Look. Unions are wicked wicked things. And they are not stupid. They will attach themselves to any host they can find and suck as much of it’s life out as it can. But they won’t kill the host.
Which is why a union that has attached itself to the government is the most wicked form of union.
See, unions, once formed, negotiate with the company they exist under. They bring the leverage of both the law and the sheer numbers of it’s employees to bare on the company. The company, in an effort to comply with the law and to avoid a strike, will work to make the best deal it can. The union likewise, working to craft the finest deal IT can. During this entire process, the company is trying to make as much of a profit as it can. And the union? Hah, here is the rub, the union is trying to scrap as much of the companies profit as it can WHILE making sure the company gets SOME profit.
Why?
Because if the company sees no profit, it runs the risk of failing; dying. And with it’s death comes the unions death. The union needs, more than anything else, a profitable company.
And so the union will not negotiate the imminent failure of it’s host.
Enter the government.
In this case, the union has no fear, ZERO, that the union negotiated deal will cause the failure of the host; the State.. And the company, the State, has no profit incentive to strike a decent deal. In fact, in many cases, the State is incented to GIVE the union it’s deals in exchange for votes in the coming elections.
Nice work if ya can get it. And speaking of that? How IS it working? Check New York state:
ALBANY — Assembly Democrats have quietly advanced sweeping legislation — already being called the “Rubber Rooms for All Act” — to extend tenure-like job protection to all public workers, countering efforts to roll back rigid regulations like those that keep hundreds of failed teachers on the city payroll.
…
…workers would be entitled to a binding ruling by an “independent” arbitrator approved by both the employer and the employee.
The bill makes no provision to break a stalemate, suggesting a dispute could drag on indefinitely.
The legislation would also ban state and local governments from suspending workers without pay while the arbitration process plays out. An exception would be made only for those accused of sale or possession of drugs.
Pure awesomeness! This bill, being introduced by a member of “the company” makes it illegal for in house discipline of public workers. That means, the boss can’t fire the worker for things like, you know, not working:
The bill, introduced by Governmental Employees Chairman Peter Abbate Jr. (D-Brooklyn) — who proudly proclaims himself “the unions’ bulldog” — would nix in-house disciplinary proceedings for all state civil servants accused of wrongdoing by their employers.
And why would the good gentleman from Brooklyn introduce such fiscally responsible legislation? Because it has demonstrated to work so well with the State’s teachers:
The provisions mirror the state’s “rubber room” law, which makes it nearly impossible to fire tenured teachers and has led the Department of Education to warehouse some 675 unwanted teachers in so-called reassignment centers daily at a cost of $40.5 million last year.
Ugh.
Hat Tip: Sayanything
