The recent fight over public sector unions in Ohio and the present political recall in Wisconsin has put a spotlight on these strange contrivances of the twentieth century called public sector unions.

Once upon a time socialist started the push for unionization. For them wealth was the collected worth of the labor that went into an object and centralized wealth was nothing more then the value of labor stolen by bourgeoisie from their workers (a totally false definition of wealth).  A union was a way to force these evil employers into sharing more of what the workers produced with the workers themselves. The ultimate goal of the socialists was for workers to one day take over the entire means of production and share 100% of the wealth created.

Many unions also formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century under the banner of workers rights. Citing bad working conditions, they claimed to be necessary in order to level the playing field between workers and private companies.

Neither of these justifications apply to public sector unions. The government is not a profit driven enterprise nor is there a need to balance the desires of government owners, the people, with the people working for the government.

Public sector unions can simply not claim the same basis for existence as private sector unions.  If private sector unions exist to balance out the interest of a profit driven exploitative employer and his employees then on what basis do public sector unions exist? Public sector unions certainly do not exist to improve working conditions or get more of some imaginary corporate pie. It seems the only basis for their existence is to enrich the union members and their leadership at the expense of the public at large!

Public employees were once thought of selfless public servants that were often underpaid but hard working and dedicated. Now days they are looked at as overpaid as well as lazy and not dedicated to their work. What changed was unions that have forced atmosphere of higher pay and lower expectations. All the result of the mutually corrupting relationship of public sector unions and politicians.

The truth is that public sector employees are by definition are made up of the public for the public.  The idea that there is something to balance out between the interest of the public and its members is nonsensical.  Even FDR understood this and and was against the idea of public employee unions. He called it correctly when he declared a strike by public sector unions is a strike against the taxpayer.  Public sector unions do not try to extort more of a companies profits into the pockets of its members (and its leaders), these organizations exist to extort money and benefits out of the government at the expense of the taxpayers.

In Ohio and Wisconsin the unions were aghast that their membership might have to pay a little of their own insurance cost or that Police Captains and Fire Chiefs would have the final say on staffing needs. There were absolutely opposed to the idea that the public good might be considered above all else, especially the pockets of public employes and their union bosses.

Just like company unions represent their members interest against the interest of the company public unions represent the interest of their members against the interest of the public. Teachers unions represent the interest of the teachers against the interest of the school and its students. It is no wonder that as the teacher unions have grown stronger the academic scores of students have fell. Cities across the United States have gone or nearly gone bankrupt from paying the extortion demanded by public sector unions, unions that have no legitimate reason to exist.

The fact is that unions in general have done more to hurt American workers then help them. In private industry they have driven unemployment up and slowly strangled the life out of company after company. As the businesses that the unions destroyed have disappeared unions have lost power. If a private sector union drives a company bankrupt consumers just switch to another supplier of that product, that is not an option when government goes bankrupt. When public sector unions drive cities and states bankrupt it is the public at large that is left holding the bag.

Corrupting to politics, undermining the public good and ultimately destructive to the financial stability of government, public sector unions are an unnecessary burden on the back of the taxpayer.

The Conservative Mind

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