Because they can choose who gets to sit across the table from them.
If the politicians who bargain against them know that the public sector unions can help put them out of a job, they have less incentive to bargain hard. The end result is that public sector unions in places like California earn 30% more than comparable private sector workers.
They do this by taking funds earned through collective bargaining and sending them right back to the people they bargain with in the form of political contributions.
If the politicians who bargain against them know that the public sector unions can help put them out of a job, they have less incentive to bargain hard. The end result is that public sector unions in places like California earn 30% more than comparable private sector workers.
One interesting thing is that in WI, they aren't removing all bargaining rights for public sector unions, just the right to bargain over benefits, and automatic deduction from salaries, as thats where the union makes its money.
ReplyDeleteAn additional factor is that promising future benefits allow the politicians, who are frequently term-limited, to postpone the pain until they are out of office, and even to claim they are "balancing" the budget.
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