Desperately Clinging to Cushy Jobs and Generous Bennies 

          With the end of their reign clearly in sight, union bosses have pulled out all the stops and mustered their minions (see WOW) at the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, to protest against Republican Governor Scott Walker.  If you can imagine, Governor Walker had the audacity to suggest that government employees should contribute a reasonable amount to their retirement and health plans like the rest of us!  Fortified by their new mandate which was decisively delivered in the 2010 midterm elections, other Republican led states are now jumping on the bandwagon and challenging the unions as well.  The Republican majorities in the Tennessee and Indiana legislatures have advanced similar proposals to limit union pilfering of their states’ coffers and it is expected that John Kasich, the new Republican Governor of Ohio, will soon follow suit.  This kind of momentum can only spell more trouble for the already tarnished government employee unions around the country. 

          Over the years that free-spending Democrats have been in control of state and local governments, their union puppeteers have directed them to enact outrageously generous benefits for government employees.  For minding their ‘managers’, these Democrats have been rewarded with hefty political contributions, derived from mandatory union dues, to keep them in power.  But all that changed as states ran out of money and the house of cards fell.  It became obvious to even the most unsophisticated observer of the economy, that this kind of reckless handing out of goodies was no longer sustainable.  The American people spoke loudly and clearly in November, and newly elected representatives have wasted no time in pulling the plug. 

          It is truly sad to see how union bosses have corrupted the members of once proud professional groups like teachers and firefighters.  At one time highly respected and even regarded as unselfish heroes, they are now seen by many as greedy union shop piglets, slopping at the trough of government handouts.  In the case of teachers, tenure insures job security regardless of competence or performance.  In the case of firefighters, generous salaries and huge retirement pensions for life, sometimes starting at age 50, make it one of the most sought after jobs in the country.  In California, as just one example, a fire chief can retire with a pension of $284,000, after receiving an annual base salary of $221,000, in a district where some stations receive only a few emergency calls a month.  Contrast that with a four-star general who has served his country all over the world (most likely for 30 years, often in combat situations) who can retire with $181,000 annually. 

          Something clearly had to be done to correct this imbalance and we salute Governor Walker for his courageous stand in the face of union thugs doing what they do best…joining mobs and threatening the rest of us.  To be sure, there are many dedicated, hardworking teachers, firefighters and other union workers who deserve to be well compensated, but the time is long overdue for government workers to receive pay and benefits on a par with their counterparts in the private sector.  We will not be sorry to watch as the last vestiges of union influence wither on the vine.