth and they conclude that, for comparable education and jobs, state employees earn 11 percent less than private workers. When public health and pension coverage is include, the gap is still 6.8 percent.
People in the professions sacrifice huge potential earnings by committing themselves to public service.  In return they should not be criticized for better job security and better benefits, especially if this has been achieved fairly in mutual negotiation with their employers.  
Wisconsin’s government unions are ready to sit down with Gov. Scott Walker and take salary cuts and pay more for their retirement and health care. Walker, however, refuses to talk to them. His stubbornness, plus the fact he has exempted the unions that supported him from his union-busting bill, proves that his battle is ideological and not a serious attempt to reduce the deficit.
Government unions are not the cause of the state budget deficits across the nation, as the following statistic dramatically proves. According to Amy Hanauer of Policy Matters of Ohio, the deficits in those states that prohibit all public sector bargaining average 25 percent, whereas they are 24 percent in those states that allow all their government employees democracy in the workplace. For example, we all hear about California’s deficit of $25.4 billion (682 per person), but rarely hear about Texas’ shortfall of $27 billion ($1,080 per capita).
Gov. Walker’s bill would also require public sector unions to face automatic recall elections on an annual basis. There is no democratic system of which I am aware that places such a burden on its elected representatives.  Usually it takes signature cards from 30 percent of the bargaining unit to order to call for a union decertification election. This is ideological revenge, not reasonable political action.
The brave people protesting in Wisconsin’s Tahrir Square are ready to give up salary and pay more for benefits, but they will never give up their voices.
Nick Gier is President of the Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFT/AFL-CIO.  He taught philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. 
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