tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052421227403333133.post8648744538036646706..comments2014-03-09T19:56:11.987-04:00Comments on Bayley Hazen Blog: An "Assault" on Unions? What About the "Assault" on Taxpayers?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052421227403333133.post-38445456192600980582011-02-21T15:32:15.504-05:002011-02-21T15:32:15.504-05:00I've been asked if financial concessions are e...I've been asked if financial concessions are enough so that collective bargaining can be left alone. My response is "no" and I would even advocate going further. I think collective bargaining on benefits has led to the extravagances in benefits we have seen among public employees. I would like to see <br />public employee unions made illegal again. There are many reasons, but the most important reason is that there is only one side at the negotiating table when we are talking about public company unions. A company in the private sector that must deal with a union needs to keep costs down or it will go out of business. They have some leverage when they are negotiating with a union. Government notoriously has no interest in keeping costs down - mostly because they are spending someone else's money and because they are government employees themselves. This is what I believe has led to these extravagant benefits and pay that most of us in the private sector do not get ourselves, but that we pay for out of our tax dollars.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10252781811471302230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052421227403333133.post-37088999891889550502011-02-20T10:08:45.580-05:002011-02-20T10:08:45.580-05:00The unions in Wisconsin are now saying that they w...The unions in Wisconsin are now saying that they want to negotiate, but they have not made any concessions as far as I know. While the media doesn't report this, I suspect the reason the Governor wants to reduce the power of the unions is that local governments have little leverage when it comes to collective bargaining with the unions. In Vermont, school boards are made up of virtually unpaid local elected officials The teacher's union is a statewide organization with a highly paid executive director. That coupled with the fact that the school board members deal on a regular basis with teachers and administrators, and get to know them personally, makes it difficult to be tough in negotiations. It's also easier to say yes to teachers when it is someone else's money you are spending. School Board membership is a thankless job, and my hat is off to them; they just do not have the resources unions do. It appears that Governor Walker is trying to level the playing field.Deb Bucknamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09343661159031433250noreply@blogger.com